James and Bill Montivér had just finished boxing up their home on a steep road in Ketchikan, a fishing community turned cruise ship stop in southeast Alaska, when they heard a screech like a jet engine over the sounds of pouring rain. Bill, who was scrubbing the kitchen cabinets, screamed …
Read More »An Alarming Glimpse Into a Future of Historic Droughts
Electricity cuts across an entire nation. A capital rationing water. A mayor encouraging people to shower together to save precious drops. The world’s largest river system, the Amazon, which sustains some 30 million people across eight countries, is drying up. A record-breaking drought that is well into its second year …
Read More »Reinventing Concrete, the Ancient Roman Way
In June, the Italian Ministry of Culture announced the excavation of a new room, not yet open to the public, in the ruins of Pompeii. A few weeks later, a group of archaeologists gathered to marvel at it: walls covered with bright blue paint — an expensive pigment reserved for …
Read More »Big Sur Weighs Tourism Against Its Environmental Impact
The 70 miles of California coastline that makes up the unincorporated area of Big Sur has a storied, almost mystical allure, largely thanks to its staggering beauty. With redwood forests, stunning Pacific views, winding rivers and natural hot springs, the area has for decades attracted celebrities, artists and millions of …
Read More »Much of Ireland Is an Ecological Desert. Meet the Man Who Wants to Rewild It.
Is Ireland really all that green? Ecologically speaking, the answer is no, says Eoghan Daltun, a sculptor who restored a patch of native rainforest in the Beara Peninsula, on the country’s rugged southwestern coast. “Ireland really coasts on its reputation as the Emerald Isle,” Mr. Daltun said in a recent …
Read More »A ‘New Day’? Justices Step Back, Slightly, From an Aggressive Climate Stance.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court has taken an aggressive stance against many environmental rules in recent years, but three small victories for regulators this month have left some analysts wondering whether a shift is underway. The latest sign came on Wednesday, when the justices declined to block the Environmental Protection Agency …
Read More »Weather Experts Offer a Peek at This Winter’s Forecast
Pumpkins have turned a bit frosty this week. Autumn has quickly begun to feel more like winter in much of the United States, especially in the Northwest, where a powerful Pacific storm is expected to bring much colder temperatures and widespread mountain snow over the next few days. For some, …
Read More »The World’s Carbon Sinks Are on Fire
Forests not only serve as refuges from city life, but could also be among the last fortresses between a livable planet and an increasingly hostile one. Forests can pull carbon from the air and store it in roots and leaves, locking it out of the atmosphere. Through complex markets, nations …
Read More »Electric Vehicles May Be Struggling. G.M.’s Leader Is Still a Believer.
Electric vehicles have had a hard year. Sales have been disappointing. Former President Donald J. Trump has regularly disparaged them. And even many environmentally conscious car buyers have been choosing hybrids instead. Yet the chief executive of General Motors, Mary T. Barra, says the company is still committed to doing …
Read More »How Times Readers Made the Switch to Heat Pumps
Last month, I shared my story of switching to a heat pump and of how doing the right thing for the planet turned out, at least in my case, to be a frustrating experience as a consumer. Almost immediately, I was inundated with emails from readers eager to share their …
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