Climate

The Biden administration said Thursday that it was strengthening requirements for homes and child-care facilities to remove lead-based paint dust, a move that could better protect more than 300,000 children a year from the toxic metal. Under the new rules, any detectable level of lead dust in the building would …

With the push of a red button, a milky-colored liquid sprayed onto a load of corn seed at a warehouse in central Missouri. It was a hint of a revolution underway in American agriculture, driven by a desire to combat climate change while still feeding and fueling the world. Inside …

Wildfires aren’t just tearing through larger swaths of the American West. They’re spreading more quickly, too. A team of researchers looked at NASA satellite data on 60,000 wildfires in the contiguous United States between 2001 and 2020. After classifying each blaze by the most it grew in a single day, …

One year after world leaders made a landmark promise to move away from fossil fuels, countries have essentially made no progress in cutting emissions and tackling global warming, according to a United Nations report issued on Thursday. Global greenhouse gas emissions soared to a record 57 gigatons last year and …

Science is always focused on breakthroughs and the next big thing. And, too often, there is loads of hype about what benefits to society a particular breakthrough might bring. But when I saw the image of Albert Einstein peering out of a petri dish in the office of Christopher Voigt, …

Cleaning up the technology industry was supposed to be easy. Powering server racks and personal computers isn’t nearly as energy-intensive as making concrete or steel. So until recently, eliminating planet-warming emissions in the tech sector was expected to be relatively straightforward. Tech companies positioned themselves as climate leaders and boasted …

James and Bill Montivér had just finished boxing up their home on a steep road in Ketchikan, a fishing community turned cruise ship stop in southeast Alaska, when they heard a screech like a jet engine over the sounds of pouring rain. Bill, who was scrubbing the kitchen cabinets, screamed …

Is Ireland really all that green? Ecologically speaking, the answer is no, says Eoghan Daltun, a sculptor who restored a patch of native rainforest in the Beara Peninsula, on the country’s rugged southwestern coast. “Ireland really coasts on its reputation as the Emerald Isle,” Mr. Daltun said in a recent …

The conservative-majority Supreme Court has taken an aggressive stance against many environmental rules in recent years, but three small victories for regulators this month have left some analysts wondering whether a shift is underway. The latest sign came on Wednesday, when the justices declined to block the Environmental Protection Agency …

Forests not only serve as refuges from city life, but could also be among the last fortresses between a livable planet and an increasingly hostile one. Forests can pull carbon from the air and store it in roots and leaves, locking it out of the atmosphere. Through complex markets, nations …