Stories by Dave Levitan

First U.S. Small Nuclear Reactor Design Is Approved

Concerns about costs and safety remain, however

Will the Earth ‘Remember’ the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Tree rings, ice cores and sediment deposits could record changes in pollution during the global shutdown

Ozone Pollution Grows, but It Can Be Fixed

Technology can be improved in developed countries, and spread much more widely in developing countries

Radical Proposal Would Prop Up Coal Power Industry

Energy Secretary Rick Perry and his department want to tilt the playing field in the name of helping a supposedly frail electric grid

Republicans Offer to Tax Carbon Emissions

But would a price of $40 per ton hold back climate change as much as Obama policies would have?

Serious Changes Possible for National Security Policies on Climate Change

New Trump appointments could de-emphasize intelligence reports on climate as “threat multiplier” but military investments may be hard to alter

Many Flavors of El Niño Make Prediction Difficult

Despite optimistic precipitation outlooks for southern California, the state has received little drought relief

Braking Trains Coupling with Energy Storage for Big Electricity Savings

Public rail systems are harvesting and storing electricity from regenerative braking with the hope of making a profit on power sold back to the grid

Algae in Glass Cases Could Determine Fracking’s Toll

Tiny diatoms would add precision to the ongoing efforts to measure the natural gas boom’s effects on water quality

A Vault for Carbon Dioxide

Independent Labs Seek Financial Shelter as Federal Funds Dry Up

Once unfettered labs seek financial shelter

Fate of Independent Research Institutes Hangs in the Budgetary Balance

A decade of neglecting the National Institutes of Health budget has left a sector of science scrabbling to survive

Is Anything Stopping a Truly Massive Build-Out of Desert Solar Power?

Engineers and industry agree that although challenges abound in utility-scale solar in the sunniest places on Earth, we have the technology to go big in the desert

Quick-Change Planet: Do Global Climate Tipping Points Exist?

An academic debate ponders whether Earth's climate could change precipitously, and how unmitigated regional stressors could irrevocably alter the planet