Inside Climate News
@insideclimatenews.org
Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonprofit, non-partisan newsroom dedicated to covering climate, energy and the environment. Our newsletters: http://bit.ly/3mcVORO
Pinned
Hi, Bluesky! 👋
We're Inside Climate News. We are a nonprofit, non-partisan newsroom dedicated to covering climate, energy and the environment.
Make sure to follow our starter pack to stay up-to-date with ICN's reporters and editors: go.bsky.app/Dp5kru3
We're Inside Climate News. We are a nonprofit, non-partisan newsroom dedicated to covering climate, energy and the environment.
Make sure to follow our starter pack to stay up-to-date with ICN's reporters and editors: go.bsky.app/Dp5kru3
Each year, winter brings smog season to Pakistan’s second-largest city. A healthy reading on the air quality index is 50 or less; in 2024, with record-breaking smog, Lahore’s AQI exceeded 1,000.
In Lahore’s Smog Season, This Gen Z Doctor Is Centering Climate Change - Inside Climate News
Dr. Farah Waseem has advocated for climate awareness since childhood. Now, it’s a matter of life and death for her patients in Pakistan.
insideclimatenews.org
January 3, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Each year, winter brings smog season to Pakistan’s second-largest city. A healthy reading on the air quality index is 50 or less; in 2024, with record-breaking smog, Lahore’s AQI exceeded 1,000.
One of New York City’s best flood defenses might just be a wetland.
Why New York City Is Spending Millions on ‘Bluebelts’ - Inside Climate News
New York City is expected to experience increasing rainfall over the next few decades, especially during cloudbursts—short, intense rainfall events. When rain falls, light showers can usually be handl...
insideclimatenews.org
January 2, 2026 at 6:21 PM
One of New York City’s best flood defenses might just be a wetland.
25 years of Everglades restoration: The historic effort was designed to replenish South Florida’s drinking water supply. Now it may help save the region from climate change.
Now in its 25th Year, a Historic Effort to Save the Everglades Evolves as the Climate Warms - Inside Climate News
Everglades restoration was designed to replenish the drinking water supply in one of the fast-growing parts of the nation. The same effort may help save South Florida from climate change.
insideclimatenews.org
January 1, 2026 at 7:29 PM
25 years of Everglades restoration: The historic effort was designed to replenish South Florida’s drinking water supply. Now it may help save the region from climate change.
The Valley Fire torched Idaho’s Lucky Peak in the fall of 2024. Bird researchers in the state are channeling their grief into a study of how avians respond to climate-driven blazes.
An Idaho Bird Research Station Rises From the Ashes of a Wildfire - Inside Climate News
The Valley Fire torched Lucky Peak in the fall of 2024. Bird researchers there are channeling their grief into a study of how avians respond to climate-driven blazes.
insideclimatenews.org
December 31, 2025 at 10:31 PM
The Valley Fire torched Idaho’s Lucky Peak in the fall of 2024. Bird researchers in the state are channeling their grief into a study of how avians respond to climate-driven blazes.
The Trump administration is moving to narrow which wetlands qualify for federal protection. But New Jersey’s stricter legal framework shows how states can fight back.
As Trump Rolls Back Protections For Wetlands, New Jersey Maintains a Higher Standard - Inside Climate News
The Trump administration is moving to narrow which wetlands qualify for federal protection. But New Jersey’s stricter legal framework shows how states can fight back.
insideclimatenews.org
December 31, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The Trump administration is moving to narrow which wetlands qualify for federal protection. But New Jersey’s stricter legal framework shows how states can fight back.
Michigan has been ahead of the curve when it comes to testing for PFAS and mitigating the issue in municipal water, but 2.6 million residents get their water from private wells—leaving large gaps in the state’s ability to mitigate contamination.
Michigan’s Other Water Crisis: PFAS’s Prevalence in Private Wells - Inside Climate News
Seeking peace and quiet amid hectic careers, Sandy Wynn-Stelt and her husband Joel moved to Kent County, Michigan, in 1992. They picked out a home surrounded by woods and across from a Christmas tree ...
insideclimatenews.org
December 30, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Michigan has been ahead of the curve when it comes to testing for PFAS and mitigating the issue in municipal water, but 2.6 million residents get their water from private wells—leaving large gaps in the state’s ability to mitigate contamination.
As its polluting coal ash ponds remain in groundwater, Alabama Power has doubled down on fossil fuel energy investments.
How Alabama Power Has Left the ‘American Amazon’ at Risk - Inside Climate News
As its polluting coal ash ponds remain in groundwater, Alabama Power has doubled down on fossil fuel energy investments.
insideclimatenews.org
December 30, 2025 at 12:58 AM
As its polluting coal ash ponds remain in groundwater, Alabama Power has doubled down on fossil fuel energy investments.
As a member of the folk band GoldenOak, Zak Kendall draws on his background in ecology and his close attention to how climate change is reshaping daily life in Maine.
