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Carl Smith

Senior Staff Writer

Carl Smith is a senior staff writer for Governing and covers a broad range of issues affecting states and localities. For the past 30 years, Carl has written about education and the environment for peer-reviewed papers, magazines and online publications, with a special focus on conservation and sustainability. He has guest-edited special issues of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health focused on the Precautionary Principle and the human rights dimensions of environmental degradation. Carl attended the University of Texas and the University of Georgia. He can be reached at carl.smith@governing.com or on Twitter at @governingwriter.

World Rivers Day 2023 comes with a push to better understand the health of these life-giving resources.
Energy efficiency can save customers and utilities money, keep supply stable and reduce emissions. But a new survey finds that utilities are doing less to support it.
A first-of-its-kind school construction project will save a Maryland school district hundreds of millions of dollars — and create exceptional learning environments.
Demand for nonprofit services is on the rise, and legislators are paying more attention to ways they can support the sector.
A federal judge who experienced the unthinkable is advocating for laws that restrict access to personal information about state and local judges.
Billions of federal dollars are coming to states to make broadband for all a reality, but funding alone doesn’t ensure results. Powerful resources are available to help state and local governments succeed.
Misinformation can thwart the work of public health. Leaders from the field are bringing the mindset they use to detect and contain disease to the rapid, far-reaching spread of an information epidemic.
An advocacy group for nude recreation has been a presence at the annual meeting of state legislators for decades — not to advertise, but to prevent inadvertent disruption of a way of life and a multibillion-dollar industry.
The work that public health officials do is determined by policy, but engaging with policymakers hasn’t been a strong suit for the field. A new book aims to help them do better.
Following labor unrest with writers, actors and hotel workers, a one-day strike by city workers in Los Angeles was aimed at getting stalled negotiations going again. It also reflected a desire for respect.