Environment

Environment

Enhanced geothermal startup Fervo Energy has raised $462 million to complete its first large-scale power plant and begin development on several others as it races to provide electricity to a power-hungry grid. The new funds will help the company continue work on its 500-megawatt Cape Station power plant in Utah while starting development on several others, Sara Jewett, senior vice president of strategy at Fervo, told TechCrunch.

Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture. The health burden from phthalates, bisphenols, pesticides and Pfas forever chemicals amounts to up to $2.2tn a year roughly as much as the profits of the world's 100 largest publicly listed companies, according to the report published on Wednesday.

Once the drone went up and I got a top-down look, it was just like ok, this thing is next level big'. I was going higher and higher and higher just to figure out where this thing ended and then I was looking at this thing going there's without a doubt 100 sharks in here, he said. [The sharks] were so close. We're talking knee-high water and they were coming right in and flapping around the bait ball, he said.

Since 2021, at least 6 million policy holders across the country have seen rate hikes to their property insurance policies, according to a new report from environmental advocacy group Climate Power. Insurers have also canceled at least 1.4 million policies in that time. One big reason is the worsening climate crisis, which is driving more and more instances of extreme weather. Inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain issues are also factors, as they drive up the costs to rebuild a home.

The research by the non-profit group Material Focus found about 1.7bn was spent last year on Christmas lighting, including 39m sets of fairy lights. Consumers bought a further 28m light-up items such as garlands, wreaths, stars and snow globes, along with 23m light-up figures and characters and 16m pre-lit Christmas trees.

Save the Elephants said he was instrumental in exposing the ivory poaching crisis and documenting the destruction of over half of Africa's elephants in a single decade, leading up to a crucial intergovernmental decision to ban the international trade in ivory in 1989. Whether sitting quietly among elephants, poring over maps of their movements, or circling above a herd in his beloved aircraft, that glint in his eye was there, the group's CEO Frank Pope said.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported data up to November 2025 that show this year has been 1.48 degrees C above the average from 1850 to 1900. That's right around the target set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement, under which countries pledged to limit warming to below 1.5 degrees C and well below 2 degrees C. Despite 2024's record-setting temperatures and 2025's proximity to the 1.5-degrees-C threshold, scientists must take into account many years of data before they can say with certainty that the Paris Agreement's target has been breached.

As someone who can demolish a sushi platter in minutes, I've always felt a pang of guilt watching those tiny plastic fish pile up on my plate. Sustainable design studio Heliograf clearly felt the same way. After five years of development, they've launched Holy Carp!, the world's first home compostable soy sauce dropper that doesn't make you choose between convenience and conscience.

Perched at the Osaka Health Pavilion during Expo 2025, a translucent dome hums with life. Inside, tomatoes ripen above brackish water while pufferfish swim below, their waste feeding the plants that clean their home. This is "Inochi no Izumi," or "Source of Life," a 21-foot-high sphere that reimagines how cities might feed themselves. The dome's genius lies in its vertical arrangement. Four water compartments form the base: seawater, brackish water, and two freshwater tanks.

The draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR/EIS) will be available for public comment from December 5, 2025 through February 3, 2026 - a required step under both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To read the full review, for details on how to submit a comment, or for information on the four public hearings on the document, click here.

Southeast Asia is facing one of its worst storm seasons on record, as thousands of people have died or are missing across Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Another storm is currently forming in the Philippine Sea. But while governments are promising to rebuild, it is not clear how they can afford to do so every year as the storm seasons get worse.

San Jose residents have been clamoring for a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers for years, complaining about their noise and pollution. In response, the City Council began reviewing a proposal to encourage the use of electric leaf blowers through a subsidy program. The city is moving forward with a green subsidy more than a year and a half later - but it won't be for electric leaf blowers. Instead, councilmembers unanimously approved a $100,000 program Tuesday to incentivize local contractors to carry out home heat pump installations.

This holiday season, we can set a sustainable example for the little ones in our lives with gifts that consider our impact on the planet. The good news: eco-conscious toy options have expanded dramatically. According to a 2024 Toy Association survey, 45% of parents under 40 now consider a toy's sustainability credentials before purchasing. It's the most consumption-oriented time of the year.

The roundabout question Roundabouts are one of the many Planner vs. Engineer debates, and it happens to be a very important issue where emotions cloud good judgment. As much as I criticize the engineering profession, they are generally correct on this one. But that wasn't always the case. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the status quo transportation engineering community believed wholeheartedly that roundabouts were not only good, but were silly, dangerous, would lead

Storm Bram will bring very strong to gale force southerly winds with the strongest winds along the coast. All counties will see very strong and gusty winds coming into place at 3am tonight until 9pm tomorrow. A Status Orange Wind warning will be in place for counties Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Wexford from 7am tomorrow until 3pm. While another Status Orange Wind Warning will be in place for counties Clare, Limerick, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo from 10am to 6pm.

Americans are facing the snowiest winter in five years as experts say a frigid December will lay the foundation for a cold couple of months. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) meteorologist and climate scientist Judah Cohen spoke to the Daily Mail about his predictions for the 2025-2026 winter season based on his comprehensive AI weather models. And it looks like December will give Americans a brutal introduction into the winter ahead.

Hillcrest Park opens at dawn and closes at 10 p.m., but for me, it has never been just a set of hours on a sign. I have walked this park in every light and season. Morning walks before the neighborhood stirs. Afternoon strolls when working from home. Evening circuits after dinner on weekdays. Weekend doubles, morning and evening both. And those in-between moments when restlessness or boredom sends me out the door once more. I know this place intimately.

(Image credit: Getty Images) Floating solar panels are a growing trend around the world, and the UK seems to be cottoning on to their potential. The government has just approved the largest floating solar panel project in Barrow in an attempt to generate cheap energy. The project promises to solve one of the biggest problems with large-scale solar projects, the amount of land that they take up, meaning solar panels could become even more viable across the UK.

"We want to identify what a monarch's overwintering path looks like," said Ashley Fisher of the Xerces Society, which works on the conservation of insects and other invertebrates.