Resilience
States and localities are having to adjust to a changing climate, establishing new policies, rules and guidelines relating to energy, land use and water rights, as well as responding to emergencies triggered by more intense storms, floods and wildfires.
It also may harm forests’ ability to adapt to climate change and effect the way plants and animals interact with fire.
The Bay Area city voted on April 2 to approve a temporary moratorium on new fuel stations. The measure also limits expansion of existing stations in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
With California facing a serious budget crunch, lawmakers may have to curb their policy ambitions in a variety of areas. Ahead of April tax collections, it's not yet clear if proposed cuts will be deep enough.
More than $100 billion in private investment has already been spurred by the federal Inflation Reduction Act, helping to drive advanced manufacturing in many states.
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties produced 31.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent in 2021. The energy industry produced 45 percent of the region’s emissions, with transportation close behind.
The $7.5 million electric crane will help the city forgo around 350,000 gallons of diesel fuel in its lifespan. The machine is the largest of its kind to run entirely on electric power.
New research finds that Native Americans are more exposed to flood risk than other groups, but Black and Asian communities are less exposed than predominantly white ones. Overall, the risk to property is much greater than depicted in official FEMA maps.
Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods unaware whether the air they breathe is safe.
An audit by a federal watchdog found several instances of poor planning, misallocation of funds and a lack of workers which undercut millions of dollars of federal aid meant to keep stormwater at bay.
Americans with the fewest resources, those with disabilities and the marginalized suffer the most after a hurricane, tornado or wildfire. We need to provide more support to our most vulnerable residents.
The Delta Conveyance Project is a 45-mile tunnel that would run beneath the delta and move more water from Northern California to cities further south. Opponents worry about the tunnel’s impact on the delta’s fragile ecosystem.
The pilot release of a first-of-its-kind mapping tool is a step toward understanding carbon storage in Oregon estuaries, supporting long-term goals to preserve them.
A new $1 billion fund will help Texas communities fix crumbling water infrastructure. Advocates say much more will be needed due to population growth and climate change.
Cities and counties all over the country exceed the new standard. A lack of detailed measurement data will leave many states flying blind.
All along the Eastern Seaboard, concerns about industrial wind turbines continue to grow. There are better ways to generate clean, reliable, less costly power.
Gov. Greg Abbott declared an emergency declaration on Tuesday for 60 counties as the Smokehouse Creek Fire continued to spread. As of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the fire had burned 850,000 acres and was just 3 percent contained.
Land subsidence is making major seafront metropolises from New York to Jakarta more vulnerable to rising waters. Local decisionmakers need to account for it.
Umatilla Electric Cooperative is responsible for 1.8 million tons of carbon emissions annually despite having just 16,000 customers. One of those customers is Amazon, which has data centers in areas where renewable energy access is limited.
Louisiana is one of the nation's leading oil and gas producers. The state is now getting seriously into wind as well.
Returning predators to wild places is a good starting point for dealing with our biodiversity crisis. Colorado can be a model for what states can do to repair their ecosystems.
A plant in Michigan might become the first to reopen after closing.
Of the eight Southern California counties that were under a state of emergency during the most recent storm, only 52,820 homes and businesses were covered by flood policies.
A new report studied 197 Category 5 tropical cyclones between 1980 and 2021 and it identified five storms that hypothetically could be classified as Category 6, including a cyclone that had wind speeds up to 215 mph.
In places as varied as Tucson and Bangkok, ways are being found to replenish shrinking aquifers. It’s a matter of “water consciousness.”
The state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has advised Gov. Jeff Landry that he should declare a state of emergency for coastal Louisiana. This would prod agencies to advance the state’s 50-year Coastal Master Plan.
The Ogallala Aquifer, which spans eight states along the Great Plains, is the only reliable water source for parts of its region. Farmers have pumped its groundwater for decades and, as it dwindles, rural towns need to preserve their sole water source.
“Severe repetitive loss properties” are homes that have flooded twice, with damage totaling the property, or flooded four times with at least $5,000 in damages each time. But residents aren’t allowed to know where those properties are exactly.
Both industries want to utilize the state’s offshore property for multimillion-dollar projects. It’s unlikely the two can coexist.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes $1 billion to help states implement modern building codes. The CEO of the International Code Council outlines both obvious and underappreciated reasons they are essential.
Lawmakers should make charging convenient for everyone and minimize the environmental impact of electric vehicle batteries.
After the U.S. Supreme Court stripped federal oversight of millions of acres of wetlands, the financial maintenance of those lands now falls to the states. It could take years for them to address the loss of federal standards, if they do it at all.
