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Meta

Valerie Volcovici
Meta's new under-construction data center in Middleton Township, Ohio, as seen from a drone on May 13.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jun 17, 2026
Fast-tracked power plants fuel AI boom, with little public scrutiny
Residents get little notice about the plants that affecting their air quality and the climate.
Beth Gutzler views air quality data on the AirWatchSTL website on a laptop in Florissant, Missouri, in February. Last year, metro St. Louis residents had "good" air to breathe during only one-third of the days of the year.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 10, 2026
How the AI boom derailed clean?air efforts in one of America¡¯s most polluted cities
Trump¡¯s environmental rollbacks in support of AI mark ?a reversal in U.S. policy and have proven painful for America¡¯s clean air activists.
The coal industry celebrated the announced U.S. reversal on climate action, saying it would help stave off retirements of aging coal-fired power plants.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 13, 2026
Trump revokes basis of U.S. climate regulation and ends vehicle emission standards
It is the most sweeping climate policy rollback to date, after a string of regulatory cuts and other moves intended to unfetter fossil fuel development.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Dec 4, 2025
Multilateralism works even as U.S., fossil fuel industry oppose climate action, U.N. chief says
The recent COP30 summit pushed through a compromise climate deal that supports poor nations coping with global warming but omitted any mention of the fossil fuels driving it.
Attendees walk in front of the China Pavilion during the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil, on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / ANALYSIS
Nov 16, 2025
China finds bigger role as U.S. sidesteps Brazil climate summit
China¡¯s transformation to a more central player seeking the world¡¯s attention reflects a shift in the fight against global warming.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends the General Plenary of Leaders in the framework of the COP30 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para State, Brazil, on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 7, 2025
World leaders punch back at U.S. climate denial ahead of COP30 negotiations
Some said the absence of the United States from COP30 may free countries to discuss action without any one player dominating the outcome.
Oxfam activists wearing big head masks depicting world leaders protest to criticize the inadequacy of decisions made by the world¡¯s largest economies in combating the climate crisis, ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference COP30 in Belem, Brazil, on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 7, 2025
30 years of climate talks: Progress, pitfalls and a planet in peril
As leaders gather for the U.N. climate summit in Brazil this week, the data charting progress in the fight against global warming tells a sobering story.
Labor union members hold placards on the day of a rally in support of federal workers during a rush hour protest outside the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station in Washington on March 24.
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2025
U.S. government faces brain drain as 154,000 federal workers exit this week
The loss of expertise is making it harder for many agencies to carry out their work and serve the American public.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses members of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. At a climate summit hosted by Guterres on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 7%-10% from its peak by 2035.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 25, 2025
Beijing takes the lead with new climate plans amid Washington¡¯s denial
China¡¯s reduction target marked the first time the world¡¯s biggest emitter pledged a cut in emissions, rather than just limiting their growth.
A chicken stands in a garbage dump filled with plastic in Rodriguez, Rizal province, the Philippines, on Nov. 28, 2024.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 7, 2025
Trump administration memo urges countries to reject plastic production caps
The U.S. stance broadly aligns with the positions laid out by the global petrochemicals industry.
Activists stage a demonstration in front of the United Nations Offices in Geneva on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 5, 2025
Pressure from oil producers and U.S. threaten global pact on plastics pollution
Plastic production is set to triple by 2060 without intervention, choking oceans, harming human health and accelerating climate change, according to the OECD.
A man walks on a beach in Nice, France, amid a heavy rain storm. European governments are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2025
Europe is breaking its reliance on American science
Amid Trump¡¯s cuts, European governments are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 29, 2025
Trump administration targets scientists behind key climate assessment
Dismissal of nearly 400 contributors leaves the future of the U.S. National Climate Assessment in doubt under Trump¡¯s administration.
An LNG tanker is guided by tug boats in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on April 14, 2022. The European Union is looking at ways to make it easier for U.S. gas exports to comply with its methane emissions rules.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 21, 2025
EU explores tweaking methane rules for U.S. gas to help trade talks
The European Commission is looking at using flexibilities in how it applies the bloc¡¯s methane rules, which could benefit U.S. liquefied natural gas exporters, sources say.
A commercial fishing boat leaves the port in Point Judith, Rhode Island, on March 13, as cuts by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration imperil key fishing data and research.
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2025
Trump¡¯s regulatory freeze throws U.S. fishing industry into chaos
The freeze allowed overfishing of Atlantic bluefin tuna in waters off North Carolina.
Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw onstage during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 20.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
Musk¡¯s new ultimatum spurs fresh confusion among U.S. government workers
President Donald Trump said workers who did not respond would be ¡°sort of semi-fired,¡± adding to the uncertainty.
An oil pump jack. Big U.S. oil companies believe withdrawing from the Paris Agreement only limits Washington's ability to influence an ongoing global energy transition and exposes them to an uneven regulatory environment.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 23, 2025
Trump¡¯s climate withdrawal creates rare discord with Big Oil
A shift in the U.S. power industry away from coal has contributed to a roughly 17% decline in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions since 2007.
The Stratos direct air capture facility, a joint venture between Occidental Petroleum and asset manager BlackRock, in Ector County, Texas
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / ANALYSIS
Dec 14, 2024
Earthquakes and blowouts undermine case for carbon storage in Texas
Texas has seen surging interest from companies hoping to bury carbon dioxide in its oilfields.
INC-5 Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso (on screen) speaks during an open plenary session during the fifth session of the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) in Busan, South Korea, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 2, 2024
Countries fail to reach agreement in U.N. plastic talks
Countries remained far apart on the basic scope of a treaty and could agree only to postpone key decisions and resume talks at a later date.
Emissions rise from the Royal Dutch Shell Plc Norco Refinery in Norco, Louisiana, on June 12, 2020.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 27, 2024
How AI and cloud computing may delay the transition to clean energy
The pace of clean-energy deployments is moving too slowly to keep up with the new technology¡¯s demands.

Longform

Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.
The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan¡¯s culture of conformity

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