Earth Wise
Weekdays, 11:10 a.m. and 4:04 p.m.
From green business and new environmental legislation to how nature impacts our environment in ways never before considered, Earth Wise offers a look at our changing environment.
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Renewable energy in the US is facing serious headwinds under the current administration but one area that is absolutely booming is the manufacturing of battery storage technology for the grid. The legislation in 2025 that put the brakes on multiple aspects of green energy maintained the Biden-era incentives for domestic energy manufacturing and grid battery projects.
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The western American snowpack is nature’s reservoir, providing 60-70% of the region’s water supply. Winter precipitation is stored there and is released slowly during the spring and summer. The snowpack feeds the region’s rivers, fills reservoirs, supports irrigation for agriculture, enables hydropower, and sustains ecosystems. After the warmest winter on record for many states and a major heat wave in March that left almost no snow in many places, there is real trouble ahead.
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China is the biggest installer of renewable energy in the world as well as the largest global manufacturer of renewable energy technology. However, it is also the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and, most unfortunately, the biggest user of coal.
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Permafrost is frozen ground - a mixture of soil, rock, sand, and ice - that remains at or below 0°C for at least two consecutive years. Permafrost covers about a quarter of the landmass in the Northern Hemisphere, the majority of which can be found in northern Russia, Canada, Alaska, Iceland, and Scandinavia. As long as it stays frozen, it’s no threat to the climate.
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IQAir, a Swiss air monitoring company that posts real-time air quality data aggregated from sensors around the world, has issued its annual report for 2025. The report shows that most of the world’s cities suffered from unhealthy levels of air pollution. Climate-driven wildfires and dust storms as well as the continuing burning of fossil fuels are driving toxic air across borders and worsening the problem.
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Beavers are large semiaquatic rodents best known for building dams, but new research suggests they may also help in the fight against climate change.
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Data centers currently consume nearly 5% of the electricity generated in the United States and estimates are that the amount will more than double over the next five years. They could consume up to 12% of our electricity by 2030.
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Over the month of March, renewable energy sources generated more electricity than was produced from natural gas plants for the first time. This is an impressive milestone considering that renewable energy is under attack from the current administration. On an overall basis, emissions-free sources, which include renewables as well as nuclear energy, produced more than half of the country’s electricity. This is only the third time this has happened for an entire month.
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The Trump administration has some well-known enemies: wind turbines, electric cars, and climate scientists, among others. Now the iconic American buffalo has joined their ranks.
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Plug-in solar systems are small, pre-configured solar panels with microinverters that plug directly into standard household outlets to reduce electricity bills. They are easy to install on balconies, roof decks, or backyard fences and are not permanently attached. They are popular in Europe but not widely available or even legalized in most of the United States. In fact, Utah was the first state to legalize the systems in March 2025.