Pakistan will offer to buy more cotton and soybean from the US, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as it looks to halve its bilateral trade surplus and escape tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The South Asian country wants to reduce this surplus to below $2 billion from about $4 billion in...
Newsom, California Democrats double down on cap-and-trade program
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and top state Democrats announced Tuesday they would seek an extension of the state’s cap-and-trade emissions reduction program — countering Trump administration efforts to thwart such initiatives. Newsom — along with state Sen. Mike McGuire, the Senate president pro tempore, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas — made this decision following a recent federal executive...
Agriculture Department cancels $3B grant program for climate-friendly crops
The Trump administration canceled a $3.1 billion grant program for climate-friendly crops, the Agriculture Department announced Monday. In a press release, the department said that it was canceling Biden-era Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, which funded 141 projects that sought to advance climate-friendly farming practices. Projects funded under the program supported things like planting cover crops, which...
‘Global race for AI dominance’ could start at Eastern WA nuclear site
The Department of Energy wants to hear from developers interested in building data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure at 16 sites nationwide, one of them in Richland. DOE issued a “request for information” last week to assess industry interest and gather information on potential technology and economic considerations. It also wants information on locating new...
Maximizing Value and Minimizing Waste in a Circular Plastics Economy
Most Americans have concerns about the pollution and waste associated with plastic use, most notably single-use plastics like water bottles. However, calls to restrict plastic production and consumption would likely backfire, resulting in higher consumer costs and worse environmental outcomes.
Low-Energy Fridays: Why are oil prices falling when they’re exempted from tariffs?
This has been a busy week with trade wars and a lot of uncertainty for various commodities. Most notably for the Low-Energy Fridays audience, oil—despite being exempted from many of the tariffs—fell sharply in price, and still hasn’t fully recovered to last week’s level. The reason for this is simple: Oil investors anticipate lower oil demand under the...
Lowering Energy Costs in America
Upon returning to the White House, President Trump immediately outlined a vision for a new “Golden Age of America,” unabashedly powered by American innovation and American energy dominance. If we hope to restore manufacturing, win the global AI race, jump-start the auto industry, and increase our housing supply, we need to increase our energy supply...
What Could a “Nuclear Revolution” Really Look Like?
Senator McCain called for the United States to build forty-five new nuclear reactors by 2030. The plan was ambitious, but as one of his top economic advisors commented at the time, “not so large as to be infeasible given permitting and construction times.”
With less than five years to go, only two reactors have been built since the late senator’s campaign pledge.
Trump orders strengthening of US grid as electricity demand surges
US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to enhance the reliability and security of the country’s electric grid amid rising electricity demand. The surge in demand is driven by rapid technological advancements, which include the expansion of AI data centers and increased domestic manufacturing. The swift advancements, combined with ongoing supply difficulties, have...
Energy Department considers more than 40 percent of its staff nonessential as layoffs loom
The Energy Department (DOE) considers more than 40 percent of its staffers to be nonessential — meaning these people could be on the chopping block — as mass layoffs loom at the agency and across the federal government. A document viewed by The Hill on Friday states that out of the agency’s current headcount of 15,994...