A small Wisconsin city upended by a data center backed by President Donald Trump is set to vote Tuesday on a referendum that could reshape grassroots resistance to AI projects nationwide. The vote in Port Washington, a lakeside town of roughly 12,000 people just north of Milwaukee, appears to be the first time any U.S....
In New England, Catching Climate Data Along With Fish
When Bob Hersey Jr., a Maine lobsterman, pulls up his traps, he gets more than tasty crustaceans. He’s collecting vital details about the changing ocean environment. Mr. Hersey, who also dives for sea urchins, is among nearly 150 fishermen who have installed temperature sensors on their traps or trawl nets from Maine to North Carolina...
The Genesis Mission: How AI Supercomputing Is About to Reshape American Science and Energy
After 22 years at IBM, where he rose to senior vice president and director of IBM Research, Dr. Dario Gil now leads one of the most ambitious science and technology initiatives in a generation. As director of the Genesis Mission, Gil is orchestrating a convergence of high-performance computing, AI, and quantum computing aimed at fundamentally...
These states don’t want data centers in their backyards
Data centers have become a boxy, hulking flashpoint heading into the midterms — and the backlash is spreading fast across red and blue states. Why it matters: With no federal action, states are fielding constituent anger over power grids, water supplies and strained local infrastructure. But investment keeps accelerating; Wall Street isn’t slowing down, and neither is...
EPA proposes studying microplastics for potential drinking water limits
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to propose to study microplastics and pharmaceuticals in what could be the first step toward drinking water limits for these substances. The Trump administration is touting the move as a win for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, a subset of voters that is skeptical of the chemical...
The Data Center Water Panic Has a Better Answer: Water Markets
Data centers are booming. As companies race to build the infrastructure behind artificial intelligence, communities across the country are sounding alarms about how much water these facilities consume. Some worry the massive complexes will strain water supplies that are already stretched thin. The debate has quickly turned toward regulatory fixes, such as disclosure mandates, environmental reviews,...
Texas Opens $350M Advanced Nuclear Grant Programs to Spur Reactor Buildout, Supply Chain
The State of Texas has opened applications for $350 million in advanced nuclear grants through the Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund (TANDF), making the nation’s largest state‑level nuclear package competitive for the first time across two programs aimed at reactor construction and supply chain development. In an exclusive interview with POWER, Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office...
Trump moves Forest Service HQ from DC to Utah
The Trump administration will move the headquarters for the U.S. Forest Service from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, it announced Tuesday. In a press release, the Department of Agriculture said the move will also be accompanied by a “sweeping restructuring” at the agency. A department spokesperson told The Hill that 260 positions will move...
Gas hits $4 on average in US
The average price of standard gas in the U.S. hit $4 as of Tuesday morning, after hovering right under the dollar mark for about a week. This is up by over a dollar from a month ago after the onset of the Iran conflict at the end of February spiked fuel prices. The average price of premium...
Trump’s ‘God Squad’ exempts Gulf oil drilling from Endangered Species Act requirements
Trump administration officials on Tuesday exempted drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from complying with Endangered Species Act (ESA) requirements. The administration took the extraordinary step of convening the Endangered Species Commission — sometimes nicknamed the “God Squad” for its ability to condemn a species to extinction — for the first time in more than...








