Environment
Trump is wielding the power of the state to back critical mineral companies. These are the possible next targets
The Trump administration needs to strike multiple deals with U.S. miners to secure the nation’s supply chain against China, said Mark Chalmers, CEO of Energy Fuels, a miner focused on uranium and rare earth minerals. The Pentagon decision to take an equity stake in MP Materials, the largest U.S. rare earth miner, in July and […]
Read More
Making OpenAI and Nvidia’s giant AI project a reality will take a lot of foreign-made parts
Close-up of the modern data center and cabinets. Comezora | Moment | Getty Images Supply chain data into the OpenAI and Nvidia $100 billion investment commitment this week shines a glaring light on the United States’ heavy reliance on foreign suppliers for components to complete the projects. Brandon Daniels, CEO of AI-powered risk and supply […]
Read More
The U.S.’ deep-sea mining plans could hurt global rules-based order and benefit China, policy experts warn
The U.S. is preparing to mine the sea floor for critical minerals to reduce its dependence on China. But doing so in international waters could undermine a global rules-based order and indirectly benefit Beijing, policy experts warn. Efforts to create international guidelines on seabed mining through the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a U.N. regulator, have […]
Read More
Solar executives warn that Trump attack on renewables will lead to power crunch that spikes electricity prices
Witthaya Prasongsin | Moment | Getty Images President Donald Trump’s attack on solar and wind projects threatens to raise energy prices for consumers and undermine a stretched electric grid that’s already straining to meet rapidly growing demand, renewable energy executives warn. Trump has long said wind power turbines are unattractive and endanger birds, and that […]
Read More
Microplastics are everywhere. Here’s why that matters to big oil
Microplastics are increasingly being found in our bodies and food supply. They are defined as pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters — about the size of a pencil eraser. But they can also be much smaller, like the size of a virus particle or a strand of DNA. Petrochemicals, the building blocks of plastic, […]
Read More
This Asian data center hub is quietly grappling with the massive costs of AI: energy and water
The artificial intelligence boom has brought with it hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and promises of economic growth . But the infrastructure required is demanding massive amounts of energy and resources. One lesser-known example of that dilemma can be found in the southern tip of Malaysia, which has quietly become one of Southeast […]
Read More
Power cuts and blackouts: Why can’t Iraq keep the lights on?
Iraq was plunged into a nationwide blackout earlier this week, as a temperature surge to 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50° Celcius) — and subsequent spiking demand for electricity — pushed the country’s faltering power grid to the breaking point. For a country that has seen as much conflict and instability as Iraq, this could come as […]
Read More
Why a landmark ruling from the world’s top court puts financial markets on notice
Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu (C) delivers a speech as he attends a demonstration ahead of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) session tasked with issuing the first Advisory Opinion (AO) on States’ legal obligations to address climate change, in The Hague on July 23, 2025. John Thys | Afp | Getty Images Gripped […]
Read More
This startup wants the $80-billion U.S. railroad industry to switch from diesel to batteries
Voltify plans to build a series of energy microgrids to power its locomotive batteries, as shown in this computer-generated image. Voltify Daphna Langer has a bold ambition: To decarbonize the rail industry in less than a decade. How? By convincing U.S. freight railroad companies to switch from diesel power to rechargeable batteries — part of […]
Read More
SpaceX rival AST SpaceMobile prepares to deploy nearly five dozen satellites
Jaque Silva | Lightrocket | Getty Images Satellite designer AST SpaceMobile said it’s preparing to deploy nearly five dozen satellites to power cellular-based broadband networks, a move that establishes the company as a rival to Elon Musk’s dominant SpaceX. The company, based in Texas, released its second-quarter earnings after the bell on Monday, reporting that […]
Read More