Climate change

A wind turbine off the coast of Rhode Island.

Offshore wind in the Midwest? Some Great Lakes leaders think so.

BY: - May 23, 2023

Years from now, when Chicagoans stroll the Lake Michigan waterfront, they may see the blades of wind turbines glinting on the horizon. Clevelanders could glimpse wind farms over Lake Erie. And cities like Milwaukee and Buffalo could be vying to attract a burgeoning offshore wind industry on the Great Lakes. That’s the vision some regional leaders have […]

Conifers at a Montana seedling nursery.

‘We’re going to need so many seedlings’ for reforestation push

BY: - May 16, 2023

Over the next few years, state tree nurseries across the country will build new greenhouses, expand irrigation systems, upgrade seeding equipment and bring on staff. They’re hoping to turn millions of new federal dollars into millions of new seedlings — part of a collaborative effort to reforest landscapes threatened by climate change. “We’re going to […]

The magnificent ramshorn, a freshwater snail

Some states hope to move climate-threatened species, but others say no way

BY: - May 10, 2023

This story is part two of a two-part series about a federal proposal to relocate endangered species outside their historic ranges. See part one: Federal wildlife managers and ecologists weigh the risks of action — and inaction — to rescue species from climate change. North Carolina might need to move a snail. A tiny mollusk […]

Karner blue butterflies have lost populations in the southern portion of their range due to warming temperatures.

Climate change is destroying habitats. But relocating species could be tricky.

BY: - May 9, 2023

This story is part one of a two-part series about a federal proposal to relocate endangered species outside their historic ranges. Read part two: State wildlife officials have widely diverging reactions to the proposal. Nine years ago, a team of scientists studying a violet-blue, thumb-sized butterfly found only two remaining in a rolling landscape of […]

Pumpjacks operate in an oil field in McKittrick, California.

California just can’t quit Big Oil

BY: - May 8, 2023

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is an oil state. For a century, the Golden State has been one of the leading oil producers in the country. Although production has declined in recent decades, fossil fuels remain a major source of jobs and tax revenue. That’s why a crusade against oil that is revving up in the […]

A California stove burns natural gas. Even as New York this week is set to become the first state to mandate electrification of buildings by law, numerous other states have outlawed such requirements.

New York to ban fossil fuels in new buildings. 23 states have forbidden such bans.

BY: - May 3, 2023

A widening clash over gas stoves and other fossil fuel appliances has ignited in statehouses across the country as Democratic lawmakers pursue more aggressive climate policies. On one side, environmentalists and left-leaning legislators have championed new construction rules that require homes and other buildings to run off electricity only, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On […]

Some States Want to Give You a Constitutional Right to a Clean Environment

BY: - April 6, 2023

Editor’s note: This story was updated to identify the harmful algal bloom as a brown tide. New Mexico’s budget relies heavily on oil and gas revenue, but the state also bears the scars of generations of mining and drilling. So when Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, a former law professor and current Democratic state senator, heard about […]

In Rush to Fight Climate Change, Cities Coordinate to Battle Heat With Trees

BY: - April 5, 2023

From Seattle to Palm Beach, Florida, city leaders agree that urban areas need more trees to alleviate the effects of climate change. Amid the growing attention to tree canopy — and an infusion of federal funding — more than a dozen cities are convening to share ideas and plan the urban forests of the future.  […]

States Debate Whether to Restrict — Or Invite — Crypto Mining

BY: - March 21, 2023

SEATTLE — As cryptocurrency mining draws increased scrutiny on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., some state legislatures are considering proposals to restrict the industry over growing concerns about its energy use. Other states, though, are advancing bills to protect cryptocurrency miners from such crackdowns, citing the economic potential of hosting mining operations.  Last year, New […]

This Region Has the Fewest Electric Vehicles. Here’s Why.

BY: - March 6, 2023

The Lakota named the Badlands, calling the sharp, stark canyons and buttes “mako sica.” Centuries later, French-Canadian trappers and traders likewise chronicled “les mauvaises terres a traveser” or “bad lands to travel across.” Interstate 94 has tamed the former Dakota Territory, turning the journey into a 75-mph blur of chasms and color, but it remains […]

Water Cuts Hit Western States

BY: - September 15, 2022

Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the West are grappling with drought that’s worsening because of climate change. As much of the West remains in extreme drought and reservoirs drop to historic lows, states are facing continued cuts to their water supply, either voluntarily or by direction of the federal government. Last month, federal authorities […]

Virginia Nixes Effort to Issue Heat Safety Rules for Workers

BY: - December 9, 2021

In a surprising move, Virginia regulators voted narrowly to reject a standard to protect workers from extreme heat, two years after they initiated the rulemaking process with a unanimous decision. Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board members voted 6-5 last week to end that process, after a panel they’d appointed presented them with a proposed […]