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Here’s how the EPA might be different under Andrew Wheeler

Jul 30, 2018
The acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency appears to be approaching his job differently than his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, at least in the early going. Andrew Wheeler is likely to still advance President Donald Trump’s push to dispense of industry regulations, but observers say he’s doing it in a more careful way compared to […]
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler waits to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee August 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. Wheeler testified during the committee's hearing titled 'Examining EPA's Agenda: Protecting the Environment and Allowing America's Economy to Grow.'
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Ten years later, what we learned from WALL-E

“It's a wicked satire of American consumerism and of environmental degradation, but it also has this cheerful little character," according to sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson.
Wall-E arrives at the world premiere of Disney-Pixar's film Wall-E held at the Greek Theater on June 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. 
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

How storm chasers turn tornadoes into tourist attractions

Jun 28, 2018
A growing industry is offering a front row seat to extreme weather.
Dylan Johnson for Marketplace

Critics fear EPA changes will give big industry more sway over science

Mar 29, 2018
Under the new policy, academic study authors will have to share their raw data, leaving it vulnerable to distortion, some worry.
“Data needs to be transparent and objective for the American people to consume,” says Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Above, Pruitt answers questions at a White House briefing in June.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

China is drowning in a sea of cardboard — so is the U.S.

Online shopping comes with a lot of packaging, and that packaging is becoming a problem.
Chinese laborers load cardboard onto a truck to be recycled in the Dong Xiao Kou village in Beijing in 2014.
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Entrepreneurs starting to see opportunities in other people's food scraps

Feb 12, 2018
The Environmental Protection Agency is looking to keep food waste out of landfills. One entrepreneur in rural New Hampshire is pinning her business to that goal.
Jessica Saturley-Hall, founder of the Upper Valley Compost Company, picks up a bucket full of food scraps in Grantham, New Hampshire. 
Britta Greene/Marketplace

Unusual freezing weather means extra costs for Southern states

Jan 4, 2018
A powerful winter storm — or bomb cyclone — is expected to engulf the East Coast today, dumping feet of snow in New England and carrying winds up to 50 miles an hour. But it’s not just the usual suspects in the Northeast who are feeling the effects of this winter weather — Southern states […]

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How the Jones Act complicates offshore wind power

Nov 23, 2017
Specialized European ships are designed specifically to install wind turbines out in the ocean, but they can’t dock in any U.S. waters to get the parts for the turbines. That’s due to the Jones Act, and it makes installing offshore wind power more expensive for the foreseeable future. Click the audio player above to hear […]

New leaders want to add their states to carbon trading program

Nov 9, 2017
As the United Nations climate change talks continue in Germany, the U.S. could see an increase in commitments to the cause — from states, not federal programs. The governors-elect of Virginia and New Jersey want to add their states to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The cap-and-trade program includes nine states already, and the addition […]

EPA head shifts makeup of panel science advisers

Nov 1, 2017
Pruitt is installing new science advisors who have a history of being more industry friendly.