The Xylom

08/08/2025

NEW: “Solar energy is a green source of electricity, and I can earn income from it,” said Yintung Cheung, one of the first Hong Kongers to take advantage of governmental rooftop solar financial incentives via the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Scheme.

It took Cheung less than four years to recoup the cost of his own 20kW solar power system; had the FiT Scheme not existed, it would have taken him three decades. 

In the ten years before 2018, when the FiT scheme took effect, only 200 non-governmental renewable energy systems were connected to the grid; since then, around 26,800 FiT applications have been approved, and around 25,000 systems have been connected to the grid.

Rooftop solar promises to thread the needle, taking advantage of Hong Kong’s dense, vertical landscape to provide clean, reliable, affordable energy. Yet, despite being one of the densest, wealthiest, and most energy-efficient cities in the world, halfway into the FiT program, only 0.8% of Hong Kong’s power comes from renewable sources. Why?

Tap the link in the bio to read more.

✍🏽: Selena Liang .journalist.selena
📸: Alice Chuck .serene, Alex Ip

Reporting for this story is supported by .

08/07/2025

NEW: Before his hearing loss became permanent, Ashok Suryavanshi noticed his ears had become worse and worse for six years. 

“I kept thinking that it would get better in a few days,” the 66-year-old said. But time passed, and he did nothing.

Those few days turned into weeks, months, and years until even the horns of passing vehicles in his village of Jambhali in the western Indian state of Maharashtra became barely audible. “I couldn’t afford to visit a doctor as I had to work the farms to make ends meet,” Suryavanshi said.

He finally visited an otolaryngologist, who initially prescribed ear drops that brought no relief. “He had warned us that it was too late and suggested only a hearing aid could help,” said Akkatai Suryavanshi, his mother, who is now in her 90s.

A growing number of studies have found an unusual connection between air pollution and hearing loss. Older populations living in underprivileged regions can be especially vulnerable to these risks, writes . Tap the link in the bio to read more.

08/03/2025

Congratulations to our Advisory Board members who won 2025 Journalism Excellence Awards:

· Priyanka Runwal, Excellence Award in Science/Environment/Health Reporting, and
· Yangyang Cheng (not pictured), Excellence in Audio Storytelling, Long-Form!

(📸: )

07/26/2025

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07/15/2025

NEW: We're excited to announce that critically acclaimed scientists-turned-writers Dr. Yangyang Cheng (right) and Priyanka Runwal (left) are joining The Xylom's Advisory Board, effective today.

Both are first-generation immigrants and this year's Journalism Excellence Awards winners.

"I have been a big fan and loyal reader of The Xylom for years,” said Yangyang. “I remember my astonishment when I learned how young its team members are, and continue to be deeply impressed and inspired by their dedication to truth and to stories that matter, which both represent the best of journalistic tradition and give one hope for the future of this embattled yet essential profession.”

“It's a huge honor to serve on The Xylom's advisory board. I'm looking forward to supporting and helping the newsroom navigate its mission to cover community-centric science and environment stories,” said Priyanka. “It's rare to find an immigrant-run newsroom serving an Asian American audience. I'm excited to lend my experience as a South Asian science journalist based in the US, but more so, learn from The Xylom's editors and reporters shaping critical stories that amplify underrepresented voices.”

Together with our current Advisory Board members, Tyler Jones, Betsy Ladyzhets, and Paola Rosa-Aquino, Yangyang and Priyanka will evaluate whether The Xylom's coverage best serves our audience, provide insights on reporting projects and fundraising, and connect us with peer reporters, newsrooms, and donors.

“At a time when stories of science and the environment occupy not only national headlines but the forefront of geopolitics, independent reporting from an Asian-American newsroom like The Xylom brings a much-needed fresh lens and transnational perspective to these critical issues,” added Yangyang. “The future of science and technology should not be dictated from the center, but must be fought for from the margins, and we need teams like The Xylom in this collective endeavor."

Tap the link in the bio to learn more about their appointments.

06/30/2025

UPDATE: Thanks to nearly 200 individuals, including eight of you on Instagram, we met our $7,500 fundraising goal on the first day we made a public plea and raised over $12,000 in a week!

Your generosity will keep our lights on through the summer, enabling us to do the accountability- and solutions-oriented science journalism that changes lives, with the depth and cultural competency you deserve.

Now comes the hard part: making sure we never have to do an emergency fundraiser again.

We're relaunching our fundraiser on FundRazr to raise $7,500 in monthly recurring donations. If you've previously given to our legacy Open Collective platform, you do not need to cancel your existing recurring donations; our payment processing software, Stripe, is set up to ensure your tax-deductible donations continue to flow into our account securely.

Let's close out the quarter strong and keep the only Asian American-run science news outlet running!
https://fundrazr.com/sustain-the-xylom/

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We grow science with words: the only Asian American-run science newsroom is independent, nonprofit, and led by Gen-Z! The Xylom needs to raise $7,500 in monthly recurring donations. Please help us go above and beyond!

06/29/2025

NEW: In a marathon, seven-hour rate case hearing Thursday, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) weighed Georgia Power’s request to keep base consumer power rates frozen at their current level for three additional years.

The five-member PSC will likely vote to approve that request next week, which would extend the alternative rate plan that it approved in 2022 for the utility monopoly. That comes after the PSC has approved six rate increases implemented by Georgia Power since late 2022.

