Back in September, I spent a day in the woods (almost) getting lost down a dirt road with a team of carbon scientists. We were visiting one of Maine's first woodland owners to enroll in carbon credits. Despite carbon market controversies, I found rural landowners optimistic about their prospects.

For today's Climate Monitor, I wrote about two entrepreneurs who are using Maine seaweed as a substitute for plastic. Check it out, here: themainemonitor.org/entrepreneur...

Today for the Maine Monitor. I wondered why the foliage here in Maine this year has left something to be desired. Drought has played a role. themainemonitor.org/fall-colors-...

Today for Daily Yonder. I spent some time in Brattleboro and Ludlow, Vermont reporting this story on rural disaster recovery amidst a changing FEMA landscape.

This week for @spectrum.ieee.org. Once seen as the darling of U.S. sodium-ion battery startups, Natron Energy folded in September. I dug into what it means for the industry at large as the West seeks to compete with China. spectrum.ieee.org/natron-sodiu...

Last week for the Maine Monitor. Green crabs are an invasive species along the coast. I spoke with entrepreneurs who see an opportunity to use them for crop fertilizer and seafood dishes. themainemonitor.org/green-crab-p...

Bit of a scoop today. Rural and urban organizers are coming together in southern Arizona over concerns about water usage and environmental impacts of a proposed 200-acre aluminum recycling plant.

Had the opportunity to go on @newscentersmaine.bsky.social this week to discuss my recent piece for the Maine Monitor on forest carbon credits. I’ve mentioned before that it’s a wonky topic, but fun to try and flesh out what’s happening in Maine. www.newscentermaine.com/article/news...

On the shores of southern Maine, these oyster fishermen are keeping things quiet. That’s because they’re early adopters of all-electric boats, which are slowly taking off in the U.S. Read @mariagallucci.bsky.social ’s collab with @juliatilton.bsky.social of @dailyyonder.bsky.social

Friday for the Maine Monitor. Forest carbon credits are gaining traction in Maine, but some worry the market is inaccessible for small landowners. I wrote about one startup trying to change that by measuring trees from the sky instead of the ground. themainemonitor.org/how-does-for...

Having the right technology on an aquaculture operation is key to running a successful sea farm, those in Maine’s industry tell me. Published alongside my feature today in @dailyyonder.bsky.social is this video I produced about innovations on Maine’s working waterfront. youtu.be/yrYfUTAxqJ0

Today for the Daily Yonder. I spent time out on the water to report this story on the small but growing group in Maine’s aquaculture industry who are testing electric propulsion. Thanks to @ijnr.bsky.social for a grant award that helped make this story possible.

Friday for the Maine Monitor. Pumped storage hydropower could soon be coming to Maine. It would be the fourth such energy facility in New England and the first in Maine. I wrote about how the so-called "water battery" will work, and where it will go: themainemonitor.org/water-batter...

For me, carbon credits fall into a nebulous corner of the energy world — what, exactly, are they? And can they be legitimate? Earlier this month, I sat down with a forest economist and asked her all of my questions about the carbon credit market and its criticisms. Our conversation is here:

Today for the Daily Yonder. My analysis of Texas Renewables data shows wind, solar, and storage projects that haven’t yet come online are expected to generate $4.7 billion in local tax revenue for rural communities over their lifetimes. The OBBB’s changes to renewable energy policy threatens that.

Today for @spectrum.ieee.org. Latin America’s first hydrogen-powered fuel cell truck has hit the road in Chile, thanks to a partnership with Walmart. The challenge now lies in building infrastructure to fuel the trucks along the country’s mountainous terrain. spectrum.ieee.org/hydrogen-fue...

Last week I set out to understand whether recent great white shark sightings in the Gulf of Maine are connected to climate change. Turns out, the presence of the animals in northern New England waters are a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Friday's story: themainemonitor.org/should-maine...

Today for @dailyyonder.bsky.social. I spoke with community members in Kipnuk, AK and Clinchco, VA about their decision to sue the EPA over the cancellation of federal funding to mitigate erosion and flooding. Without the money, these rural areas can't afford to carry out the projects on their own.

Changes to renewable energy tax incentives put at least 271 planned rural wind and solar projects in 40 states at risk, I found in an analysis for @dailyyonder.bsky.social. That’s enough generating capacity to power 14 million homes. dailyyonder.com/energy-cuts-...

Last week for the Maine Monitor. Though federal EV tax incentives end Sept. 30, Maine’s state-level rebates remain largely unchanged. themainemonitor.org/buying-elect...

Today for @spectrum.ieee.org Radioactive nuclear waste has long been seen as a liability. Increasingly, though, the 90,000-ton stockpile in the U.S. is being viewed as a potential resource, thanks to new transformation techniques and federal policy directives. spectrum.ieee.org/nuclear-wast...

This map of fast EV charging ports in America reveals some big gaps between rural and urban areas:

This rural community fought one of the country’s biggest gas-powered data centers — and won. Inside the grassroots opposition that fended off a 2,200-acre data center campus in southern Virginia, and why their struggle isn’t over yet. grist.org/energy/this-... #Climate #Energy #DataCenter #AI

Last week for the Maine Monitor. NOAA forecasts this summer will be hotter than normal in the Northeast. Heat extremes are expected to become more common as the climate warms, according to experts. themainemonitor.org/noaa-forecas...

Feature today for @dailyyonder.bsky.social. A story about the opposition a rural community in southern Virginia put up against a gas-powered data center is a case study into how and where we are powering AI, and about who bears the costs.

Today for the Daily Yonder. Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to slow federal funding for building electric vehicle chargers across the country, the number of ports is growing, although rural areas are seeing less investment.

Earlier this year, I got to be part of a reporting project for @dailyyonder.bsky.social in western North Carolina. The story about Cherokee potters in the region published this week, and I put together this video. Read my colleague's great photo reporting, here: dailyyonder.com/mud-in-the-b...

Scoop today for @spectrum.ieee.org. Big Tech is working at three sites in France and the U.S. on experimental methods to make data centers more flexible and adaptive to the grid's needs. spectrum.ieee.org/dcflex-data-...

Yesterday for @spectrum.ieee.org. Puerto Rico is expanding its microgrids to keep the lights on during frequent blackouts. spectrum.ieee.org/puerto-rico-...

Today for The Maine Monitor. A few weeks ago, I wrote about what's behind the USDA's organic label. But I left out an important category: seaweed. Organic practices are rooted in developing healthy soil. So how does seaweed get the label? Here's what I found: themainemonitor.org/can-seaweed-...

Yesterday for the Daily Yonder. The USDA has extended the deadline for thousands of rural energy program grantees to resubmit their projects to align with Trump.⁠ Awardees have until the end of May to voluntarily eliminate DEIA and climate language from proposals. dailyyonder.com/usda-extends...

Hello, Bluesky! First up is my first piece for @spectrum.ieee.org, which ran earlier this week. I dig into green hydrogen tech and why it's been so hard to scale. spectrum.ieee.org/anion-exchan...