By Annabelle Choi, Fast Company As climate tech and nonprofits feel the pinch from federal funding cuts, the corporate sustainability sector is still hiring. [Source Imagse: artpartner-images/Getty Images, Romy Tesei/Getty Images] In just the first week of his administration, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders prioritizing domestic oil and gas and …
Medellín’s sublime return to nature – in pictures
Jaime Saldarriaga and Pejman Faratin Plaza Botero in Medellín, on 3 June 2025. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Over the last decade, Colombia’s ‘city of eternal spring’ has embarked on an ambitious effort to restore greenery to public parks, transit corridors and even high-rises. Over the last 10 years, Medellín, Colombia, has undergone …
L.A. has 24,000 tiny vacant lots across the city—these designs show creative ways to use them for housing
By Adele Peters, Fast Company In a new competition, hundreds of architects created a vision for homeownership on small lots—without single-family houses or typical apartment buildings. Shared Steps by Word and s_sk.[Rendering: courtesy CityLab-UCLA] It’s incredibly hard to find a starter home in Los Angeles, where the median house price …
The Supreme Court just blew up a major environmental law
By Lisa Sorg, Grist A unanimous decision will allow a controversial Utah oil project to go forward, while easing climate review standards for future major energy projects. A crude oil shipping terminal near Wellington, Utah. Jon G. Fuller / VW Pics / Universal Images Group via Getty Images The U.S. Supreme …
Skipping migration: City-dwelling monarch butterflies stay put
By Liana Wait, Phys.Org Monarch butterflies are famous for their annual migrations, but not all migrate. In recent years, more and more monarchs have been living and breeding year-round in California’s Bay Area, thanks in part to the growing presence of non-native milkweeds in urban gardens. In a new study published in Ecosphere, …
Planet’s darkening oceans pose threat to marine life, scientists say
By Ian Sample, The Guardian Band of water where marine life can survive has reduced in more than a fifth of global ocean between 2003 and 2022. Changes in global photic zones between 2003 and 2022 are shown with red areas to indicate ocean darkening and blue lightening. Illustration: Thomas Davies/University …
California hummingbird beaks transformed by feeders: ‘more tapered and longer’
By Cy Neff, The Guardian Study details evolutionary change of Anna’s hummingbirds and finds ranges have expanded to follow such devices. An Anna’s hummingbird feeding from a backyard feeder in Bend, Oregon. Photograph: Tobias Nolan/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock Which came first: the feeder or the bird? A seemingly straightforward question, but the answer might …
How an idealistic tree-planting project turned into Kenya’s toxic, thorny nightmare
By Diego Menjibar Reynes, The Guardian Martina Lenanyangerra, a Samburu pastoralist, under a mathenge, or mesquite, tree. Its pods leave livestock toothless or dead, its foliage helps spread malaria, and its roots can change the course of rivers. Now scientists are searching for ways to curb a plant that covers 2m …
Meta is building a new data center in Louisiana—and this Senate committee wants to know why it’s being powered by gas
By Kristin Toussaint, Fast Company The local utility says Meta’s AI data center requires three new natural gas plants. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is asking how this fits with Meta’s climate goals. [Photos: Patrick Hendry/Unsplash, Meta, Andrey Metelev/Unsplash] In order to power Meta’s massive AI data center …
RFK Jr.’s next target: A common weedkiller
By Tina Reed, Axios After targeting dyes and other chemicals allowed for use in food, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is zeroing in on the active ingredient in Roundup in his bid to root out what he calls environmental toxins that contribute to chronic disease. Why it matters: The …