The Trump administration plans to all but eliminate the office that oversees America’s recovery from the largest disasters, raising questions about how the United States will rebuild from hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities made worse by climate change. The Office of Community Planning and Development, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, pays…
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to stop the Trump administration from opening up vast new areas to offshore oil and gas drilling. The suit is an opening shot in what is likely to be a series of cases aimed at thwarting the White House’s push for what it calls “energy dominance” by pivoting…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has created a new class of “emergency” permits for fossil fuel projects, raising the possibility that pipelines, mines, power plants and other facilities could be fast-tracked for approval as part of President Trump’s demand to increase oil, gas and coal production. The move could reduce the opportunities for the…
Dickson Despommier, a microbiologist who proposed that cities should grow food in high-rises, popularizing the term “vertical farming” — an idea that crossed over from the realm of the purely fanciful to become a reality around the globe — died on Feb. 7 in Manhattan. He was 84. His wife, Marlene Bloom, confirmed the death,…
Public lands in the United States have long been considered a national treasure. But, since Thursday, at least 3,000 employees have been laid off across the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service, part of a wave of Trump administration cuts to the federal work force. Together, these agencies oversee 278 million acres…
Numerous programs aimed at averting violence, instability and extremism worsened by global warming are ensnared in the effort to dismantle the main American aid agency, U.S.A.I.D. One such project helped communities manage water stations in Niger, a hotbed of Islamist extremist groups where conflicts over scarce water are common. Another helped repair water-treatment plants in…
President Trump’s policies could threaten many big green energy projects in the coming years, but his election has already dealt a big blow to an ambitious California effort to replace thousands of diesel-fueled trucks with battery-powered semis. The California plan, which has been closely watched by other states and countries, was meant to take a…
At the annual gathering in Boston this week of one of America’s oldest scientific societies, the discussions touched on threats to humankind: runaway artificial intelligence, toxic “forever chemicals,” the eventual end of the universe. But the most urgent threats for many scientists were the ones aimed at them, as the Trump administration slashes the federal…
Despite being in office for less than a month, the Trump administration has already made the United States more exposed to catastrophic wildfires in ways that will be difficult to reverse, current and former federal employees say. On Thursday, the administration fired 3,400 employees from the U.S. Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres of…
Despite being in office for less than a month, the Trump administration has already made the United States more exposed to catastrophic wildfires in ways that will be difficult to reverse, current and former federal employees say. On Thursday, the administration fired 3,400 employees from the U.S. Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres of…
