"The White House has unveiled tighter rules for research on potentially dangerous microbes and toxins, in an effort to stave off laboratory accidents that could unleash a pandemic."
"They’re delivering solar power after dark in California and helping to stabilize grids in other states. And the technology is expanding rapidly."
"The automaker led by Elon Musk is no longer planning to take the lead in expanding the number of places to fuel electric vehicles. It’s not clear how quickly other companies will fill the gap."
For all the talk about the energy transition and the robust growth in electric vehicle sales, there’s one big reason for unease: getting charged. The new Backgrounder takes a deep dive on the state of EV charging stations in the United States, exploring Tesla’s diminishing dominance, coming charger standardization, charging levels, software and for-pay realities, plus the effects of government policy.
Whether trees fall to chain saws or go up in smoke, deforestation is a major climate change driver. But on-the-ground reporting on forest loss is often challenging. Global Forest Watch provides worldwide land cover change data and tools that can help journalists contextualize deforestation events. Mongabay editor Morgan Erickson-Davis explains the power of this free online platform and shares her favorite features.
"An orangutan appeared to treat a wound with medicine from a tropical plant— the latest example of how some animals attempt to soothe their own ills with remedies found in the wild, scientists reported Thursday."
"Energy companies operating in countries such as the US, UK, Germany and Norway appear to have installed technology that could stop researchers from identifying methane, carbon dioxide emissions and pollutants at industrial facilities involved in the disposal of unprofitable natural gas, known in the industry as flaring."
"One of the largest solar projects in the country is moving closer to completion, and it’s not in a famously sunny state like California, Texas, or even Florida. It’s in Minnesota, on former potato farms near the site of a retiring coal plant."
"The Department of Energy created a one-stop shop for federal permitting, helping transmission developers avoid the lengthy patchwork of regulatory approvals that has slowed major projects. The program makes the department the lead agency in permitting and finalizes a yearslong, multiadministration effort to coordinate the work of at least nine agencies with a hand in permitting power lines."
"Federal officials announced that they have cloned two more black-footed ferrets, one of North America’s rarest mammals". "They’re cute, they’re fuzzy — and they may just help bring their entire species back from the brink of extinction."
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