Technology

"The White House is planning to eliminate the board, a small agency that investigates chemical disasters to understand what went wrong."

"Submerged in about 40 meters (44 yards) of water off Scotland’s coast, a turbine has been spinning for more than six years to harness the power of ocean tides for electricity — a durability mark that demonstrates the technology’s commercial viability."

"A revival of U.S. solar panel manufacturing that began during the first Trump administration could end with the phasing out of tax incentives for clean energy." 

"The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and dump them out of airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot. That sounds like the plot of a horror movie, but it is part of the government’s plans for protecting the U.S. from a bug that could devastate its beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets."

"The spacecraft, MethaneSAT, was just a year into its mission to provide a clearer picture of planet-warming emissions from oil and gas sites." "For nearly two weeks, however, the mission’s controllers have been unable to get in contact with the satellite. It has lost power, they said, and most likely cannot be recovered."

"An industry-backed researcher who has forged a career sowing doubt about the dangers of pollutants is attempting to use artificial intelligence (AI) to amplify his perspective."

"The Department of Defense on Monday reversed course, temporarily, on canceling the availability of satellite data that is key to monitoring hurricane movements and structures. The data will now be available to hurricane forecasters through July 31, rather than the previous June 30 deadline."

"The Department of Energy’s world-class laboratories are poised for dramatic changes." "The DOE secretary’s proposed budget would slash research programs and boost efforts “to reindustrialize America, to win the race on AI, and to stop the huge upward pressure on electricity prices.”"

"Senate Republicans have quietly inserted provisions in President Trump’s domestic policy bill that would not only end federal support for wind and solar energy but would impose an entirely new tax on future projects, a move that industry groups say could devastate the renewable power industry."

"Bayer [last] week put a halt to its latest courtroom battle over allegations that its weed killing products cause cancer, settling a Missouri case after four weeks of testimony and just as the trial was coming to a close and just ahead of important US Supreme Court consideration."