Category: Climate

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, during better days. Elon Musk and President Donald Trump — two of the most powerful, outspoken billionaires in America — are still tangled up in a messy breakup over a variety of issues. It’s no shock that these two men with huge egos would have friction, but…

Smoke from Canadian wildfires dims Chicago’s skyline on June 3, 2025. Smoke from wildfires in Canada is once again shrouding parts of the United States — cities like Chicago and Milwaukee — with unhealthy air, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Parts of the plume have reached as far as Europe. The bulk of…

Hurricane Helene, after moving inland and weakening into a post-tropical cyclone, on September 27, 2024. | NOAA via AP Hurricane season in the Atlantic has officially begun.  And while this year will likely be less extreme than in 2024 — one of the most destructive seasons ever, with the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record…

President Donald Trump stands on the South Lawn of the White House on May 22. | Samuel Corum/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images Nearly two decades ago, scientists made an alarming discovery in upstate New York: Bats, the world’s only flying mammal, were becoming infected with a new, deadly fungal disease that, in some cases, could wipe…

Here’s a selection of recent headlines about artificial intelligence, picked more or less at random: For some recent graduates, the AI job apocalypse may already be here Artificial intelligence threatens to raid the water reserves of Europe’s driest regions Top AI CEO foresees white-collar bloodbath Okay, not exactly at random — I did look for…

The common tailorbird, a species famous for its ability to sew its nest together — hence its name. | MD Iqbal Hossain/Getty Images Vox reader Stefanos Nasiopoulos asks: How do instincts work in animals? Do they use the same mechanism as memories? How are they different from learned behavior? For example, when the tailorbird is actually…

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, left, shares a laugh with Chief Justice John Roberts after inauguration ceremonies on January 20, 2025. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images The Supreme Court handed down an opinion on Thursday that reads like it was written by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, the authors of an influential book arguing that excessive regulation of…

EPA administrator Lee Zeldin says the agency is “driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion.” The Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that it’s starting the process of undoing 31 environmental regulations, including a ruling that’s foundational to US climate policy. But undoing any regulation is a cumbersome process, and with the climate…

Few individual animals have ever been more important to their species than 2323M — a red wolf, dubbed Airplane Ears by advocates for his prominent extremities, who spent his brief but fruitful life on North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Red wolves, smaller, rust-tinged cousins to gray wolves, are among the world’s rarest mammals,…

In the 1970s, acid rain was one of the most serious environmental threats in North America and Europe. The air was so laden with pollution from coal power plants and cars at the time that it turned the rain toxic. Downpours killed fish, destroyed forests, eroded statues, and damaged buildings, sparking public outcry.  “Acid rain…