Temperatures and precipitation weren’t too far above or below normal, but those tornadoes that hit the Chicago area in mid-July rewrote the record book.

It’s always hot this time of year in central Arizona, but 2024 is proving to be an endless summer with especially high temperatures in Phoenix. On Tuesday, the city hit its 100th straight day with at least 100 degree temperatures. That’s long since shattered the record of 76 days in a row set back in 1993, according to data from the National Weather Service.

Farmers are also planting more acres of corn, in part to meet demand for ethanol, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service. It all means more plants working harder to stay cool — pumping out humidity that adds to steamy misery like that blanketing much of the U.S. this week.

Carbon capture and sequestration, known as CCS, is a technology that prompts both eager anticipation and environmental anxiety. It’s a technology that’s been eyed by energy producers in Illinois for years, with multiple previous proposals and one that’s expected to resurface soon. And it’s a technology that landowners and environmentalists view with concern at best and fear at worst.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $4.3 billion in funding Monday as part of its Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, and Illinois was a big winner, nabbing $430 million.

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois) said excessive regulations are hurting agriculture, blaming the so-called “communist environmental movement, the ‘Green Bad Deal’ that Donald Trump has called out as a sham issue. And I want to tell you as a farmer, we love CO2 – and trees and plants love it too. They have demonized the miracle molecule that causes things to grow.”

The Grant Park Advisory Council voiced concerns to the Chicago Park District and the city regarding NASCAR’s contributions.

NASCAR unveiled its first electric racecar Saturday in downtown Chicago, but it doesn’t thunder when the grand marshal says “drivers, start your engines.” It hums.

Astronomical summer officially begins at 3:50 p.m. on Thursday, when the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer, according to the National Weather Association. Thursday will see nearly 15 hours and 14 minutes of daylight.

Environmental and consumer advocates predict more legal protections from the heat in the near future, as climate change continues to wreak havoc.

While proponents of carbon capture technology say it is key to addressing climate change, it is often criticized for the risks it brings with it. A pipeline can burst, resulting in a flood of carbon dioxide for miles that can poison those caught in it.

Since April 1, 2023, the landscaping community in Evanston has been tasked with making a drastic change for climate and noise concerns: switching from gas- or propane-powered leaf blowers to electric. But not all landscapers are feeling pressure from the ban. The largest landscaper in Evanston also filed the most complaints against fellow landscapers. 

Periodical cicadas use trees’ lifecycles to “count” years. But when trees get duped by climate change, so do the insects. Could it lead to new broods?

Carbon capture and sequestration technology is used to take carbon dioxide — a powerful greenhouse gas — and move it through pipelines before storing it deep underground. Several groups are pushing for a bill that would regulate the emerging technology at the same time some companies are pitching pipeline projects to state regulators.

A 1,000-acre, $10 million restoration project is now underway at Red Gate Woods, part of the vast Palos Preserve system in southwestern Cook County.

Flooding is the state’s most threatening natural disaster and touches every corner in Illinois, but communities of color and poorer areas often face the greatest risk — particularly in the city of Chicago and greater Cook County. Sewer and stormwater infrastructure can often no longer handle the onslaught of water that comes from these heavy rainfalls, experts told Illinois Answers.