Shell and BP are considering a historic merger that could change the oil sector. Negotiations could create a global energy giant. Find out more.

Editor’s Note: This post is from our data newsletter, the Rural Index, headed by Sarah Melotte, the Daily Yonder’s data reporter. Subscribe to get a

The Trump administration is finally going to spend a decent chunk of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds—but it’s going to be used to build an immigration detention center in Florida. An

Ecotourism is often hailed as a sustainable alternative to traditional travel—an opportunity to explore unique environments while supporting local communities and conservation efforts. Yet beneath its green image lies a more complex and often troubling reality. When poorly managed, ecotourism can inflict more harm than good, undermining the very ideals it seeks to uphold.

The ecotourism industry has emerged as one of the fastest-expanding sectors within global travel. According to the Global Ecotourism Network, in 2023, eco-travel accounted for an estimated 20 percent of the international tourism market, with projections indicating continued double-digit annual growth. In 2023 alone, the global ecotourism market was valued at over $200 billion. Economic predictions estimate that the market could reach between $759 billion by 2032 and $945 billion by 2034.

Despite this rapid growth and economic promise, ecotourism enterprises have faced significant criticism from conservationists and researchers.

MASHPEE, MA – Potentially toxic algae blooms have been identified at Mashpee and Harwich ponds, triggering warnings for visitors.  The Association to Preserve Cape Cod’s monitoring pro…

SANDWICH – The Heritage Museum & Gardens in Sandwich this past week celebrated the grand opening of its new Barbey Family Welcome Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by communi…

Environmental scientists and conservationists have been slow to embrace artificial intelligence tools, in large part because of the enormous amount of electricity the technology demands.  But that, some say, is slowly changing as the potential benefits of AI become clearer. “I’m not a huge AI fan. If I can avoid it, I do, because I […]

BOSTON – A federal judge in Massachusetts said Wednesday he plans to deny a motion by the Trump administration to dismiss a lawsuit over its blocking of wind energy projects, siding with a co…

I’m visiting family in Pensacola this week, and I noticed that the local news has been focused on feces. I don’t mean they’re cracking lots of poop jokes like SpongeBob SquarePants (“Oh, POOP, you never let us down.”) I mean they’ve been doing Very Serious Stories on how persistent sewage leaks are driving people in […]

Despite touting ambitious goals of making America healthier, the Trump administration on Monday revealed in court documents that it is backpedaling on a ban on cancer-causing asbestos.

Last year, under the Biden administration, the Environmental Protection Agency took a long-awaited step to ban the last type of asbestos still used in the US—chrysotile asbestos, aka "white asbestos." While use of chrysotile asbestos was on the decline, the dangerous mineral has lingered in various gaskets, brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes and linings, other vehicle friction products, and some diaphragms used to make sodium hydroxide and chlorine.

With the ban, the US joined over 50 other countries around the world that had already banned its use due to health risks. Generally, asbestos is known to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, and laryngeal cancer. Asbestos exposure is linked to more than 40,000 deaths in the US alone each year, the EPA noted at the time.

Chemical manufacturing is an energy-intensive industry. A team of chemists is designing a technique that could power the necessary reactions with sunlight or LEDs.

So far, the conflict between Israel and Iran hasn’t caused oil prices to spike too high, but economists are watching.

Climate Change Committee says current targets could be met provided country takes ‘steps forward’ to achieve them

Gideon Lewis-Kraus on “Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers,”by Caroline Fraser, which argues that lead poisoning might have created a generation of serial killers.

Watch Cape Cod Blue Economy Foundation Intern, William Penni, as he explores the region's efforts to combat climate change. Hear about his journey of learning from local experts and how he’s preparing to shape his future career in environmental law.

The ceasefire between Israel and Iran seems like it’s holding, and oil prices have come way down over the past couple of days. Brent Crude fell by nearly 10% on Monday, and it’s spent Tuesday hovering below $67 a barrel.

But the cost of moving that oil around has been moving in the opposite direction. From Singapore to New York, the folks who buy and sell oil are betting Iran will not close the strait of Hormuz, and oil prices show it.

“You’re pretty much right where you were the day before Israel attacked a couple weeks ago,” said Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The cost of moving that oil around? 

The NAACP and an environmental group say the gas-fired turbines powering Elon Musk's Colossus supercomputer lack permits and are polluting the community.

President Trump posted two things on his social media platform this morning: One calling for “everyone” to “keep oil prices down” and another calling on the Department of Energy to “drill, baby, drill.”

With the caveat that that’s not how any of this works, oil prices have risen a bit in the last few weeks, since Israel, and then the U.S., attacked Iran. And higher prices could benefit U.S. oil companies — which, despite the president’s rhetoric, have been reluctant to increase domestic oil production in recent months.

Before crude prices began rising earlier this month, there was already a lot of oil on the market, and OPEC countries were talking about increasing supply even more. The outlook for global economic growth, and oil demand, was shaky, said Hugh Daigle at the University of Texas at Austin. 

In the aftermath of the disastrous floods of 2023-24, FEMA is expected to provide over $200 million in capital assistance to Vermont's local governments. This won't be money for debris cleanup. These funds have been and will be used for concrete and stone, rebuilding storm drains and bridges. That $200+ million adds up, effectively, to "a generation of investment," Michael Gaughan, Executive Director of the Vermont Bond Bank, told me recently. The federal funds equal almost 40 percent of Vermont's total outstanding debt burden (~$640M) for the 170 local governments the state's Bond Bank serves, money that has been borrowed over decades.

If FEMA is "phased out” as President Trump plans, states that don't have other resources to draw on will be scrambling to fill gaps. Given the massive costs involved in repairing or replacing infrastructure, states will be highly likely to continue to rebuild exactly what's been knocked down, according to Gaughan, rather than investing in structures built to withstand future climate effects—like roads on higher ground, or more substantial culverts, or new communities away from floodplains.

Greenland has little interest in harnessing its massive resource potential to become a top mining country.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright submitted a resume to Congress with what appears to be false information about working in solar energy. He’s repeated the claim in almost every public appearance since.

A growing body of research attempts to put a number on energy use and AI—even as the companies behind the most popular models keep their carbon emissions a secret.

Tarana and Microsoft have announced a collaboration to deliver high-speed broadband to underserved communities in Africa.