Explainers

Learn how moving water is converted into electricity in this comprehensive overview, including a discussion of the hydropower resource, its environmental and societal impacts, and the potential for future expansion of hydroelectic energy.

Hundreds of US nuclear warheads are kept ready to launch within minutes—making us less safe, not safer.

Coal-fired power plants, which produce a significant share of US electricity, have significant impacts on water quantity and quality.

A summary of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's misguided investigation of respected climate scientist Michael Mann.

How does local food move from the fields to the table?

Smart planning and thoughtful safeguarding—not weaponization—will protect US interests in space.

Tropical deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s global warming emissions.

Tropical deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of the world's global warming pollution. Here are ten reasons why protecting tropical forests is in the United States' best interest.

Locations and information for California renewable energy projects, including wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy.

California’s freight system is an integral part of the US economy—but it needs modernization.

Heavy-duty trucks make up 7 percent of all vehicles on US highways, yet consume more than 25 percent of the oil.

At a basic level, nuclear power is the practice of splitting atoms to boil water, turn turbines, and generate electricity.