A feed from The Conversation, a collaboration between editors and academics to provide informed news analysis and commentary that’s free to read and republish.
1 October 2026. 3 iconic animals show the value of the US Endangered Species Act – and the harm in stripping it away – The stories of a whale, a panther and a butterfly help explain why new interpretations of the Endangered Species Act could be catastrophic for species’ survival.
30 September 2026. Question of whether taxpayers or fossil fuel companies pay for climate change damage heads to Supreme Court – If fossil fuel companies misled the public about the dangers of their products, should they be required to pay for damages from climate-related disasters?
30 September 2026. Antarctica’s ice loss is locked in, and extra snowfall won’t save it – that’s bad news for low-lying coastal areas elsewhere – The Antarctic ice sheet’s future depends how a chain of events plays out. A new study finds the evidence points in one direction.
30 September 2026. Why the nor'easter’s storm surge was so high, and what it says about the El Niño winter ahead – Several factors make for high water levels, and they conspired to worsen the storm surge that flooded coastal areas from North Carolina to New York.
30 September 2026. Criminal conspiracy to steal used cooking oil shows how trash can become treasure – No longer viewed only as waste, used cooking oil is a common ingredient in biofuels.
29 September 2026. Oil and gas industry expected surplus – but war brought shortage instead – Any work to ease current shortages and price hikes while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed will take years and billions of dollars.
29 September 2026. Arctic infrastructure was built on frozen ground that’s starting to thaw – drones can help spot the permafrost changes coming – A regional permafrost map can’t tell a builder if a particular foundation or road will survive as temperatures rise. Engineers need to see beneath the surface to find the weaknesses.
28 September 2026. Why fuel prices may go higher still – Seven months into the US conflict with Iran, with no clear end in sight, the global oil market has now largely exhausted the safety measures that exist to keep a lid on petroleum prices.
25 September 2026. Data centers’ neighbors weigh in on how to manage them – The people of northern Virginia have been living with data centers for many years. But even they are resisting new developments. And they have specific wishes for how to regulate them.
23 September 2026. Trump speculates on diesel fuel export ban as high prices ripple across US economy – There’s not much diesel fuel lying around, and lots of people want to buy what is available, as well as what little is produced each day. It’s all a matter of supply and demand.
23 September 2026. How the US gave up its edge to China in processing vital rare earth minerals – and what that’s costing – Today, China controls the vast majority of rare earths processing. That gives it enormous political leverage, and its trade truce with the US involving those minerals expires Nov. 10, 2026.
23 September 2026. Why AI has trouble predicting the fury of hurricane intensity – Storms like 2026’s Hurricane Polo that rapidly intensify can catch communities off guard and leave little time to prepare or evacuate. Being able to forecast those risks can save lives.
23 September 2026. Lessons for the 21st century from a 200-year-old book by ‘Frankenstein’ author Mary Shelley – The catastrophic story is familiar, but the insight, and the ending, offer an opportunity, and perhaps motivation, for modern readers.
22 September 2026. Game delays for lightning may be annoying, but they save lives – a sports meteorologist explains the risk – Players have been injured by lightning during games, and a strike to the stands could hurt a lot of fans.
22 September 2026. EPA says repealing power plant emissions rules will save billions – but its estimate leaves out health and climate costs – Keeping aging coal plants open, building new gas plants and choices about pollution controls affect electricity bills. Pollution adds health costs and climate damage that may not appear on those bills.
21 September 2026. As cities prepare for 2026’s super El Niño, some crucial blind spots can’t be ignored – Aging levees and dams are only the beginning of the risks communities face. One of the biggest challenges is helping people manage the heat and storms.
18 September 2026. Nepal isn’t the only disaster-struck country waiting for money from the global climate Loss and Damage Fund – At least 119 countries have asked for aid from the fund set by major greenhouse gas emitting nations four years before the deadly Nepal flood. It has paid zero claims.
17 September 2026. Iran war pushes diesel – the economy’s lifeblood – to record high prices, with no relief on the horizon – The country, and the world, have been losing diesel refining capacity for many years and can’t just ramp up production to fill the shortages.
17 September 2026. At an old steel site in Pittsburgh, bacteria evolved to survive – and eat – industrial pollution – Decades of pollution at Pittsburgh brownfields left bacteria that evolved to survive it – and maybe help clean up contaminated soil.
14 September 2026. Wildfire strategy doesn’t need a winner – with 3 camps fighting for dominance, the system can’t keep up with the risk – Wildfire strategy tends to break into three distinct camps today, each focusing heavily on one approach over the others. Successful management requires them all.
11 September 2026. How soybeans took over the American diet – without anyone noticing – A century ago, Americans barely ate soy. Now it’s everywhere in people’s diets, even in places they don’t look or expect.
10 September 2026. How heat on the Tibetan Plateau fuels powerful storms in California, half a world away – A new study connects early winter heat high up on the plateau to the jet stream and, ultimately, storms headed for the US coast. The results could mean better forecasts.
10 September 2026. 2026’s El Niño is shaping up to be a doozy – it’s already affecting global shipping, fish behavior and heat – El Niño can affect agriculture, marine life and economies in profound ways, including slowing commerce at the Panama Canal. This El Niño is likely to be the strongest in over a century.
10 September 2026. Pennsylvania’s aging levees are under pressure from scarce funding and severe weather – Many levees built in the mid-1900s do not offer enough protection for today’s storms, and small rural communities in particular struggle to afford needed upgrades.
10 September 2026. To control weeds in your garden, late summer and early fall is the best time to make a difference – What gardeners do at the end of the growing season will determine how clean, productive and manageable their garden beds will be when spring arrives.