With so much going on in the world, Marketplace is here for you. Support public news for public good. Donate Today!

There's a conflict brewing in the world of B Corps

Feb 12, 2025
B Corps are companies that are certified to meet high standards for their treatment of workers, supply chains and the environment. But how high should those standards be?
ortolina/Flickr

The first wave energy project in the U.S. is coming to the port of LA. Here's how it works.

Feb 11, 2025
Unlike wind and solar, ocean waves are a potential source of always-on power.
The pilot project in the Port of Los Angeles will follow a similar project already online in Israel.
Courtesy Eco Wave Power

Bitcoin's latest surge is great for miners — not so much for the environment

Dec 5, 2024
The companies whose transactions create bitcoin do well when the currency is up, but need more energy to keep going.
A bitcoin mining plant in Niagara Falls, New York.
Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images

Funding for climate tech startups is waning. Much of it's moving to AI.

Nov 11, 2024
Investing in AI has been an easy pitch this year, while the capital-intensive nature of green energy startups has put off some funders.
Funding for startups focused on climate change has suffered a chill, partly because of the costs of building out solutions.
Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

Rising sea level will affect 2 million in U.S. by 2050, analysis finds

Jul 22, 2024
That puts at least 1,100 pieces of critical infrastructure at risk, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The homes on Broad Beach are wet with ocean spray during a January high tide in Malibu.
Courtesy Michael Quill

Automakers grapple with ethical questions around deep sea mining

Jun 3, 2024
GM is slated to take up the issue at its annual shareholder meeting.
"Deep sea mining itself is an industry that has a large number of potential risks; some of those are reputational risks," said Andy Whitmore of the nonprofit Deep Sea Mining Campaign.
Chris J. Ratcliffe for Greenpeace via Getty Images

In Barbuda, locals ask: Do the costs of luxury developments outweigh the benefits?

Jan 23, 2024
Luxury residences, a golf course and international airport have harmful environmental impacts, some locals argue. But they're also big job creators in a tourism-driven economy.
Above, an areal view of Dickenson Bay in Antigua and Barbuda. Tourism is hugely important to the island nation of and accounts for 60% of GDP.
cdwheatley/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Mexico's massive new Tren Maya rail network raises environmental concerns

Jan 8, 2024
The cost of Mexico's 1,500-kilometer train line has ballooned to more than $28 billion.
An aerial view of the construction of part of the Tren Maya in Uman, Mexico, in August.
Rodrigo Oropeza/AFP via Getty Images

The hefty costs of heavier cars

The trend of bigger, weightier vehicles — known as car bloat — has contributed to road fatalities and environmental contamination.
Over 80% of new vehicles these days are SUVs and pickup trucks, said David Zipper of the MIT Mobility Initiative. Bigger vehicles have bigger impacts on safety and the environment.
Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images

Midwest's pollution is spurring a reverse Great Migration

Dec 28, 2023
Thousands of Black families have left industrial cities like Detroit and Chicago due to environmental conditions. Many head to the South.
Adam Mahoney traveled through the Midwest visiting cities where blight and pollution are driving Black families away from the region.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images