United States

SCIENCE UNDER SIEGE: Behind the scenes at the EPA

Tuesday - Uncertainty, hostility and irrelevance are now part of daily life for scientists at the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Pence’s failed gas stations cost taxpayer $20M

Tuesday - The gas station chain that was owned by US Vice-President Mike Pence's family has left more than $20 million worth of environmental remediation costs for Indiana taxpayers.

Heatwave could be making Americans think

13 Jul 18 - Record-breaking high temperatures across much of North America appear to be shaping people’s thinking, a survey finds.

Six ways Andrew Wheeler could reshape the EPA

11 Jul 18 - Former US coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler inherits some important decisions from Scott Pruitt at the EPA, including on the Clean Power Plan, auto standards, methane and use of science.

Oil powerhouse shows way with wind technology

9 Jul 18 - The vast plains of US oil state Texas are home to more then 12,000 wind turbines, making it one of the world’s powerhouses for the technology.

Pruitt quits as head of US environment agency

6 Jul 18 - Scandal-hit Scott Pruitt has resigned as head of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Rising seas could cost $27 trillion a year by 2100

5 Jul 18 - The cost of rising seas could be $27 trillion a year globally in 80 years, with the oceans possibly nearing two metres above their present levels.

US state to sue oil companies over climate change

5 Jul 18 - Rhode Island has become the first US state to sue a group of oil companies over their role in causing dangerous climate change.

US judge rejects lawsuit against oil majors

28 Jun 18 - A US judge has thrown out a case brought against major oil companies on climate change.

SEA CHANGE: 'Florida is about to be wiped off the map'

28 Jun 18 - Sea level rises are not some distant threat; for many Americans they are very real. An extract from a chilling new book, Rising, details how the US coastline will be radically transformed in the...

US coastal property worth billions at risk

19 Jun 18 - More than 150,000 US homes and businesses could face frequent high-tide flooding within 15 years. That could double by 2045, a new report says.

Cities advance climate policies without saying so

12 Jun 18 - Leadership in addressing climate change in the United States has shifted away from the national capital Washington.

One Koch brother is calling it quits

8 Jun 18 - Billionaire industrialist David H. Koch is stepping away from his political and business interests because of declining health.

Hawaii signs to become carbon neutral by 2045

7 Jun 18 - Hawaii has set the most ambitious climate goal in the US by signing a bill to become carbon neutral by 2045.

Trump orders action to save power plants

6 Jun 18 - President Trump has ordered his energy secretary to take immediate action to stem US power plant closures, arguing that a decline in coal and nuclear electricity is putting the nation’s security at...

California strikes e-vehicle gold

6 Jun 18 - California has been given the go-ahead to expand electric vehicle infrastructure and rebate programmes with a total budget of more than $750 million.

Big US banks resume lending to coal companies

30 May 18 - An environmental group’s analysis shows the five largest United States banks have started lending to coal companies again now that they’re out of bankruptcy.

Changing climate might be killing off bees

28 May 18 - Beekeepers in the US have reported an increase in honeybee deaths over the past year, possibly the result of erratic weather patterns brought on by a changing climate.

EPA ‘secret science’ proposal alarms health experts

25 May 18 - The EPA this month could finalise a controversial rule to limit what scientific research the agency can use in writing US environmental regulations.