From above the raging flames, these planes can unleash immense tankfuls of bright pink fire retardant in just 20 seconds. They have long been considered vital in the battle against wildfires. But emerging research has shown that the millions of gallons of retardant sprayed on the landscape to tame wildfires each year come with a…
Elon Musk on Thursday inserted himself into the debate over the role climate change plays in wildfires as at least five fires scorched the Los Angeles area, charring entire neighborhoods, killing at least five people and forcing tens of thousands to flee. “Climate change risk is real, just much slower than alarmists claim,” Mr. Musk…
The fire that destroyed Pacific Palisades this week started a few hundred yards from Sheila Morovati’s home. At around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, ferocious winds began whipping smoke through across her patio. Minutes later, walls of flames were marching toward her swimming pool. Within an hour, firefighters were in her backyard, extinguishing falling embers….
America’s efforts to cut its climate change pollution stalled in 2024, with greenhouse gas emissions dropping just a fraction, 0.2 percent, compared to the year before, according to estimates published Thursday by the Rhodium Group, a research firm. Despite continued rapid growth in solar and wind power, emissions levels stayed relatively flat last year because…
America’s efforts to cut its climate change pollution stalled in 2024, with greenhouse gas emissions dropping just a fraction, 0.2 percent, compared to the year before, according to estimates published Thursday by the Rhodium Group, a research firm. Despite continued rapid growth in solar and wind power, emissions levels stayed relatively flat last year because…
It’s too soon to know the financial cost of the wildfires burning around Los Angeles. But the toll on California’s troubled insurance market could be enormous. The fires struck just as California officials have been working to stop insurance companies from fleeing their state. That exodus, driven by rising losses from wildfires that have grown…
One of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s biggest “drill, baby, drill” initiatives suffered a significant setback on Wednesday as the Interior Department announced that a lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ended without a single bidder. The sale, which was required by Congress, marks the second time in four years that an effort to…
President-elect Donald J. Trump’s attention returned Tuesday to an idea that has fascinated him for years: acquiring Greenland for the United States. In a news conference on Tuesday, he refused to rule out using military or economic force to take the territory from Denmark, a U.S. ally. “We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he…
One of the most powerful parts of President Biden’s signature climate law was designed to attract support from such a wide array of industries that it would be hard for Congress to repeal. Now, that theory is about to be tested. This month, the federal government will begin offering lucrative tax credits to companies that…
Last week, Microsoft announced that it would spend approximately $80 billion during this fiscal year to build data centers for its booming artificial intelligence business. That gargantuan sum is a testament to the opportunity that Microsoft and other tech giants see in A.I. It also has the makings of a climate conundrum. In order to…
