A Startup Wants to Power Data Centers With ‘Supercritical’ Carbon Dioxide

The technology could strap onto existing gas turbines and make them more efficient—but it wouldn’t do away with their emissions entirely.

Tiny Hairs That Help Corals Breathe May Malfunction in Warming Oceans

Several new studies have uncovered this long overlooked aspect of coral physiology that could be the key to the animals’ fate in a changing climate.

Residents Harmed by Oil Drilling May Soon Receive Reparations Under New California Law

While lawmakers iron out the details, advocates hope this approach could serve as a model for addressing histories of environmental hazards often concentrated in Black and low-income neighborhoods.

It Still Feels Like Summer in Parts of the US. Blame El Niño

Heat records are being shattered thanks to a boost from the natural climate pattern—and burning fossil fuels, of course.

Why It Seems Like Great White Sharks Are Overrunning Maine

While a bunch of sharks cruising the Maine coast may seem ominous, it’s actually a sign of a conservation success story.

AI Agents Are Thirsty for Power

Silicon Valley is shifting away from chatbot queries toward a future filled with resource-intensive agentic AI—and it’s driving the data center buildout.

You Don’t Have a Right to Safe Drinking Water, Trump-Appointed Judge Rules

And if your tap water is undrinkable, you have no “constitutional right to truthful information” about it.

August 2026 Was the Hottest Month Ever Recorded: Copernicus Data

While the strengthening El Niño helped boost temperatures, climate change is the main culprit for making August so hot.

Plastics Companies Are Writing Lesson Plans. What Could Go Wrong?

The science curriculum the industry is offering to schools casts plastics as safe, recyclable, and a source of good jobs. Critics say it’s propaganda.

Scientists Put Caterpillars in an Ultraquiet Chamber to Learn How They Hear Without Ears

The research could do more than help unlock the mystery of caterpillar hearing. It could also help make microphones better.