Why Trump’s looser emission standards are mixed blessing for automakers

Aug 2, 2018
13 states are challenging the proposal.

Strong demand for wood pulp driving diaper, paper towel prices higher

Jul 31, 2018
Your shopping bill could be getting noticeably higher. Procter & Gamble today announced it’s planning to raise prices on a lot of its products, including Bounty paper towels and Puffs tissues. One reason for those increases? P&G is having to pay a lot for wood pulp, which is basically what paper towels, diapers and toilet […]
 A worker at Potlatch Corporation Consumer Products Division transports two huge parent rolls of tissue paper, weighing 4500 pounds. 
Jeff T. Green/Getty Images

Here’s how the EPA might be different under Andrew Wheeler

Jul 30, 2018
The acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency appears to be approaching his job differently than his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, at least in the early going. Andrew Wheeler is likely to still advance President Donald Trump’s push to dispense of industry regulations, but observers say he’s doing it in a more careful way compared to […]
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler waits to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee August 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. Wheeler testified during the committee's hearing titled 'Examining EPA's Agenda: Protecting the Environment and Allowing America's Economy to Grow.'
Win McNamee/Getty Images

The EPA says TCE causes cancer, so why hasn't it been banned?

Jul 26, 2018
With the chemical industry challenging the cancer link, the agency has held off on action.
A view of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters on March 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. 
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Trump looks to add economic considerations into rules protecting threatened species

Jul 20, 2018
This week, the U.S. Department of Interior released proposed rule changes for the Endangered Species Act. It’s the 45-year-old act credited with reviving populations of bald eagles, gray wolves, lynxes and roughly 1,600 plants and animals at risk of extinction. Right now, the process used to protect species under the act requires only a scientific […]
The grey wolf is protected in the United States under the Endangered Species Act. 

Aiming for investments of $1 trillion

Jul 5, 2018
Moving the United States away from carbon-emitting energy sources is getting a push from a clean-energy advocacy group setting a goal to secure $1 trillion in new investments into renewable energy by 2030. How big a lift would that be? Click the above audio player to hear the full story.

When it comes to chicken-processing plants, some communities see jobs where others see environmental concerns

Jun 14, 2018
A suburban community in Kansas turns away from the prospect of a chicken processing plant, while a rural town sees the possibility it would bring new jobs.
Shops and restaurants line one of Concordia’s main streets in downtown.
Brian Grimmett for Marketplace

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Oil execs in meetings with pope

Jun 8, 2018
Pope Francis has called the world’s leading oil execs to the Vatican. Meetings are today and tomorrow, and will include leaders from companies like BP and ExxonMobil. They’re gathering to talk about how their businesses can tackle climate change. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Trump, Perry propose a lifeline for coal and nuclear sectors that critics say is unnecessary and would be harmful

Jun 5, 2018
The latest directive would allow the Energy Department to use a complex wartime law in the interest of national security.

West Virginia effort to aid Puerto Rico is caught in Trump’s solar tariffs

Jun 1, 2018
With 2018's hurricane season starting, some families are still recovering from last year's storms.
Months after the storms, many communities on the island have no electricity.
Courtesy of Rebecca Kiger