Environment Washington holds first carbon auction of 2024, with program's future in doubt A ballot initiative aiming to stop Washington state from charging for carbon pollution is already reshaping the state’s carbon market. John Ryan
Environment U.S. hydropower drops to 20-year low as Northwest snowpack shrinks After a week of heavy storms that dumped 5 feet of snow in the Cascades and left skiers giddy, Washington state’s snowpack was still just 73% of normal. John Ryan
Environment A new satellite will track climate-warming pollution. Here's why that's a big deal A satellite with a climate solutions mission blasted off on a SpaceX rocket Monday. It's on a mission to detect planet-heating methane pollution from the oil and gas sector. Julia Simon
Business 'Everything is rising at a scary rate': Why car and home insurance costs are surging The cost of auto and home insurance is rising much faster than overall inflation, thanks in part to a string of billion-dollar storms. A growing number of people are going without insurance. Scott Horsley
Arts & Life There's a new 'Climate Reality Check' test — these 3 Oscar-nominated features passed Does climate change exist? And does a character know it? Barbie, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One and Nyad met the criteria for a new challenge inspired by the famous Bechdel Test. Chloe Veltman
Technology How scientists are using facial-recognition AI to track humpback whales After being hunted for decades, humpback whales returned to the Pacific Ocean in big numbers. Now, new technology is revealing that underwater heat waves are taking a toll on that recovery. Lauren Sommer
Science The human cost of climate-related disasters is acutely undercounted, new study says A new study counts the human health costs from increasingly costly and dangerous extreme weather in the U.S. Alejandra Borunda
Oregon researchers hope to provide new tools to help wine growers address climate change, smoke Oregon State University is using science to block even a smudge of wildfire flavors in prime Northwest wines Anna King
Government Puget Sound counties want modernized ferry fleets. Voters decide their fate this fall Soundside host Libby Denkmann sits down with correspondent Tom Banse to talk about the finances behind replacing Washington's "other" ferries. Libby Denkmann Tom Banse Jason Burrows
Tribes, governments sign historic agreement that's a 'path forward' for salmon, dams After decades of fighting to protect salmon and steelhead, Northwest tribal leaders signed a historic agreement with state and federal officials – the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative. Courtney Flatt
