"Nicole Conlan writes jokes for Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show.” But her master’s in urban planning from USC and her experiences growing up in Colorado surrounded by skiers were just as relevant to her task on the Universal Studios lot last week."

"A new count of the gray whale population along the West Coast shows “signs of recovery” five years after hundreds of them washed ashore and the population began declining, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric [Administration]."

"Separate efforts by Brown University researchers and OpenSecrets allow searches of who’s influencing state lawmakers. Less than half of states make lobbying information accessible for analysis."

"The Biden administration unveiled on Tuesday the first-ever national plan for decarbonizing the nation’s residential and commercial buildings sector. The plan calls for a 90% reduction in carbon emissions from buildings by 2050."

"Steel towns will see some reductions in toxic pollution from new regulations — but not as much as they’d hoped."

"A limitless supply of heat exists beneath our feet within the Earth’s crust, but harnessing it at scale has proved challenging. Now, a combination of new techniques, government support and the pressing need to secure continuous clean power in an era of climate crisis means that geothermal energy is finally having its moment in the US."

"The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a final rule Tuesday increasing the minimum size for train crews to two people, a longtime ask for rail worker unions, which nearly led to a strike in 2022."

"In March, Enviva, the world’s largest woody biomass producer for industrial energy, declared bankruptcy. That cataclysmic collapse triggered a rush of political and economic maneuvering in the U.S. (a key wood pellet producing nation), and in Europe (a primary industrial biomass energy user in converted coal plants)."

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is launching what the agency described as an emergency response effort in south Florida after emerging reports of smalltooth sawfish spinning, whirling and displaying other abnormal behaviors."