Hacker News with Generative AI: Environment

Thermal imaging shows xAI lied about supercomputer pollution, group says (arstechnica.com)
Thermal imaging of xAI's Memphis facility prompted allegations that more than 30 of xAI’s methane gas turbines are operating without environmental permitting.
Artificial Intelligence, Environment, Technology, Business, Environmental Regulations
24 points by nativeit 5 hours ago | 0 comments
Air pollution still plagues nearly half of Americans (npr.org)
Air in the U.S. has gotten cleaner for decades, adding years to people's lives and preventing millions of asthma attacks, but nearly half of Americans still live with unhealthy air pollution, a new report finds.
Air Pollution, Public Health, Environment, United States
5 points by clumsysmurf 19 hours ago | 0 comments
Inside the controversial tree farms powering Apple’s carbon neutral goal (technologyreview.com)
The tech behemoth is betting that planting millions of eucalyptus trees in Brazil will be the path to a greener future. Some ecologists and local residents are far less sure.
Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change, Technology, Brazil
15 points by gnabgib 1 day ago | 0 comments
The World Seems to Be Surrendering to Climate Change (nytimes.com)
The scope of President Trump’s assault on the country’s climate ambitions, over just three months, is not just enraging but also perversely awe inspiring.
Climate Change, Politics, Environment, United States
10 points by voisin 1 day ago | 1 comments
Trump Moves to Ramp Up Deep-Sea Mining for Critical Minerals (bloomberg.com)
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order intended to accelerate offshore mining and open new opportunities for extracting critical materials from the ocean floor despite the objections of environmentalists.
Politics, Environment, Mining, Resources
11 points by macabe 1 day ago | 0 comments
Once-dying Mexican river delta slowly nursed back to life by conservationists (japantimes.co.jp)
In a drought-hit Mexican border region at the center of growing competition with the United States for water, conservationists are working to bring a once-dying river delta back to life.
Conservation, Mexico, Environment, Water Resources
9 points by PaulHoule 2 days ago | 0 comments
Almost Half of Americans Breathe Unhealthy Air, Report Finds (nytimes.com)
At least 156 million Americans, about 46 percent of the population, live with unsafe levels of ozone, particulate pollution or both, according to the American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report.
Environment, Health, Air Pollution, United States
23 points by bookofjoe 2 days ago | 7 comments
How safe is the air to breathe? 50M people in the US don't know (phys.org)
In 2024, more than 50 million people in the United States lived in counties with no air-quality monitoring, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.
Air Quality, Public Health, Environment, Data, Research
9 points by pavel_lishin 3 days ago | 5 comments
Former Edison executive, now a lawmaker, seeks to cut rooftop solar credits (latimes.com)
Nearly 2 million California rooftop solar owners could lose the energy credits that help them cover what they spent to install the expensive climate-friendly systems under a proposed state bill.
Solar Energy, California Politics, Policy, Environment, Renewable Energy
21 points by miguelazo 3 days ago | 2 comments
Banned DDT discovered in Canadian trout 70 years after use (theguardian.com)
Residues of the insecticide DDT have been found to persist at “alarming rates” in trout even after 70 years, potentially posing a significant danger to humans and wildlife that eat the fish, research has found.
Environment, Science, Canada, Pesticides, Wildlife
11 points by pseudolus 4 days ago | 0 comments
Petrostates succeeded in watering down the plan to cut shipping emissions (theconversation.com)
The UN’s International Maritime Organization has just agreed to start charging ships for the greenhouse gases they emit.
Climate Change, Shipping, Environment, International Relations
6 points by zeristor 4 days ago | 0 comments
New Study Finds Paper Receipts May Cause Health Issues From Bisphenol S (BPS) (mensjournal.com)
Health, Science, Environment, Chemicals
6 points by bookofjoe 5 days ago | 3 comments
A new record for California's highest tree (sciencedaily.com)
UC Davis Professor Hugh Safford was hiking for pleasure in California's High Sierra when he stumbled upon a new elevation record for the Jeffrey pine, which may now be the state's highest-altitude tree.
Science, Environment, California, Trees
47 points by docmechanic 7 days ago | 20 comments
Interior orders offshore wind project halted as Trump seeks 'no windmills' (thehill.com)
The Interior Department is halting an offshore wind project approved by the Biden administration as President Trump has called for “a policy where no windmills are being built.”
Politics, Energy, Environment, Offshore Wind
11 points by voxadam 9 days ago | 3 comments
Trump admin halts $5B NY offshore wind project mid-build (electrek.co)
In its most aggressive attack against offshore wind yet, the Trump administration halted the $5 billion Empire Wind 1, already under construction off New York’s coast.
