The latest battle over state subsidies for the solar industry is in Nevada. Regulators ruled against solar companies and they are closing operations in the state and laying off hundreds of employees.
The U.S. had 10 weather events in 2015 that cost $1 billion or more in damage, with December the warmest and wettest month on record. Climate scientists blame a warming climate and strong El Nino.
For a while, the president's plan for increasing vehicles' fuel efficiency worked; he said it would save money and reduce carbon pollution. Then came cheap gas, and the improvements have stalled.
Since October, a natural gas storage well near Los Angeles has been spewing hundreds of tons of methane gas each day. The leak isn't expected to be fixed for months.
Two years ago, in January 2013, oil was about $100 dollars a barrel. At that time, towns near new oil fields expanded rapidly, filling up with workers and overflowing revenue. But how are those towns doing now that oil is worth about half what it was then? The Planet Money team checks in with oil workers and residents in Williston, N.D.
In the past, when political tensions increased, oil prices went up too amid supply risks. But now OPEC's power is down and U.S. oil supplies are much greater, helping hold prices steady.
On Monday, the Department of Justice, acting on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed a civil complaint in federal court in Detroit against Volkswagen. The DOJ alleges that nearly 600,000 diesel engine vehicles had illegal defeat devices installed that impaired emission control systems and caused emissions to exceed EPA's standards, resulting in harmful air pollution.
Renewable energy is only one of the steps toward achieving the goals set by the Paris climate deal. We take a trip around North America to explore other ways of keeping carbon out of the atmosphere.
NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Todd Halihan, a professor in the school of geology at Oklahoma State, about how Oklahoma has now surpassed California for seismic activity.