Ames Alexander

Mardi Gras political satire; a look at Louisiana's electrical grid; why companies are investing in blue ammonia Today on Louisiana Considered, we break down politically-themed floats that rolled during Mardi Gras. We also hear why state industries are betting on blue ammonia, and discuss a risk assessment of ou...

I joined WWNO to discuss my recent Floodlight investigation into proposed blue ammonia plants in Louisiana. We found that the plants will likely fall short of their ambitious climate promises - and leave residents of Cancer Alley grappling with even more toxic pollution. www.wwno.org/show/louisia...

Louisiana bets big on "blue ammonia." Communities along Cancer Alley brace for the cost. Carbon capture hasn’t delivered major climate benefits—and the plants would still emit thousands of tons of pollution.

“We are living in a cauldron of toxic chemicals down here in Louisiana.”

A collaboration with our colleagues at @floodlightnews.org:

'A different set of rules': Thermal drone footage shows Musk's AI power plant flouting clean air regulations Images confirm xAI is continuing to defy EPA regulations in Mississippi to power its flagship data centers.

NEW from Floodlight and The Guardian: Thermal drone footage shows Elon Musk’s AI power plant flouting clean air regulations, with images confirming xAI is continuing to defy EPA rules in Mississippi to power its flagship data centers.

Louisiana Bets Big on ‘Blue Ammonia.’ Communities Along Cancer Alley Brace for the Cost. Carbon capture hasn’t delivered major climate benefits — and the plants would still emit thousands of tons of pollution.

Cancer Alley is ground zero for proposed blue ammonia plants, with extra technology to capture planet-warming gases.

But carbon capture hasn’t delivered major climate benefits — and the plants would still emit thousands of tons of pollution.
capitalandmain.com/louisiana-be...

Louisiana Bets Big on ‘Blue Ammonia.’ Communities Along Cancer Alley Brace for the Cost. Carbon capture hasn’t delivered major climate benefits — and the plants would still emit thousands of tons of pollution.

Companies are placing multibillion-dollar bets on “blue ammonia” — a product made from fossil fuels but with extra technology to capture planet-warming gases and pipe them underground for storage.

In reality, carbon capture hasn’t delivered major climate benefits.
capitalandmain.com/louisiana-be...

Louisiana bets big on ‘blue ammonia.’ Communities along Cancer Alley brace for the cost. Carbon capture hasn’t delivered major climate benefits — and the plants would still emit thousands of tons of pollution.

Blue ammonia is a really bad idea. Read this article to learn why.
floodlightnews.org/louisiana-bl...

Louisiana bets big on ‘blue ammonia.’ Communities along Cancer Alley brace for the cost. Carbon capture hasn’t delivered major climate benefits — and the plants would still emit thousands of tons of pollution.

“These plants increase air pollution, they increase global warming...they increase not only energy costs, but total social costs, and so there’s zero benefit — except to the people who are taking the subsidies"

Louisiana bets big on ‘blue ammonia
floodlightnews.org/louisiana-bl...

Louisiana bets big on ‘blue ammonia.’ Communities along Cancer Alley brace for the cost. Carbon capture hasn’t delivered major climate benefits — and the plants would still emit thousands of tons of pollution.

My latest for Floodlight: Louisiana is betting big on “blue ammonia,” built on carbon capture. We found no evidence it will deliver promised climate benefits — while proposed plants could still dump thousands of tons of pollution into Cancer Alley.
floodlightnews.org/louisiana-bl...

Corn’s clean-energy promise is clashing with its climate footprint Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water.

A policy meant to create “cleaner” fuel instead helped lock the U.S. into fertilizer-heavy farming that drives powerful greenhouse gasses and pollutes rural water.

Pentagon retreats from climate fight even as heat and storms slam troops For decades, the military treated climate change as a threat. Now it’s backing away from plans to protect people and bases from extreme weather.

The Pentagon logged 2,800 heat-related illnesses among troops in 2024.

Its new policy: stop spending on climate and drop “climate change” from official missions.

Floodlight hires Louisiana-based investigative reporter Garrett Hazelwood Floodlight is proud to announce that we’ve hired investigative reporter Garrett Hazelwood to join our team. Hazelwood lives in New Orleans and his reporting will focus on Louisiana and the Gulf…

We are thrilled to announce that Floodlight has hired investigative reporter Garrett Hazelwood to join our editorial team, with a focus on Louisiana and the Gulf South.

ICYMI Here’s your Friday long read:

My in-depth profile story of David Stevenson, the man who crushed America’s offshore wind industry.

Thanks to @motherjones.com for republishing. 🙏

The EPA website got the basics of climate science right. Until last week. The Trump administration purged 80 pages of facts about climate change — including that it's caused by humans.

The EPA purged basic facts about Climate from its website LAST WEEK—including how human activity releases planet-heating carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The EPA says “natural processes,” like variations in Earth’s orbit and in solar activity, influence the climate.
grist.org/politics/epa...

