Current conditions: The Silver Fire, which erupted in eastern California on Sunday, spread to 1,589 acres and is 47% contained • More than 200,000 customers in Michigan are still without power following an ice storm • Torrential downpours this week could drop four months’ worth of rain and trigger flash flooding across the Ohio Valley.
THE TOP FIVE
1. Trump is reportedly planning an executive order to speed deep-sea mining
As his administration readies broad-based tariffs to be unveiled on Wednesday, President Trump is reportedly considering issuing an executive order that would fast-track permitting for deep-sea mining for critical minerals in international waters. Sources told Reuters the order would also let mining projects skip a review process and mining code put in place by the United Nations. Minerals on the seafloor – including cobalt, nickel, copper, and lithium – are essential for products including electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines, though the Trump administration hasn’t mentioned clean tech in its recent efforts to bolster the nation’s access to the materials. Last week, Trump invoked emergency powers to expand domestic critical minerals production in the name of “transportation, infrastructure, defense capabilities, and the next generation of technology.” He is also reportedly readying tariffs on copper in an attempt to boost domestic production, Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin writes.
The environmental impacts of deep-sea mining aren’t fully understood, but many fear “it could pose grave consequences for both marine life and planetary health,” as the World Resources Institute explains. Moving to bypass international safeguards would “raise tensions with other nations competing for resources in international waters, and who believe permitting should be in the hands of a global body that oversees access and resolves disputes,” reported Reuters.
2. Study suggests we’re underestimating the economic damage of global warming
New research suggests that climate change will hit the global economy much harder than previously thought. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, combines economic models with climate change models and then factors in the effect of weather disasters on the global supply chain – something other forecasts have omitted. “We found if the Earth warms by more than 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, the estimated harm to the global economy jumped from an average of 11% (under previous modelling assumptions) to 40% (under our modelling assumptions),” the researchers explained. “This level of damage could devastate livelihoods in large parts of the world.” Experts project that the world will warm by about 2.7 degrees Celsius by 2100 compared to pre-industrial averages, so the new study is based on worst-case scenarios, but it suggests that current economic models are vastly underestimating the economic impact of global heating and its many knock-on effects. That said, recent documents seen by E&E News show that some of the world’s top banks now think those worst-case scenarios are looking more likely. “We now expect a 3°C world,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a report this month.
3. Scientists publish open letter warning of Trump’s ‘assault on science’
A group of nearly 2,000 U.S. scientists published an “SOS” to the American public, condemning what it calls a “wholesale assault on U.S. science” by the Trump administration. In the letter, published in Scientific American, the scientists say “the administration is blocking research on topics it finds objectionable, such as climate change,” and warn that “other countries will lead the development of novel disease treatments, clean energy sources, and the new technologies of the future. Their populations will be healthier, and their economies will surpass us in business, defense, intelligence gathering, and monitoring our planet’s health. The damage to our nation’s scientific enterprise could take decades to reverse.
4. Anti-Musk sentiment is spreading to Tesla’s home battery business
Consumers have become increasingly turned off by Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s political involvement in the Trump administration, and the backlash seems to be hurting parts of the company beyond electric vehicles. According to Electrek, people looking to install home solar systems are asking for alternatives to Tesla’s Powerwall battery packs. Data from home energy solutions marketplace EnergySage shows that nearly 70% of potential home solar buyers seeking quotes in the first two months of 2025 requested an alternative supplier. “Do you offer a battery from a supplier other than Tesla?” one customer asked. “Though we have a Tesla Powerwall and love it, and we love our Tesla Model 3 and Y, we are outraged at Musk’s politics, so we don’t wish to send him more money.”
5. Forecasters are worried about India’s looming spring heat wave
Forecasters are warning that India could see an exceptionally hot few months leading up to summer after the country experienced an unusually warm March. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the India Meteorological Department, said on Monday that heat wave conditions are likely to persist through April and May across much of the country. “From April to June, most parts of north and east India, central India, and the plains of north-west India are expected to experience two-to-four more heatwave days than normal,” he said. India is the world’s most populous nation and the third largest greenhouse gas emitter. Most of its emissions come from the energy sector, and especially the burning of coal. The heat waves are expected to increase energy demand (and thus coal usage) as more people switch on air conditioners to keep cool. Last year, temperatures reached 123 degrees Fahrenheit in India’s Rajasthan state.
THE KICKER
Preliminary analysis suggests that China’s recent efforts to curb air pollution may have inadvertently caused global warming to accelerate. Why? Because these moves also reduced levels of atmospheric aerosols that were helping cool things down.