Maine Folk Band GoldenOak Finds Its Voice in a Warming World - Inside Climate News
The musicians of GoldenOak turns floods, forest loss and climate anxiety into folk songs rooted in Maine and shaped by activism.
insideclimatenews.org
December 29, 2025 at 5:13 PM
As a member of the folk band GoldenOak, Zak Kendall draws on his background in ecology and his close attention to how climate change is reshaping daily life in Maine.
This past year had a combination of policy fiascos, natural disasters and a steady march toward a future that is too hot. Here are the stories we tracked in 2025.
The Year in Climate: Attacks on Science, the Start of Trump’s Second Term and Surging Electricity Demand Foreshadow a Future Filled with Uncertainty - Inside Climate News
Global inaction on fossil fuel and plastic treaties, the dismantling of federal agencies and regulations and the rapid rise of data centers were just a few of the consequential stories that Inside Cli...
insideclimatenews.org
December 28, 2025 at 5:41 PM
This past year had a combination of policy fiascos, natural disasters and a steady march toward a future that is too hot. Here are the stories we tracked in 2025.
They won a federal grant from a program one policy leader described as “life-changing.” Then it was terminated. How are Chicago community groups picking up the pieces?
After a Hard Year for Environmental Justice, Chicago Communities Are Picking Up the Pieces - Inside Climate News
When the EPA abruptly terminated “Community Change” grants, the impacts rippled across the country. Chicago groups that won and then lost one of those grants are still feeling the impacts.
insideclimatenews.org
December 27, 2025 at 8:35 PM
They won a federal grant from a program one policy leader described as “life-changing.” Then it was terminated. How are Chicago community groups picking up the pieces?
When his “segregation forever” political strategy was no longer viable, four-term Alabama governor George Wallace needed a new target for his brand of populist demagoguery. He found it in Alabama Power.
How George Wallace and Bull Connor Set the Stage for Alabama’s Sky-High Electric Rates - Inside Climate News
After his notorious stand in the schoolhouse door, Wallace needed a new target. He found it in Alabama Power.
insideclimatenews.org
December 26, 2025 at 9:56 PM
When his “segregation forever” political strategy was no longer viable, four-term Alabama governor George Wallace needed a new target for his brand of populist demagoguery. He found it in Alabama Power.
The last 10 global climate summits have played out on vastly different stages: from the hopeful consensus of the Paris Agreement through a subsequent pandemic shock, petrostate spectacles and a hoped-for reckoning with environmental justice in the Amazon.
Scenes From an Unfolding Climate Drama - Inside Climate News
ICN international climate policy reporter Bob Berwyn reviews the past decade of the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
insideclimatenews.org
December 26, 2025 at 6:59 PM
The last 10 global climate summits have played out on vastly different stages: from the hopeful consensus of the Paris Agreement through a subsequent pandemic shock, petrostate spectacles and a hoped-for reckoning with environmental justice in the Amazon.
In a state beset by sea level rise and flooding, the Blue Acres program has bought out and demolished 1,200 properties that were repeatedly inundated, turning the properties into buffer zones and open spaces.
A New Jersey Buyout Program for Flood-Prone Homes Is a National Model - Inside Climate News
In a state beset by sea level rise and flooding, the Blue Acres program has bought out and demolished 1,200 properties that were repeatedly inundated, turning the properties into buffer zones and open...
insideclimatenews.org
December 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM
In a state beset by sea level rise and flooding, the Blue Acres program has bought out and demolished 1,200 properties that were repeatedly inundated, turning the properties into buffer zones and open spaces.
Weather disasters are shared experiences in the Maine foothills and communities are preparing for a wetter, warmer future.
Nonprofit Center Works with Rural Maine Towns to Prepare for and Protect Against Extreme Weather - Inside Climate News
Weather disasters are shared experiences in the Maine foothills and communities are preparing for a wetter, warmer future.
insideclimatenews.org
December 25, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Weather disasters are shared experiences in the Maine foothills and communities are preparing for a wetter, warmer future.
An Illinois effort aims to help water-focused startup companies. One uses bubbles with beneficial microbes to clean water. Another is working to prevent lead contamination.
In the Great Lakes Region, a Push to Grow Water-Focused Startups Amid Federal Funding Uncertainty - Inside Climate News
Technology from Chicago and around the world promises to clean up water. An effort in Illinois is trying to speed it to market while navigating new federal funding challenges.
insideclimatenews.org
December 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
An Illinois effort aims to help water-focused startup companies. One uses bubbles with beneficial microbes to clean water. Another is working to prevent lead contamination.
As power-guzzling data centers proliferate across the country and drive electricity prices up, batteries could be a part of the solution.
Illinois Is Going All In on Battery Storage. What Will That Mean? - Inside Climate News
As power-guzzling data centers proliferate across the country and drive electricity prices up, batteries could be a part of the solution.
insideclimatenews.org
December 24, 2025 at 12:09 AM
As power-guzzling data centers proliferate across the country and drive electricity prices up, batteries could be a part of the solution.
