International: United States
New York to make drivers pay for pollution
5 Apr 2019
New York is set to become the first US city to charge drivers a fee for releasing planet-warming pollution from their cars.
Judge blocks Trump's Arctic drilling plans
2 Apr 2019
A judge's ruling restores former president Barack Obama’s orders putting large parts of the Arctic off-limits to offshore drilling and throws Donald Trump’s oil and gas lease sale plans into question.
Corporate giants join green-energy alliance
1 Apr 2019
Hundreds of US corporate companies have joined together for a renewable-energy alliance.
Senate defeats Green New Deal proposal
28 Mar 2019
The US Senate has defeated a motion to take up the Green New Deal, the non-binding proposal spearheaded by progressive Democratic lawmakers.
Fossil fuel now costs more, says study
28 Mar 2019
Around three-quarters of US coal production is now more expensive than solar and wind energy in providing electricity to American households, according to a new study.
US judge halts hundreds of drilling projects
22 Mar 2019
In the first significant check on the Trump administration’s “energy-first” agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account.
Most US produce has pesticide residues - even after washing
22 Mar 2019
About 70 per cent of fresh produce sold in the US has pesticide residues on it even after it is washed, according to a health advocacy group.
America cares about climate change again
20 Mar 2019
For the first time in years, a broad spectrum of US climate advocates is going on the offensive.
We'll just make Manhattan bigger, says New York
19 Mar 2019
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to protect Manhattan from climate change by expanding the island’s southern shore to keep rising seas at bay.
Trump budget slashes clean energy spending - again
13 Mar 2019
The Trump administration's latest budget proposal would radically reduce new spending on federal programs for advancing clean energy.
How America’s food giants swallowed the family farms
11 Mar 2019
Across the US midwest, the rise of factory farming is destroying rural communities. And the massive corporations behind this devastation are now eyeing a post-Brexit UK market.
How Trump rollbacks hurt health and emissions
7 Mar 2019
The Trump administration's efforts to undo rules aimed at reducing greenhouse gases would lead to a rise in annual emissions and to thousands more American deaths, says a new report.
Ex-coal industry lobbyist new EPA chief
7 Mar 2019
Former US coal industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler is taking over the reigns as the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Carbon tax v Green New Deal battle has begun
5 Mar 2019
For the first time, US lawmakers face competing approaches to reviving climate action. And despite hostility from the White House, each approach has significant support and the potential to shape the 2020 elections.
Green New Deal is already changing the climate debate
4 Mar 2019
What a splendid irony it would be if the enduring legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency was the Green New Deal – a radical, government-directed plan to transition the US to a socially just society with a zero-carbon economy.
Coastal flooding erasing billions in property values
1 Mar 2019
Rising seas have eroded coastal property values from Maine to Mississippi by billions of dollars as buyers pay less for homes in neighborhoods where high-tide flooding is creeping in.
Plastics the new coal in Appalachia
27 Feb 2019
Thousands of workers are assembling an ethane cracker plant in the Ohio River Valley - conspicuous symbol of a petrochemical and plastics future looming across the Appalachian region.
US cities will see their climate heading south
22 Feb 2019
Climate change means a big shift for city dwellers worldwide. Americans can look ahead to very different cities as the US climate heads south.
Florida is drowning ... but they're still building condos
20 Feb 2019
People tend to respond to immediate threats and financial consequences – and Florida’s coastal real estate might be on the cusp of delivering that harsh wake-up call.
Trump’s wall violates conservation laws
18 Feb 2019
US President Donald Trump (https://inhabitat.com/tag/trump) is moving forward with the construction of his Mexican border wall, even if it means sidestepping important environmental laws.
Race is on to define Green New Deal
14 Feb 2019
The decision by US Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) to bring up the Green New Deal for a Senate vote is prompting a rush to define the terms of progressive Democrats' ambitious proposal to tackle climate change.
Green New Deal claims bold plan to fight change
8 Feb 2019
New US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is releasing a broad outline of a vision for the Green New Deal, a plan to battle economic and racial injustice while also fighting climate change.
Trump fails to mention climate change
7 Feb 2019
Top scientists have condemned US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address and say future presidents must confront climate change as an urgent priority.
How the polar vortex is linked to climate change
1 Feb 2019
The polar vortex has broken into ‘two swirling blobs of cold air’, bringing the most frigid conditions in decades to the United States midwest.
Intelligence chiefs warn of climate threats
1 Feb 2019
The US intelligence community has warned in its annual assessment of worldwide threats that climate change and other kinds of environmental degradation pose risks to global stability.
Big farms a growing driver of climate change
30 Jan 2019
Industrial farming encourages practices that degrade the soil and increase emissions, while leaving farmers more vulnerable to damage as the planet warms.
Americans are getting the message
24 Jan 2019
Nearly half of Americans say people in the US are being harmed by global warming "right now" - the highest point ever in a decade-long national survey called Climate Change in the American Mind.
Scores of US military bases under threat
23 Jan 2019
A new Pentagon report identifies significant risks from climate change at scores of military bases and says the Defense Department is taking protective measures against the looming threat.
Troubled Tesla cuts 7% of workforce
22 Jan 2019
Tesla is cutting its full-time staff headcount by about 7 per cent, as it tries to reduce the price of its cars and boost margins, CEO Elon Musk has announced
Poor losing the high ground in Miami
21 Dec 2018
Miami's poor are being pressured to leave their high-ground homes as rising sea levels threaten the city's wealthy coastal suburbs.
California insists on electric buses
20 Dec 2018
The Californian Air Resources Board has revealed its plan to have an all-electric bus fleet in California by 2040.
