Solar Field is Habitat for Endangered Foxes

US Geological Survey photo – San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) with a radio collar inside the Panoche Solar Farm in the San Joaquin Desert

EcoPortal:

It wasn’t part of the plan.

Solar farms were built to generate clean energy, not to host wildlife. Large, fenced-off areas filled with panels don’t exactly look like a natural habitat.

But when a small, endangered fox was allowed into one of these sites, something unexpected happened.

Instead of struggling to survive, it adapted—quickly. And what researchers saw next began to change how these spaces are understood.

How solar farms started behaving like ecosystems

At first glance, solar farms seem simple.

Rows of panels. Open land. Minimal human presence.

But that last detail turned out to matter more than expected.

Because once construction ends, these areas become relatively undisturbed. No heavy traffic. No constant noise. Limited human activity.

Over time, that creates stability.

Vegetation begins to grow beneath the panels, often encouraged by design. Native plants take hold, insects follow, and small prey species begin to appear.

It doesn’t happen overnight.

But slowly, these sites begin to resemble something else.

Not just infrastructure—but a habitat.

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Micro Reactors: A Critical Look at “Going Critical”

I’m able to believe that the newest small reactors are much safer than previous designs.
What I continue to do is calibrate expectations on what these reactors will do, how much they cost, and when they will be available.

Duke Energy:

Given the substantial upfront capital investment required for deployment of new nuclear generation (relative to other types of generation), support will be required in the form of cost overrun protection, which currently does not exist, or other cost mitigation measures. Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle were the first advanced reactor LLWR projects in the U.S. with two AP1000® units constructed and placed into commercial operation. 

The Vogtle project experienced significant delays and cost overrun, with the total cost more than double the original projected cost. Though some issues were unique to that project, the first and second movers for the next advanced reactor projects will be assuming construction risks and therefore will need some form of insurance to protect customers.

It is essential that the current tax credits that incentivize new nuclear generation remain in place, as they provide critical financial support for these investments and decrease investment risk, which will lead to lower overall costs for customers. In addition, the current tax credits that incentivize the efficientoperation of the existing nuclear fleet are also essential, as they help keep energy prices low, with every dollar going back to customers. Further, the federal loan guarantee program, federal grant opportunities, and other mechanisms like public-private partnerships could provide crucial support.

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Post Hormuz World Leaving Gas Behind

Countries in the developing world, Asia and Africa, that big gas developers were assuming could be locked into massive and expensive Liquified Natural Gas infrastucture, are now fleeing from dependence on that fuel.
Renewable energies, particularly solar, have been meeting the overwhelming majority of new demands globally.

Ember:

  • 2025 was the fifth consecutive year of decline in gas share in the global power mix. Although global gas generation has not yet peaked in absolute terms, its growth has slowed sharply. Between 2021 and 2025, gas generation grew at an average annual rate of 1.6%, about half the average growth rate seen between 2016 and 2020 (2.9%). Because gas grew more slowly than electricity demand, its share of global electricity generation fell from 23.9% in 2020 to 21.8% in 2025.
  • Nearly half of gas-generating economies have passed their gas power peak. By 2025, 61 out of 124 economies generating electricity from gas had passed their gas generation peak, defined in this analysis as countries where gas-fired electricity generation has remained below its historical peak for at least five consecutive years. Together, these countries accounted for around one-fifth of global gas-fired electricity generation in 2025, showing that gas declines are widespread, but the global peak still depends on a smaller group of large gas-generating economies.
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John Morales on Hurricane Prospects, and Trump Science Cuts

Above, an interview with Senior Meteorologist John Morales to discuss not only plans to dismantle critical Ocean monitoring stations, but also expectations for the upcoming Hurricane Season.

Science:

Although research has bipartisan support in the US Congress, and trust in science is above 75% across the country, the Trump administration seems as determined as ever to mortally wound the nation’s scientific enterprise. After the scientific community persuaded Congress to restore most of the president’s draconian cuts to research funding last year, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), under Russell Vought, has found new ways to circumvent the will of Congress and starve American science. At the beginning of this year, OMB dragged its feet in releasing instructions to federal agencies for how to distribute the funding appropriated by Congress, leading to lags in dispersal. Now, OMB has proposed revising the rules that govern how federal dollars are spent. The changes would inevitably lead to unlegislated reductions in funding and damage US leadership in science, both in academia and industry.

In any other administration, when Congress appropriates money for science each year, OMB’s job is to make sure that the funds are released in accordance with the law. But in Project 2025, the blueprint used by the Trump administration to overhaul the federal government according to a theory of greater executive power, Vought called for an activist OMB that serves as the “keeper of ‘commander’s intent,’” thereby moving power away from Congress.

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Colorado River at 13 Percent. Western Drought is a Crisis

Description:

About 70% of the American West is in a drought. Cities are telling residents to cut their water usage, farmers are abandoning their crops, and local officials are asking how much water is left for the millions upon millions of people who need it.

Colorado Sun:

Lake Powell, one of the Colorado River’s most important reservoirs, is set to receive 13% of its normal spring runoff, the lowest amount from upstream snowmelt on record, according to a federal forecast Thursday.

The reservoir, located on the Utah-Arizona border, helps pace the flow of water to millions of people, multibillion-dollar industries, hydropower facilities and protected environments in the immense Colorado River Basin. It is also in dire straits: As of Thursday, it held 23% of its capacity. It’s months away from extremely low water levels that would halt hydropower generation at Glen Canyon Dam. 

The expected record-low inflows won’t help. 

If the forecast is accurate, “it would be the lowest April through July volume on record for Lake Powell,” Cody Moser, a forecaster with the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, said during a webinar Thursday.

The federal Colorado Basin River Forecast Center tracks conditions in the basin and prepares forecasts used by the federal government to determine how the water for 40 million people in the West should be managed.

Since Oct. 1, about 408,000 acre-feet of water has reached the reservoir. That includes water from the sudden snowmelt triggered by a record-breaking heat wave in March, Moser said.

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