Trends
Massachusetts is showing the way by going to the end users of the products and services governments buy. It’s good for suppliers as well, and produces better results for everyone.
Across the state, they are short on staffing and funding, making some officials concerned that they will be unprepared should another public health crisis occur.
Fully autonomous robots that can act as a security guard, tour guide and information center may soon debut in theme parks across Orlando. But some worry about the robots’ impact on employment and security.
The nation is pivoting towards electric vehicles as a more climate-friendly alternative to gas-powered vehicles. Some worry about the chance that in the future millions of EV batteries will end up in a landfill.
With more electric vehicles on the road in the coming future, state officials worry how they will build and maintain roads with fewer drivers buying into the gas tax. Some are considering fees per mile driven.
The pilot program aims to encourage electric vehicle adoption among farmers and other commercial customers to help reduce the impacts of climate change, which directly impacts the state’s agriculture.
An Indiana bill would pave the way for the state to set guidelines for nuclear power usage. While the energy is touted as clean and reliable, many worry that it will increase costs for customers.
A team of researchers found 35,000 pairs of existing reservoirs, lakes and old mines in the US that could be turned into long-term energy storage – and they don’t need dams on rivers.
Mayor London Breed’s two-part proposed ballot measure would ask residents to vote on broadened police access to live feeds and allowing police camera access in “public safety crisis areas,” which would include privately owned cameras.
The Summit County city has the most charging stations per capita in the county and officials are hopeful that the installation of four electric vehicle recharging posts will help attract EV drivers and business.
State legislatures will have a lot on their plates. They’ll deal with issues in wildly differing ways. We set the context for the 2022 session with an overview of everything from abortion to taxes.
Renewable energy is expanding at a record pace, but still not fast enough. Here are the key areas to watch for progress in bringing more wind and solar into the power grid in 2022.
Democrats are skeptical of the plan and it lacks the support of Gov. Newsom. It would require the largest state tax increase in history, estimated at $163 billion. The tax hike would need to be approved by voters.
The New York Bight region, off of Long Island and the Jersey Shore, has six ocean lease areas and could power approximately 2 million homes. The states hope to build 16 gigawatts of offshore energy potential by 2035.
State Senate President Craig Blair has said that there will be an effort to lift the ban during this year’s legislative session. But many are still wary of the power and its waste.
Despite heavy precipitation across the state recently, many experts are still advising water conservation in preparation for drier seasons to come. The past water year was the state’s driest in a century.
The Oregon facility will now include solar power in the design, which could allow the plant to run for 178 days entirely on solar power and earn the city a net revenue of $24,000.
While states and localities still have a long way to go toward getting everyone access to high-speed Internet, efforts at all levels of government, and especially federal funding, promise positive progress.
With electronic storage readily available, including blockchain technology, there’s no excuse for keeping valuable property documents on paper.
Some members of the group warned that the latest plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions will not be enough to meet Gov. John Bel Edwards’ goal of net-zero by 2050. The plan’s approval deadline is Feb. 1.
After an underwater pipeline ruptured off the coast last October, a state senator has proposed legislation to ban offshore drilling. But even for a deep blue state like California, the bill faces a lot of opposition.
Newly released research points to the need to both electrify the transportation sector and make cities less car dependent if there’s any hope of curtailing the worst effects of climate change.
The Transportation Commission hopes the new rules will encourage the state to not only get more EVs on the roads but also to improve other transportation options. The plan goes into effect on Feb. 14.
Regulators are exploring what kinds of regulations are needed for electric vehicle charging stations ahead of the nationwide expansion of electric vehicle infrastructure. Currently, only California has charging station standards.
If the current reduction rate continues, the state will achieve its 2030 goal in 2063. The state will need to more than double its yearly cuts in emissions to meet the original target.
The Edison Electric Institute estimated that to match the projected 22 million electric vehicles that will be on the road in 2030, utilities across the nation must increase the number of charging stations by more than tenfold.
The trucking industry faces high turnover among drivers because its business model isn’t driver-centric. A tech company uses artificial intelligence to determine which routes are best for both the driver and revenue generation.
The $2.1 million autonomous vehicle testing site expansion at Castle Commerce Center in Atwater, Calif., includes a test track, a city course and two vehicle dynamics areas. Officials hope the investment will help attract the AV industry.
The state’s transportation section is not on track to meet its aggressive climate goals of reducing emissions by 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2035. By the end of 2020, the state had just 32,000 registered zero-emission vehicles.
Prior to COVID, San Antonio had allowed as many as 16,000 scooters to operate on city streets but now the allowance has dropped to just 2,000. The scooter industry may be here to stay, but not without change.
Tennessee is projected to collect $655.2 million in the 2022 fiscal year through its gas and diesel taxes. As gas-powered vehicles give way to EVs, the state will need to make up the lost fuel-tax revenue.
