Climate Energy
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The year the US doubled down on critical minerals
In 2025, the list of metals became a top priority under Trump. But what even are they?
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![An industrial site with a circular waste pond and mountains in the background.]()
![An industrial site with a circular waste pond and mountains in the background.]()
The country’s biggest magnesium producer went bankrupt. Who’s going to clean up the $100M mess?
US Magnesium, on the shores of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, left a legacy of environmental problems.
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![U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright visits the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) campus in Golden, Colorado, on April 3, 2025]()
![U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright visits the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) campus in Golden, Colorado, on April 3, 2025]()
Under Trump, the National Renewable Energy Lab is losing ‘renewable’ from its name
The lab has spurred major solar, wind, and storage breakthroughs. Its new remit is a "broader vision" for energy research.
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![Disturbed earth from mining is visible with a lake and mountains in the background.]()
![Disturbed earth from mining is visible with a lake and mountains in the background.]()
A huge cache of critical minerals found in Utah may be the largest in the US
The discovery could reshape the clean energy supply chain.
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![A technician at heating, cooling and plumbing company John G. Webster, removes a gas water heater from a home in Washington, DC, on August 28, 2024.]()
![A technician at heating, cooling and plumbing company John G. Webster, removes a gas water heater from a home in Washington, DC, on August 28, 2024.]()
Illinois families are going electric — for free
As federal incentives for home electrification disappear, an innovative state law lets utilities meet energy-efficiency mandates by getting people off gas.
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![A man in a blue suit stands in front of a shipyard]()
![A man in a blue suit stands in front of a shipyard]()
Pennsylvania bailed on a carbon market to appease Republicans
Governor Josh Shapiro pulled out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in exchange for a budget. Critics say he “got rolled.”
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![A man in a baseball cap uses tools on an electrical panel]()
![A man in a baseball cap uses tools on an electrical panel]()
New England kicks off $450M plan to supercharge heat pump adoption
The program aims to use federal funds awarded under the Biden administration to deploy more than 500,000 heat pumps in the chilly region over the next few years.
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![NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH, ALASKA - MAY 9: A grizzly bear walks on the tundra underneath a portion of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) near the Dalton Highway on May 9, 2025 about 10 miles north of Atigun Pass in North Slope Borough, Alaska. The Dalton Highway (Alaska Route 11) stretches 414 miles across northern Alaska from Livengood (53 miles north of Fairbanks) to Prudhoe Bay. The 800-mile-long pipeline pushes oil from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)]()
![NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH, ALASKA - MAY 9: A grizzly bear walks on the tundra underneath a portion of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) near the Dalton Highway on May 9, 2025 about 10 miles north of Atigun Pass in North Slope Borough, Alaska. The Dalton Highway (Alaska Route 11) stretches 414 miles across northern Alaska from Livengood (53 miles north of Fairbanks) to Prudhoe Bay. The 800-mile-long pipeline pushes oil from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)]()
Dismantling the Endangered Species Act will hurt a lot more than just wildlife
The Trump administration's proposed rollbacks open the door for more drilling, mining, and logging.
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![Lower half of a woman carrying a sign that reads water > data centers]()
![Lower half of a woman carrying a sign that reads water > data centers]()
How to make data centers less thirsty
There’s a way to reduce both the climate and water harms of data centers: Build them in places with lots of wind and solar energy.
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![A worker cutting sugarcane in a plantation]()
![A worker cutting sugarcane in a plantation]()
COP30’s biofuel gamble could cost the global food supply — and the planet
What was once considered a climate holy grail comes with serious tradeoffs. The world wants more of it anyway.
