12 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Environment

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
What are Trump’s environmental numbers?

He says he had the best. He tried to roll back more than 100 environmental protections while in office. Is that what he’s bragging about in the debate?

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
NOAA’s latest weather satellite launched.

The GOES-U satellite launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday.

It’s one of four National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites equipped with powerful new tools to monitor weather in space and on Earth. They’ll provide advanced imagery to inform forecasts, map lightning activity in real time, and detect solar flares.

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
AI makes Google Search gobble up more energy and water.

Data centers already use a lot of water and electricity, and adding AI overviews to Google Search only makes those problems bigger.

AI uses “orders of magnitude more energy” than traditional search engines, Hugging Face researcher Sasha Luccioni tells Scientific American.

Correction: Apple’s AI emoji are generated on device, not in data centers.

How AI could change EV chargingHow AI could change EV charging
Justine Calma
Justine Calma
Justine Calma
The US has new guidelines for carbon offsets.

Offsets are supposed to allow companies and consumers to cancel out some of their CO2 emissions — but are notorious for failing. Plant a tree to capture carbon, for example, and that tree could eventually release all the CO2 if it doesn’t survive for hundreds of years.

The Biden administration laid out new guidelines today aimed at making offsets work, although many environmental advocates are still skeptical.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
PSA: Don’t compost your ‘biodegradable’ teabags.

Some teabags made with plastic alternatives (typically within the sealed edges) can potentially harm terrestrial species and don’t degrade in soil, according to a new study from the University of Plymouth.

If you’re in doubt, Which recommends ripping used teabags open to compost the leaves, and bin the bag separately. Otherwise, there’s always loose leaf...

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
Norfolk Southern agreed to pay $310 million for the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The railway company reached a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency that includes $235 million for cleanup, $30 million to monitor water quality, $25 million for a community health program, and a $15 million civil penalty. Norfolk Southern has also agreed to a $600 million settlement with residents after the disaster released hazardous chemicals including carcinogen vinyl chloride.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Tornadoes in Iowa took down several wind turbines.

KCCI reporter Zane Satre saw at least three 250-foot towers snapped by tornadoes, leaving some buckled and on fire. The Des Moines Register reports more than 35,000 people are without power, and the National Weather Service has a tornado watch in effect across most of the state until 9PM CT.

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
The US doesn’t have enough power lines.

AI, EVs, and Joe Biden’s push for domestic manufacturing are putting more pressure on aging power grids. The nation also needs double the transmission capacity to meet Biden’s goal of 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity.

To get more transmission lines up, FERC just overhauled rules for new projects — including a mandate that grid operators start anticipating energy needs at least 20 years in advance.

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
“Why are they making us the dumping ground for the rest of the country?”

More residents across the US are asking that question about carbon dioxide, The Washington Post reports, as technologies that capture CO2 from smokestacks become more popular with companies that want to claim they’re fighting climate change. All that captured carbon dioxide has to go somewhere, and concerns are growing about the safety of new CO2 pipelines and underground storage wells.

Umar Shakir
Umar Shakir
Environmental protestors rush Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory.

The group of 800 demonstrators accused Tesla of environmental harm, citing mining lithium for EV batteries. The group is said to want to stop the factory’s expansion. CEO Elon Musk said it’s “fishy,” and called them dumb. In March, the factory shut down temporarily after an arson attack.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Twisters’ latest trailer is an earth, wind & fire reunion of sorts.

Universal could have pulled off one of the funniest bits possible by releasing Twisters — a movie about swirling vortexes of earth, wind, and fire — on September 21st. But film’s latest trailer is a reminder that studios hate fun, and Twisters is out July 19th.