Better land use could slash emissions
14 Dec 2018
US scientists have found a new way to cut or offset 22% of the greenhouse gas emissions from American factory chimneys, car exhausts and power stations -- better land use.
Patagonia gives $10m tax cut to the cimate cause
12 Dec 2018
Outdoor clothing company Patagonia will be giving to the planet the $10 million it made as a result of President Trump's tax cuts.
California plans coastal retreat as sea starts swallowing homes
10 Dec 2018
Ocean-front homes could be demolished along California's coastline under a groundbreaking proposal to preserve the state's made-for-movies beaches before they're destroyed by rising seawater.
War hero president MIA in early climate battles
10 Dec 2018
Among the tributes paid to former US president George H.W. Bush has been plenty of reflection on his war record – but less on how he handled himself during the early skirmishes of the climate battle.
Rising tides bring threat to Pacific military readiness
5 Dec 2018
On a Pacific archipelago 2400 miles southwest of Hawaii, the United States' enormous military capability collides with the accelerating climate risk that threatens to erode it.
It's just worst-case stuff, says Trump
3 Dec 2018
The Trump administration is minimising warnings from scientists by arguing that they are exaggerated and based on the worst-case scenario.
Risks are spiraling, warns US weather scientists
26 Nov 2018
The US government's own climate scientists have issued a blunt warning that global warming is a growing threat to human life, property and ecosystems across the country, and that the economic damage will spiral in the coming decades.
Report over the top, say Trump's people
26 Nov 2018
The Trump administration has tried to downplay the stark findings of its own climate change assessment, as Democrats sought to pressure the White House to avert looming economic and public health disaster.
US exporters find new coal friend in India
23 Nov 2018
US coal exporters have effectively lost a promising market in China since the imposition of tariffs but have managed to find other buyers in Asia, chiefly India.
What exactly is the Green New Deal?
20 Nov 2018
In a Democratic clash on Capitol Hill, progressives are pushing an ambitious plan to wean the U.S off fossil fuels. Meet the "Green New Deal."
Climate changes threaten navy shipyards
20 Nov 2018
Damage from climate change to key US military shipyards would undermine the Pentagon’s ability to respond to military crises and counter China’s ambitions.
Crab fishers sue fossil fuel industry
19 Nov 2018
The largest US West Coast commercial fishing association is suing 30 fossil fuel companies it says are accountable for harming shellfish and livelihoods as the ocean warms.
Trump plans to target heavy trucks
15 Nov 2018
The Trump administration plans to cut air pollution from heavy-duty trucks, marking one of its first moves to regulate US industry rather than roll back environmental standards.
Environment crusaders head to Congress
13 Nov 2018
They’ve taken on polluters and built climate solutions. Now they’re bringing activism to Congress in one of the most diverse freshmen classes in US House history.
How the US interior department became a tool of big business
13 Nov 2018
Since his first day on the job, when he surrounded himself with a police escort and rode through Washington on a horse named Tonto, US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has exhibited a flair for ostentation.
JFK first to be warned about climate change
9 Nov 2018
John F. Kennedy was warned about "climate control" in February 1961, becoming perhaps the first American president to learn about people's impact on planetary temperatures.
Climate change back on US political agenda
8 Nov 2018
With their win of control of the US House of Representatives, Democrats will now have the numbers to put climate change issues back on the Congressional agenda.
Court allows children's climate case to go ahead
6 Nov 2018
Two weeks after it put the case on hold, the US. Supreme Court has allowed a lawsuit brought by 21 children and young adults against the federal government over climate change to proceed.
US makers double down on utes and SUVs
2 Nov 2018
The big three US vehicle makers - GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler - talk about a cleaner future, but in reality are pushing the sales of gas-guzzling SUVs and utes.
Two Australian states offer free public transport as war pushes up fuel prices
30 Mar 2026
Public transport in two Australian states will be made free to incentivise people not to drive as fuel prices soar due to the war in the Middle East.
China's Xi urges faster development of new energy system as Middle East war continues
Today 11:30am
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for accelerated planning and construction of a new energy system to safeguard the country's energy security, weeks into the Iran war that has triggered global energy shocks.
Europe’s energy illusion: Why a €1 trillion green bet hasn’t broken the import habit
31 Mar 2026
The war with Iran is exposing a hard truth – Europe’s green push has left it no less dependent on imported energy.
Britain hits renewable power record in 2025, but fossil fuel use also up
Today 11:30am
Renewable power such as wind and solar provided a record 52.5% of Britain’s electricity generation in 2025, government data showed on Thursday, but fossil fuel use also rose.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
Vietnam’s gig workers slammed by rising fuel costs amid fallout of Iran war
Today 11:30am
Diesel prices have more than doubled in the Southeast Asian nation amid Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Vanuatu Indigenous leaders raise concerns over plans to build resort for cruise tourists
1 Apr 2026
Indigenous community leaders in Vanuatu have raised concerns over plans by the cruise operator Royal Caribbean to build a private beach club on the island of Lelepa, arguing environmental impact assessments by the company are “incomplete” and “misleading”.
China's huge push to reduce air pollution had an unexpected consequence in the Arctic
Thu 2 Apr 2026
China's cuts to aerosol emissions reduced sea ice loss, but it may have revealed a bigger story about climate change.
Rationing power and diluting petrol – how African countries are coping with effects of Iran war
30 Mar 2026
Countries across Africa have taken measures such as diluting petrol and restricting electricity consumption to cope with the fuel crisis triggered by the US and Israel's war in Iran.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
Iran war should trigger faster exit from fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says
18 Mar 2026
The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is a lesson on the risks of relying on fossil fuels which should drive governments to wean their economies off oil and gas faster, the U.N. climate secretary told Reuters on Monday.
