14 h. ago The art of the drill: Trump considers subsidies to push oil companies to drill in Venezuela

Two of the three major US oil companies pulled business out of Venezuela nearly two decades ago after assets were seized

Events

44 h. ago Trump taking ‘drill, baby, drill’ plan to Venezuela ‘terrible’ for climate, experts warn

‘Everybody loses’ if production supercharged in country with largest known oil reserves, critics sayDonald Trump, by dramatically seizing Nicolás Maduro and claiming dominion over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, has taken his “drill, baby, drill” mantra global. Achieving the president’s dream of supercharging the country’s oil production would be financially challenging – and if fulfilled, would be “terrible for the climate”, experts say.Trump has aggressively sought to boost oil and gas production within the US. Now, following the capture and arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, he is seeking to orchestrate a ramp-up of drilling in Venezuela, which has the largest known reserves of oil in the world – equivalent to some 300bn barrels, according to research firm the Energy Institute. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Scientists pinpoint potential reason why more people than ever are getting migraines

The reason behind a worrying rise in worsening migraines could be the environmental impacts of climate change, say experts.

Politics

5 d. ago ‘Just an unbelievable amount of pollution’: how big a threat is AI to the climate?

Defenders say AI can do good to fight the climate crisis. But spiralling energy and water costs leave experts worriedDuring a golden sunset in Memphis in May, Sharon Wilson pointed a thermal imaging camera at Elon Musk’s flagship datacentre to reveal a planetary threat her eyes could not. Free from pollution controls, the gas-fired turbines that power the world’s biggest AI supercomputer were pumping invisible fumes into the Tennessee sky.“It was jaw-dropping,” said Wilson, a former oil and gas worker from Texas who has documented methane releases for more than a decade and estimates xAI’s Colossus datacentre was spewing more of the planet-heating gas than a large power plant. “Just an unbelievable amount of pollution.” Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago The trauma after the storm: Hurricane Melissa leaves trail of emotional devastation across Jamaica

Experts are calling for the integration of mental health into climate-disaster policy in the Caribbean as studies show that PTSD risks increase after hurricanes and displacementWhen Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on 28 October with 185mph winds, destroying homes, hospitals and infrastructure, killing 32 people and affecting 1.5 million, Toni-Jan Ifill immediately realised it would leave many with long-term traumatic memories.A month and a half after the storm, which also affected eastern Cuba, the clinical psychologist says recollections of the terrifying winds also haunt some of the staff at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston. Even the sound of rain can cause trauma responses among people who lived through it. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Carney’s fossil fuel pivot bewilders climate experts and business leaders

Canadian prime minister’s legacy as one-time UN envoy and clean power advocate undermined by energy shift

Politics

3 w. ago Water levels for the vital Colorado River are so low people can just walk across it

The ongoing climate crisis could have disastrous effects on the Colorado River, experts have warned

Politics