Is New York City getting its composting program right? Critics argue the city could do more to tackle its food waste problem.

Is New York City getting its composting program right?
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Corn’s Clean-Energy Promise Is Clashing With Its Climate Footprint Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water.

A growing body of research reveals that America’s obsession with corn has a steep price: The fertilizer used to grow it is warming the planet and contaminating water. @amesalex.bsky.social reports via @floodlightnews.org:
buff.ly/HSG3h2P

The environmental costs of corn: should the US change how it grows its dominant crop? Amid concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, the Trump administration has abolished climate-friendly farming incentives

One recent study found that solar panels can generate as much energy as corn ethanol on roughly 3% of the land.

“It’s just a terrible use of land,” Searchinger, said of ethanol. “You can’t solve climate change if you’re going to make such terrible use of land.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Corn’s clean-energy promise is clashing with its climate footprint Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water.

Promoted as a climate fix, a federal mandate to mix ethanol into gasoline is instead driving high emissions:

🌽 Ethanol production drives huge demand for corn
🚜 Corn is grown with heavy fertilizer use
🔥 That fertilizer releases nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300x stronger than CO₂

This little-known ‘dark roof’ lobby may be making your city hotter As cities heat up, reflective roofs could lower energy bills and help the climate. But dark roofing manufacturers are waging a quiet campaign to block new rules.

Cities are getting hotter. And there’s one simple fix on the table: reflective roofs.

So why is a powerful industry fighting to stop them?

Brad Racino named Floodlight editor-in-chief Floodlight has chosen Brad Racino as our next editor-in-chief after a highly competitive national search that drew 240 candidates.

We’re thrilled to announce that Floodlight has chosen Brad Racino as our next editor-in-chief! 🎉 This follows a highly competitive national search that drew 240 candidates.

Please join us in welcoming Brad!

Corn’s clean-energy promise is clashing with its climate footprint Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water.

It was great talking with @amesalex.bsky.social for his exceptional story with @floodlightnews.org on the environmental and climate impacts of corn production. They mentioned my report with @albine14.bsky.social for @ewgofficial.bsky.social about continuous corn. floodlightnews.org/corn-ethanol...

Corn’s clean-energy promise is clashing with its climate footprint Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water.

In my latest story for Floodlight, I dug into the climate cost of America’s corn boom — the fertilizer, the emissions and the federal policies and incentives that have propped it all up.
Thrilled that The Guardian has also published this. floodlightnews.org/corn-ethanol...

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Inside New York City's Forgotten Coast The working class community of Edgemere is among New York City's most flood prone neighborhoods but a decade after officials promised to cut flood risks in the long neglected neighborhood, critics…

Edgemere in Queens was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. But while the city is building new protections in some areas, residents here are still waiting.

Floodlight went to hear their stories: “They’re fortifying Manhattan. So where’s the investment for us?”

‘We Are Forgotten Here’: As NYC Builds Seawalls, This Queens… A decade after city officials promised to protect Edgemere against floods, residents say the neighborhood remains just as vulnerable.

Few American cities are more vulnerable to sea level rise than New York City.

The coastal community of Edgemere, Queens was among the hardest-hit during Superstorm Sandy. A decade later, residents still wait for promised flood protections.

With @floodlightnews.org + @theguardian.com:

Floods are swallowing their village. But for them and others, the EPA has cut the lifeline. The Trump administration has pulled more than $2.7 billion in climate grants, hitting vulnerable communities the hardest.

Kipnuk, Alaska, is disappearing.

Flooding is eroding the permafrost bank protecting the village, and a $20 million EPA grant meant to stop it was abruptly canceled in May.

Pentagon retreats from climate fight even as heat and storms slam troops For decades, the military treated climate change as a threat. Now it’s backing away from plans to protect people and bases from extreme weather.

Troops are collapsing from heat exhaustion. Military bases are flooding. Planes can’t lift off in hotter air.

But the Pentagon’s new message under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: “We don’t do climate change crap.”

‘We are forgotten here’: As NYC builds seawalls, this Queens community feels left behind. A decade after city officials promised to cut flood risks in the Edgemere neighborhood, critics say it remains just as vulnerable.

‘We are forgotten here’: As NYC builds seawalls, this Queens community feels left behind.
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Trump moves to boost greenhouse, toxic emissions in Gulf states Expansions at five petrochemical plants in Texas and Louisiana could add the equivalent of more than 1 million cars’ worth of pollution, advocates say

The Trump administration has exempted 52 petrochemical facilities—many along the Gulf Coast—from new clean air rules, saying the move is in the “national security interests” of the U.S.

The Climate Solution Sitting in America’s Trash Cutting food waste is a huge potential climate win. Why are we ignoring it?

Reducing food waste is one of the most practical ways to slow climate change. Why are we ignoring it? @gaeacabico.bsky.social explains, with visual reporting by @floodlightnews.org: