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News Articles: climate

Nodules containing valuable metals can be found scattered across the seabed in some parts of the ocean. Here, manganese nodules found off the Southeastern U.S. in 2019.

The U.S. takes a step toward allowing mining on the ocean floor, a fragile ecosystem

President Trump signed an order Thursday aimed at making it easier for companies to mine the ocean floor. Scientists and environmental groups say it could harm a fragile ecosystem.

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By:
  • Julia Simon
A precipitation monitor from the Southeast Regional Climate Center.

What lost funding for weather data centers could mean for Georgia, according to climatologists

Data housed by the Regional Climate Centers includes drought maps, air quality visualization and precipitation and temperature averages by state going back more than 100 years.

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A layer of smog lingers above downtown Los Angeles in 2024. Millions of Americans are still breathing in unhealthy air, despite long-term progress toward cleaning up many sources of pollution, according to the 2025 State of the Air report.

Air pollution still plagues nearly half of Americans. That does a number on our health

Despite improvements in air quality in past decades, 156 million Americans still breathe in too much soot or ozone, says the annual State of the Air report from the American Lung Association.

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By:
  • Alejandra Borunda
People gathered to protest the Trump administration during the 'Hands Off' protest on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on April 5, 2025.

Environmental groups say Trump administration violated their free-speech rights

A lawsuit alleges the Trump administration violated the free-speech rights of nonprofits and municipalities that have had federal funding for climate and environmental projects frozen or cancelled.

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By:
  • Michael Copley
Pope Francis greets Swedish teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg, right, during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 17, 2019.

Pope Francis focused on climate change as the planet continued to get hotter

Pope Francis called on the world and 1.4 billion Catholics to confront climate change. He brought attention to the issue but it's not clear he changed many minds.

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By:
  • Jeff Brady
The Trump administration is halting an offshore wind project in New York. Energy experts worry that the U.S. will fall behind other countries with booming offshore wind, like the United Kingdom.

A wind project is stalled in New York. Experts worry about impacts across the U.S.

The Trump administration halted the construction of a New York offshore wind project. Legal analysts say it has implications far beyond the wind industry.

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By:
  • Julia Simon and
  • Jeongyoon Han
Homes in the Yupik Eskimo Village of Quinhagak on the Yukon Delta in Alaska are threatened by shoreline erosion as climate change makes the planet warmer. More than 22 tribes and nonprofits in the U.S., including Alaska, have had millions of dollars in federal funds for infrastructure projects frozen. Some of those projects were meant to help address the impacts of climate change.

Federal funding freeze halts key infrastructure projects in tribal communities

Riverbank stabilization, lead and asbestos contamination are just some of the projects tribes planned to address before the Trump administration froze funds.

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By:
  • Nate Perez
Climate change activists carry signs as they march during a protest in Philadelphia in 2016. Earlier that year, U.S. prosecutors allege hackers began targeting prominent American climate activists in an effort to gather information to foil lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry over damage communities have faced from global warming.<br><br>

Exclusive: Climate activists were hacked. There was a link between victims and an alleged attacker

Prosecutors say the operation was aimed at gathering information to foil lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry over damage communities have faced from climate change.

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By:
  • Michael Copley
NOAA satellites captured an image of 2022's Hurricane Ian. Data from those satellites and other NOAA efforts feeds into hurricane forecasts, as well as efforts to understand weather, climate, and fisheries changes. A proposed budget for the agency would slash more than 25% of its funding.

Major budget cuts proposed for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The agency forecasts weather, manages fisheries, and researches the world's oceans, atmosphere, and climate. The proposed budget cuts would slash the climate work entirely.

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By:
  • Alejandra Borunda
A crane stacks turbine components at the New London State Pier Terminal. The offshore wind industry has generated millions of dollars for the city and local economy in recent years.

The Northeast bet big on offshore wind. Trump wants to halt the industry entirely

Northeast states have bet big on offshore wind to meet spiking power demand and drive economic growth. But the industry's future is much more uncertain under President Trump.

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By:
  • Miriam Wasser
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in March to protest Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts to the agency. The Trump administration continues to make major staffing and programming changes at the agency.

NOAA contracts are being reviewed one by one. It's throwing the agency into chaos

NOAA relies on hundreds of contracts to keep the agency running. The new commerce secretary is reviewing many of them individually, causing disruptions to many normal operations within the agency.

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By:
  • Alejandra Borunda
Suzie Hicks the Climate Chick and co-host Sprout are on a mission to inspire young children to learn about and take action on climate change.

This YouTube show explains climate change to the kids who have to live with it

Suzie Hicks the Climate Chick is an up-and-coming educator and TV host with a YouTube series tailored to kids ages 4 through 8.

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By:
  • Chloe Veltman
An activist protests against the Trump administration's plan to stop some federal grants and loans during a rally near the White House on January 28 in Washington, DC.

Rural leaders push Congress to unfreeze climate and environmental funds

Leaders from rural communities in eight states travelled to Washington, D.C., last week to urge lawmakers to preserve federal funding that's threatened by the Trump administration.

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By:
  • Michael Copley
A map from the science nonprofit Climate Central shows the state-by-state risk for severe flood vulnerability by population along the East, Gulf, and West Coasts.

Study: 1,000 square miles of Coastal Georgia land at risk of '100-year' flood by 2050

New research quantifies the threat posed by catastrophic flooding along Georgia's Atlantic coast, driven in part by rising sea levels.

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A Boston Dynamics robot "dog" inspects a vehicle body as part of quality control during a media tour at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Ellabell, Ga., on March 26. During the grand opening ceremony for the plant, which actually produced its first vehicle in October, company executives and Georgia politicians did not emphasize — or even mention — that the plant produces electric vehicles.

Hyundai's plans for its new Georgia plant reveal an industry hedging its bets on EVs

Hyundai just opened a high-tech auto plant in Georgia. Originally meant to just build EVs, it's expanding toward plug-in hybrids — a sign of bigger shifts in the auto industry.

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By:
  • Camila Domonoske