Unlike the 2022 plan, the proposed extension doesn’t include any pre-approved rate hikes, but there’s a catch. Georgia Power signaled it will file a separate rate case in 2026 to recover an estimated $860 million in storm costs, mostly due to Hurricane Helene, from its 2.7 million customers. It will also file a case to recover fuel costs from customers by February 2026. If the PSC agrees, that could further raise consumers’ power bills.

What’s more, if the PSC approves extending the 2022 alternative rate plan, Georgia Power will be allowed to defer certain costs for consideration for three years until its subsequent 2028 rate case.

This story is copublished by The Xylom and . Tap the link in the bio to read more.

06/25/2025

NEW: After the U.S. occupation of Iraq began in 2003, the U.S. military bombed Iraq’s national seed bank in Abu Ghraib, effectively eliminating hundreds of varieties of indigenous seeds adapted to growing in the drought-prone desert climate.

In 2004, U.S. colonial law prohibited Iraqi farmers from seed saving. The law, known as Order 81, effectively stripped farmers of their autonomy to pick the strongest seeds from their harvest, cross-pollinate them, and trade with other farmers to grow better or more suitable plants the following season.

Two decades later, through seed saving, the U.S.-based is working to bring extinct Iraqi vegetables back to life.

“I feel like I’m doing something meaningful to me,” said Rivka Ben Daniel, a Iraqi Jewish grower in Los Angeles. “I can connect with my roots in a meaningful way, which I was not able to do for most of my life.”

This story was first published by , an independent and nonprofit newsroom led by journalists of color. Tap the link in the bio to read more.

06/13/2025

According to recent estimates released by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, although an overwhelming majority of Georgians support climate-smart policies, such as energy efficiency subsidies and the adoption of clean energy, a much smaller majority would like their local officials to do more to address global warming.

However, for the first time in five years, Peach State voters get to make their voices heard by deciding whether to reelect two of its Public Service Commissioners.

The five-member board, currently represented entirely by Republicans, in large part determines how the state tackles the threats posed by climate change. Their decisions also affect whether Georgia’s power grid is prepared for extreme weather events and whether the state moves toward cleaner energy sources — or remains reliant on fossil fuels.

Early voting for the PSC primary is now underway. Read more from our colleague Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon of Atlanta Civic Circle about what's at stake: https://www.thexylom.com/post/explainer-what-s-at-stake-in-the-georgia-public-service-commission-s-upcoming-primary-elections

06/12/2025

As around 200 residents and advocates trickle into Portland Community Center on the evening of January 11th, 2024, they are greeted by a panel on a stage: Enbridge representatives to the left, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) lawyers and permitting staff behind another table on the right. Standing in the middle is moderator Brad Patterson from the TCEQ Office of the Chief Clerk.

Enbridge, the Canadian energy giant, is seeking a five-year renewal of the Federal Operating Permit of Ingleside Energy Center, the largest crude oil export terminal in the United States.

The decks were stacked against residents: TCEQ officials confirmed during an informal Q&A session that they have never denied a permit renewal, and certainly not one that controls nearly a quarter of the multibillion crude oil export industry. Most residents in Enbridge's proximity are not aware of the stakes either: The Xylom's was the only reporter present for the hearing.

A day before, Alex spoke with Tim Doty, a retired senior TCEQ official who is now speaking on behalf of residents along the Texas Coastal Bend. For decades, Doty was TCEQ’s mobile air monitoring manager, conducting and overseeing ambient air monitoring and environmental assessments at hundreds of industrial facilities.

Doty told The Xylom he couldn’t think of another geographic area in Texas undergoing such massive expansion as Ingleside on the Bay.
“When I came back in 2021, I was in disbelief. What was going on?”

This is the finale of a three-part series produced by The Xylom and co-published by Drilled Media, . Reporting of this story was supported by , and the Kelly-Douglas Fund at the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

06/09/2025

In the household of Dipak Regmi, no one has burned petroleum-based fuels or firewood to cook in 18 years — all thanks to a nifty machine that converts human and livestock waste into fuel. 

In an agro-economy like Nepal, where more than half of all households raise livestock, biogas digesters were seen as a revolutionary way to tap into renewable energy, addressing the dual problems of waste management and electricity crisis. For families, it meant lighter expenses in the kitchen; for forests, a chance to breathe and stand tall.

Domestic biogas systems are widespread across Asian countries, and Nepal has been an advocate of this technology. But that reputation appears to be shifting: many poor families either can’t afford this technology or don’t own cattle to operate it.  “Households that are well-off are quick to acquire this new technology, whereas others are more reluctant,” said Dr Narayan Adhikari, deputy executive director at the Alternative Energy Promotion Center in Nepal. 

Tap the link in the bio to read more.

06/03/2025

Ingleside on the Bay, Texas has seen major Clean Air Act Violations, a 17-fold increase in toxic chemical risk, and even two oil spills, all in the last five years.

However, the county that the town belongs to does not have a single ambient air monitor which would allow residents, regulators, and elected officials to monitor commonly occurring air pollutants in real time such as ozone, particulate matter, and benzene, which have been shown to exacerbate nausea, asthma, and even cancer.

Every five years, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is required to submit an Ambient Air Network Assessment to comply with federal regulations. Yet, despite receiving criticism from the EPA Office of Inspector General for poor oversight and limited enforcement, the TCEQ did not recommend installing any monitors in San Patricio County.

You can contribute to the democratic process by submitting a public comment to the agency between now and June 30th. The agency will respond to your comment and consider it during the development of the next Annual Monitoring Network Plan.

Tap the link in the bio to get started.