Stories by Alex Ruppenthal

Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined 230-plus mayors Tuesday in formally opposing the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan, which aims to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

A forecast of heavy rain, unseasonably warm temperatures and melting snow presents a flooding risk for Chicago. MWRD offers tips to prevent basement backups and reduce strain on local water systems. 

Legislation filed this week would give Illinois officials a deadline for deciding how the state will spend $108.7 million from a national settlement with Volkswagen over the German automaker’s emissions scandal. 

Date or no date, single or taken, animals at Brookfield Zoo experienced Valentine’s Day with the best kind of gift: food.

Starting Friday, planetarium visitors will have another chance to explore the ever-evolving way humans view the universe.   

Ben, a 40-year-old orangutan at Brookfield Zoo, underwent an emergency appendectomy last month after veterinary staff discovered a ruptured appendix. 

Two Chicago-area researchers have uncovered what they think is the first piece of physical evidence showing that forgotten memories could still live on inside our brains.

A new city report on energy use by buildings shows progress toward reducing carbon emissions that contribute to global warming.

The number of solar jobs in Illinois – and the U.S. as a whole – decreased last year, but experts are still optimistic about the industry’s future.

Chicago’s tallest building is being recognized for its standing atop another category: energy efficiency.

Nearly 30 years ago, scientists began collecting semen samples from Mexican wolves. On Sunday, Brookfield Zoo artificially inseminated one wolf as part of an effort to boost the genetic health of the endangered species. 

A bill to be filed this month would ensure Illinois residents are able to challenge certain permits issued by state regulators, giving them legal standing to sue over environmental concerns such as air pollution and contaminated groundwater.

A coalition of environmental advocacy groups in Illinois hopes to put the brakes on a Rauner administration proposal that would relax pollution rules for eight downstate coal plants owned by Dynegy Inc.

Football players are often thought of as modern-day gladiators, but even the most hard-headed linebacker has nothing on the woodpecker, at least when it comes to sustaining blows to the noggin. 

The grocery store chain says it is evaluating its supply chain “to see where additional change is needed” in response to public concerns over pork suppliers who confine pigs to tight metal crates.

The Chicago-based fast food chain agreed last year to work toward phasing out antibiotics from its beef and pork products. An Illinois nonprofit now wants McDonald’s to commit to a timeline to meet that goal.

The Field Museum’s famous dinosaur will be moved to the second floor as part of a planned makeover, and to make room for the eventual installation of a touchable cast of the largest dinosaur ever discovered. 

Wednesday’s “super blue blood moon” marks the convergence of three lunar events, but it will hardly be visible to viewers in Chicago. 

ComEd should be allowed to proceed with plans to build a first-of-its-kind microgrid in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, a state legal authority said this week. But environmental and consumer advocates aren't satisfied with the project. 

President Donald Trump’s new tariff on imported solar panels will slow – but not stop – the growth of Illinois’ solar industry, experts say, thanks in large part to the state’s recently passed clean energy law.

The new film “Mr. Canoe” chronicles the life of Ralph Frese, a world-famous canoe-builder and conservationist who ran Chicago’s last working blacksmith shop. 

The city’s lawsuit comes a week after attorneys at the University of Chicago filed their own lawsuit against the steel corporation. “This Great Lake is our most precious natural resource and we must preserve and protect it,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement.

The group Crate Free Illinois is calling on Trader Joe’s to stop purchasing pork from suppliers that use gestation crates, tight metal stalls that keep pigs in one position for the majority of their lives.

Ramar, one of the oldest gorillas in the country, celebrated a milestone birthday this month with a frozen “cake” filled with fruit and raisins. 

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told representatives of a children’s health group last week that he wants to eliminate lead from drinking water within 10 years, but he has yet to offer a strategy to meet the goal.

The colorful display of feathers common among hummingbirds has roots in a bird-like Chinese dinosaur from 161 million years ago, a new study finds.