Flanked by a chemical plant and an oil rig construction yard, the site at Donnel Point in Texas may be the last of its kind on this stretch of coastline, now occupied by petrochemical industries.
Indigenous Groups Fight to Save Rediscovered Settlement Site on an Industrial Waterfront in Texas - Inside Climate News
Flanked by a chemical plant and an oil rig construction yard, the site at Donnel Point may be the last of its kind on this stretch of coastline, now occupied by petrochemical industries.
insideclimatenews.org
December 23, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Flanked by a chemical plant and an oil rig construction yard, the site at Donnel Point in Texas may be the last of its kind on this stretch of coastline, now occupied by petrochemical industries.
Both grizzly bear protections and the rule banning new roads in certain forests are in the crosshairs of the second Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
Could Rescinding The Roadless Rule Make It Harder To Delist Yellowstone Grizzlies? - Inside Climate News
The rule banning new roads in some forests protects prime bear habitat and was part of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s justification for its failed attempt to delist grizzlies in 2017.
insideclimatenews.org
December 22, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Both grizzly bear protections and the rule banning new roads in certain forests are in the crosshairs of the second Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
After decades of coal mining destroyed Pennsylvania’s waterways, fracking waste is adding a new kind of pollution.
The ‘Toxic Cocktail’ Brewing in Pennsylvania’s Waterways - Inside Climate News
Pennsylvania is still cleaning up decades’ worth of coal mining pollution. Now it must also contend with millions of tons of fracking waste, some of it radioactive.
insideclimatenews.org
December 22, 2025 at 2:15 AM
After decades of coal mining destroyed Pennsylvania’s waterways, fracking waste is adding a new kind of pollution.
Many of the world’s most biodiverse countries are also deeply in debt. The world’s largest nation-state creditor could hold the keys to a solution. Will China step up?
Countries Want Debt Relief for Conservation. Is China Ready to Play a Role? - Inside Climate News
“Debt-for-nature” swaps are helping some lower-income countries increase conservation. The world’s largest nation-state creditor has the leverage for deals—if it chooses to use it.
insideclimatenews.org
December 21, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Many of the world’s most biodiverse countries are also deeply in debt. The world’s largest nation-state creditor could hold the keys to a solution. Will China step up?
Lawmakers face a critical choice as they consider EPA’s new budget: protect Americans from environmental harms or leave them without a watchdog when pollution or chemical accidents occur.
Trump’s EPA Focus: Delay, Rescind, Dismantle Environmental and Health Protections - Inside Climate News
Over the past year, environmental experts who have dedicated their lives to public service have watched the partisan, unilateral destruction of the agency they once helped run. “What’s happening at th...
insideclimatenews.org
December 20, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Lawmakers face a critical choice as they consider EPA’s new budget: protect Americans from environmental harms or leave them without a watchdog when pollution or chemical accidents occur.
As the volume of fracking waste being produced in Pennsylvania continues to grow, insiders say the state could be doing more to protect the public and environment from radioactivity.
Twenty Years Into Fracking, Pennsylvania Has Yet to Reckon With Its Radioactive Waste - Inside Climate News
Former government officials say the state isn’t doing enough to regulate fracking waste, even as new research shows it’s far more radioactive than previously known.
insideclimatenews.org
December 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
As the volume of fracking waste being produced in Pennsylvania continues to grow, insiders say the state could be doing more to protect the public and environment from radioactivity.
President Trump’s political feud with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and the White House budget office’s drive to end climate research have put the National Center for Atmospheric Research at risk.
NCAR, Major Climate Research Center, Targeted for Closure in Trump Dispute with Colorado - Inside Climate News
The president’s political feud and his budget chief’s drive to end climate research have put the National Center for Atmospheric Research at risk.
insideclimatenews.org
December 19, 2025 at 11:11 PM
President Trump’s political feud with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and the White House budget office’s drive to end climate research have put the National Center for Atmospheric Research at risk.
What happens to oil and gas waste in Pennsylvania, and how much is being produced? Because there is no national regulation of this waste and a patchwork of oversight by states, it’s impossible to say.
Tracking Oil and Gas Waste in Pennsylvania Is Still a ‘Logistical Mess’ - Inside Climate News
More than a decade after regulators promised to improve reporting standards for this waste, an Inside Climate News investigation found huge discrepancies in state records.
insideclimatenews.org
December 19, 2025 at 5:54 PM
What happens to oil and gas waste in Pennsylvania, and how much is being produced? Because there is no national regulation of this waste and a patchwork of oversight by states, it’s impossible to say.
New research shows that rooftop solar shifts costs to non-solar customers, while EVs help reduce overall costs.
How Do Rooftop Solar and EVs Affect Electricity Costs for Everyone Else? Here’s a New Estimate - Inside Climate News
Researchers calculated whether solar contributes to an increase in costs for non-adopting consumers, and, if so, by how much.
insideclimatenews.org
December 18, 2025 at 10:49 PM
New research shows that rooftop solar shifts costs to non-solar customers, while EVs help reduce overall costs.