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Climate

9 Startling Photos of the East Coast Engulfed in Smoke

The skies are orange, purple, brown, and grey.

New York City.
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

The wildfires raging across eastern Canada have produced a mass of smoke and haze that has covered a wide swath of that country and the eastern United States — a clear indication that when it comes to natural disasters, borders are irrelevant. Here are some particularly striking photos of the skies in the affected area; we'll continue to update this page as more become available.

Frostburg, Maryland.Frostburg, Maryland.Camnet

Brigantine, New Jersey.Brigantine, New Jersey.Camnet

Skaneateles, New York.Skaneateles, New York.Matt Champlin/Flickr

New York City.New York City.Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge in New York City.Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

Visitors at Summit One Vanderbilt look out at Manhattan.Visitors at Summit One Vanderbilt look out at Manhattan.David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Belleville, Ontario.A visitor information display in Belleville, Ontario.Paul Lantz/Flickr

Washington, DC.Washington, DC as seen from Arlington, Virginia.Win McNamee/Getty Images

The setting sun.The sun sets in Point Phillips, Pennsylvania.Joan Zachary/Flickr

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Climate

AM Briefing: Trump Pulls the Climate Policy Ripcord

On NRC drama, Big Tech’s thirst, and Uplight’s for-sale sign

Trump Knocks Out Basis for U.S. Federal Climate Policy
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

 Current conditions: From Japan to California, the Pacific is preparing for tsunamis after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck the eastern coast of Russia • The Deep South is bracing for stifling temperatures • Hurricane Iona, the first named storm of the 2025 hurricane season in the Central Pacific, has reached Category 3 strength as it passes south of Hawaii.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Trump proposes eliminating basis for climate regulations

It’s official: The Trump administration is going after the endangerment finding. The 2009 decision that greenhouse gases pose a danger to human life established the federal government’s legal right to rein in planet-heating emissions under the Clean Air Act and is the bedrock to virtually all national climate regulation. A rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday would scrap the finding and wipe out existing greenhouse gas rules on automobiles and heavy trucks. Also on Tuesday, the Department of Energy issued a report that “concludes that CO2-induced warming appears to be less damaging economically than commonly believed, and that aggressive mitigation strategies may be misdirected.”

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Podcast

Why We’re Worried About Electricity Prices

Rob and Jesse take stock of all the trends threatening to push up power bills.

An electricity meter.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

In the next few years, the United States is going to see the fastest growth in electricity demand since the 1970s. And that’s only the beginning of the challenges that our power grid will face. When you step back, virtually every trend facing the power system — such as the coming surge in liquified natural gas exports or President Trump’s repeal of wind and solar tax credits — threatens to constrain the supply of new electricity.

On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk about why they’re increasingly worried about a surge in electricity prices. What’s setting us up for an electricity shortfall? What does the recent auction in the country’s largest electricity market tell us about what’s coming? And what would a power shock mean for utility customers, the economy, and decarbonization?

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Climate

The EPA Says Carbon Pollution Isn’t Dangerous. What Comes Next?

A conversation with Harvard Law School’s Jody Freeman about life after the endangerment finding.

The EPA logo in flames.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a proposal on Tuesday to reverse its own conclusion that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health and welfare. Known as the “endangerment finding,” this 2009 determination initially compelled the agency to regulate carbon emissions from vehicles under the Clean Air Act. But the agency has since used it as the basis for many of its efforts to tackle climate change, including emissions limits on power plants, oil and gas operations, and aviation.

If the reversal is finalized as written — and survives court challenges — the EPA will no longer have the legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide from the tailpipes of cars or trucks, invalidating the vehicle standards issued by the Biden administration last year.

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