Michael A. Livermore

To comply with air pollution laws, midwest energy companies built tall smokestacks to displace pollutants. This one at Indiana’s Rockport Generating Station is 1,038 feet high, just 25 feet shorter than the Eiffel Tower. Don Sniegowski

Why shifting regulatory power to the states won’t improve the environment

Trump administration officials argue that states can regulate more effectively than the federal government. But without leadership from the top, federalism may allow red states to avoid acting.
Activists surround Shell Oil rig in Seattle’s Elliot Bay to protest Arctic drilling plans. Daniella Beccaria/Flickr

Offshore drilling: why it makes economic sense to wait

Offshore drilling debates boil down to “Drill, baby, drill” versus “spill, baby, spill.” But economists say the right question is when we know enough to drill safely – and often that means waiting.

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