Politics, Energy, Environment, New York
19 points by jermaustin1 9 days ago | 0 comments
Preserving Ireland's Bogs– Memory, Identity, and the Path Forward (worldsensorium.com)
Ireland’s bogs are more than landscapes; they are living archives of history, memory, and cultural identity.
Environment, History, Ireland, Culture
10 points by dnetesn 9 days ago | 0 comments
Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient (nature.com)
Around 60% of the European Union’s soils are considered unhealthy, but geographer Jesús Rodrigo Comino is determined to help change that in his native Spain.
Environment, Science, Agriculture, Sustainability, Spain
262 points by gnabgib 9 days ago | 142 comments
Suddenly Miners Are Tearing Up the Seafloor for Critical Metals (scientificamerican.com)
The owners of a controversial mining license have begun extracting valuable metals from the ocean floor
Mining, Ocean, Environment, Resources, Metals
11 points by dogman123 10 days ago | 1 comments
Gas boilers now biggest source of air pollution in central London, study shows (ianvisits.co.uk)
A new study by the University of York has revealed a significant shift away from road vehicles and what they found is that gas boilers used for heating are now the primary contributor of nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution in central London.
Air Pollution, London, Environment, Science, Climate Change
14 points by zeristor 12 days ago | 3 comments
Scores of Coal-Fired Power Plants Exempted from Rules by Trump (bloomberg.com)
The dirtiest coal-fired power plant in the US and dozens of others are being exempted from stringent air pollution mandates as part of US President Donald Trump’s bid to revitalize the industry.
Environment, Politics, Energy, Coal, Regulation
6 points by croes 12 days ago | 1 comments
Last gasp of the landfill economy (blogspot.com)
It seems we're supposed to mourn the last gasp of The Landfill Economy. Perhaps we should celebrate its demise.
Waste Management, Sustainability, Environment, Economy
10 points by dxs 15 days ago | 2 comments
Federal cuts end planned $300M plastics plant and its 300 jobs (pennlive.com)
A company’s plans to build a $300 million plastics recycling plant in Erie have fallen victim to Trump administration spending cuts and tariffs.
Politics, Economics, Environment, Manufacturing
10 points by geox 15 days ago | 0 comments
EPA Plans to Stop Collecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data from Most Polluters (propublica.org)
The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to eliminate long-standing requirements for polluters to collect and report their emissions of the heat-trapping gases that cause climate change.
Environment, Climate Change, Regulation, EPA, Pollution
9 points by hn_acker 16 days ago | 2 comments
Trump Administration Cuts Research Funding, Claiming It Creates Climate Anxiety (nytimes.com)
The Trump administration announced it is cutting nearly $4 million in federal funding for climate change research at Princeton University, saying that the work promoted “exaggerated and implausible climate threats” and increased “climate anxiety” among young Americans.
Politics, Climate Change, Research Funding, Environment
10 points by pmags 17 days ago | 4 comments
Trump to Sign Order Aimed at Reviving a Struggling Coal Industry (nytimes.com)
President Trump plans to sign an executive order Tuesday aimed at expanding the mining and use of coal in the United States, in an effort to revive the struggling industry.
Politics, Energy, Economy, Environment
7 points by melling 18 days ago | 0 comments
Coal is dead and Trump's executive order won't revive it – Electrek (electrek.co)
Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders today to resuscitate the US coal industry – here’s why this is a complete waste of time.
Politics, Energy, Climate Change, Environment
16 points by xbmcuser 18 days ago | 5 comments
Researchers discover why plastic sheds dangerous fragments (sciencedaily.com)
The world is littered with trillions of micro- and nanoscopic pieces of plastic. These can be smaller than a virus -- just the right size to disrupt cells and even alter DNA. Researchers find them almost everywhere they've looked, from Antarctic snow to human blood.
Science, Environment, Pollution, Plastic, Health
94 points by docmechanic 18 days ago | 81 comments
Record global temperatures in March illustrate threat to climate goals (aljazeera.com)
Average global temperature in March was 1.6C higher than in pre-industrial times, threatening that international climate goals are moving out of reach.
Climate Change, Global Warming, Environment, Science, International Relations
8 points by mooreds 18 days ago | 1 comments
'Unstoppable force' of solar power propels world to 40% clean electricity (news.sky.com)
Clean power provided 40% of the world's electricity last year for the first time since the 1940s, new figures show.
Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Technology
177 points by belter 18 days ago | 202 comments
Clean energy powered 40% of global electricity in 2024, report finds (theguardian.com)
The world used clean power sources to meet more than 40% of its electricity demand last year for the first time since the 1940s, figures show.
Clean Energy, Renewable Energy, Environment, Climate Change, Energy
15 points by pseudolus 18 days ago | 6 comments