It’s too soon to know how the Los Angeles fires will change life in California, but it may heavily depend on the answer to a single question: Will a once-obscure insurance program run out of money? That program, the California FAIR Plan, was created by state lawmakers in 1968 to cover people who couldn’t get…
California has withdrawn requests that the Biden administration allow the state to enact limits on pollution from trucks, locomotives and ferries that are more strict than federal standards, on the expectation that the Trump administration would revoke them. The move will leave the state, which has become a global leader in the fight against climate…
For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency has warned that “forever chemicals” present in sewage sludge that is used as fertilizer can pose human health risks, saying in a study on Tuesday that, in some cases, the risks could exceed the agency’s safety thresholds “sometimes by several orders of magnitude.” The agency maintained, however,…
In a decision widely seen as benefiting climate activists, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a lawsuit filed by Honolulu against oil companies over their role in global warming. The Honolulu case is one of the most prominent among two dozen similar suits brought by state and local governments that…
Harold G. Hamm, the billionaire oil and gas executive who helped bankroll Donald J. Trump’s campaign and stands to profit from his energy policies, is hosting an exclusive fossil fuel industry celebration on Inauguration Day. The daytime party on the roof of the historic Hay-Adams Hotel, a block from the White House, will be a…
Smart thermostats first hit the market in the early 2010s as a way to strategically cut your electricity bill while still keeping your home nice and cozy. Brands claim up to 26 percent savings on heating and cooling bills. But some experts say that’s an overstatement. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, estimates approved smart…
It kills more people each year than car crashes, war or drugs do. This invisible killer is the air pollution from sources like cars and trucks or factory smokestacks. But as wildfires intensify and grow more frequent in a warming world, the smoke from these fires is emerging as a new and deadly pollution source,…
As Los Angeles burned for days on end, horrifying the nation, scientists made an announcement on Friday that could help explain the deadly conflagration: 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history. With temperatures rising around the globe and the oceans unusually warm, scientists are warning that the world has entered a dangerous new era…
This week’s fires around Los Angeles present a puzzle: Why is California, the state best equipped to deal with wildfires, seemingly unable to prevent blazes from consuming entire chunks of the country’s second-largest city? California’s building code for wildfires is among the most protective in the nation. Its local fire departments are backed up by…
Constellation Energy, the nation’s largest nuclear power plant operator, has agreed to buy another electricity producer, Calpine, for $16.4 billion, a deal that shows how fast-rising demand for power, partly a result of the data centers being built for artificial intelligence, is having far-reaching effects on the economy. The cash-and-stock deal, announced Friday, ranks among…
