The Supreme Court is hearing a case its conservative majority could use to hobble Biden administration efforts to combat climate change.

Chicago would permanently ban investments in oil and gas companies under a measure introduced Wednesday by Treasurer Melissa Conyears Ervin and backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The administration said in a legal filing that a Feb. 11 ruling by a Louisiana federal judge will affect dozens of rules by at least four federal agencies. Among the immediate effects is an indefinite delay in planned oil and gas lease sales on public lands in a half-dozen states in the West.

Lake scientists have long considered winter a season when aquatic activity slows. But researchers now think more is going on in the bitter depths than previously believed — including activity influenced by climate change. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is about to embark on its first comprehensive study of the city’s lakefront in more than 25 years. 

“Steady is not good news,” said members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. “We are stuck in a perilous moment.”

Upcoming virtual town halls will give Chicagoans a chance to learn about and weigh in on plans to update the city’s climate action plan, from emission reduction targets to renewable energy goals.

Earth simmered to the sixth hottest year on record in 2021, according to several newly released temperature measurements.

According to a federal report released Monday, the U.S. experienced 20 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2021, including hurricanes, wildfires and out-of-season December tornadoes.

Melting glaciers, deadly floods in Germany, record high summer temperatures in generally mild Oregon, more urgent pleas for help from Pacific island nations. With growing urgency, the effects of climate change were felt around the world in 2021.

What if our cities could be more like forests? That’s the question at the heart of a new building prototype developed by architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged. But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers.

The House passed a roughly $2 trillion social policy and climate bill Friday, including $555 billion for cleaner energy, although the legislation is almost certain to be changed by the Senate. What ultimately emerges in the climate part of the bill will have a lasting impact on America and all its neighbors on Earth.

Three mayors in the past 15 years have all promised to combat the effects of global climate change. But some critics and scientists, along with a new data analysis by the DePaul University Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence, reveal their efforts have fallen short. 

The annual Conference of the Parties, just held for the 26th time, is all about getting countries to gradually ratchet up their measures to defuse global warming.

President Joe Biden argued Tuesday that historic progress on addressing global warming was achieved at the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, and expressed optimism for a similar outcome in Washington, where his legislative agenda has been stalled by intra-party disagreements.