The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is taking steps to speed up progress in plant science by calling on universities and stakeholders to help build new AI tools that can translate the huge amount of germplasm data the agency collects. Through the Genesis Mission and the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA), USDA is...
Wildfire prevention needs a better federal framework
As major fires burn across Colorado and Utah this summer, the broader Western lesson is hard to miss. Colorado’s Aspen Acres fire forced evacuations and destroyed more than 160 structures. Utah’s Babylon Fire passed 100,000 acres recently, the state’s first fire to reach that mark in eight years. Colorado officials also issued air-quality advisoriestied to wildfire smoke moving through the...
Can We Refill the Great Salt Lake?
The Great Salt Lake is drying up. Since the mid-1980s, the lake has dropped 22 feet, and its surface area is 60 percent smaller than it once was. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, consider this: it takes 12 minutes and 13 seconds to walk from where the lake’s shoreline once was to where it is today.
Trump threatens Canada over wildfire smoke: ‘Maybe they should pay us some damages’
President Donald Trump said Sunday night he’s considering making Canada financially compensate the United States for economic damage caused by wildfire smoke that drifted from Canada into parts of the U.S. last week. While speaking to reporters after returning from the World Cup final, Trump said he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the match about the smoke that enveloped much...
What Makes This Oil Shock Different
The war with Iran has sent oil prices, and then gasoline prices, sharply higher. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the main U.S. oil benchmark, rose from the mid-$60s per barrel in late February to around $100 on March 19. U.S. gasoline prices have followed suit, with the average price increasing from a pre-war level of under $3.00 per gallon to over $3.70 by mid-March.
Modernizing the National Historic Preservation Act
Heading into the August recess, policymakers continue to hash out the details of a comprehensive permitting bill in hopes of sending it to President Trump’s desk this Congress. There is bipartisan recognition that permitting reform is essential to improving energy affordability and reliability, and to meeting our environmental ambitions. As the discussions on Capitol Hill evolve, one law starting to receive more attention for reform is the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
NRC Finishes TerraPower’s Construction Permit Ahead of Schedule
In a welcoming milestone, TerraPower received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a construction permit for its advanced nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The review, completed ahead of schedule, provides a hopeful signal that the United States is finally turning the corner on one of the biggest barriers to clean energy innovation: an outdated, slow, and unpredictable licensing and permitting system.
Harvest Deep-Sea Minerals to Combat China
Harvesting from the sea floor is the most environmentally sustainable way to obtain the minerals we need. These nodules can be harvested using specialized, deep-sea vessels. Seabed nodules sit exposed on the ocean floor, allowing collection without significant disruption.
Ember’s “Global Electricity Review 2026” Is Out
Ember’s new Global Electricity Review 2026 points to a genuine shift in the global power mix. In 2025, renewables supplied 33.8% of global electricity, edging past coal’s 33% share for the first time in the modern power era. Even more striking, clean generation growth slightly exceeded the rise in global electricity demand, which meant fossil...
America’s Grid Is More Fragile Than Politicians Admit. Here’s How to Fix It.
America has an infrastructure problem hiding in plain sight. Too often, when a storm rolls through, millions of homes dark. Politicians hold press conferences, utility companies apologize, and nothing fundamentally changes. The U.S. power grid is not a modern system under routine stress. It is an aging, fragile patchwork operating well past its design life, and the consequences are landing squarely on ordinary Americans and the natural environment around them.









