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.
The drones will be developed to transport heavy loads, like firefighting supplies, industrial packages and even human transplant organs, and will be able to fly continuously for up to seven hours.
The state hopes to have as many as 150,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2025, but it still has a long way to go. For some localities, switching municipal vehicles to EVs can signify to residents that the town is serious about reducing emissions.
Starting next year, companies will begin replacing 3G networks with updated, faster services, like 5G. While only an estimated 4 percent of wireless connections used 3G in 2020, devices that do rely on 3G will stop working.
The local gas utility called the plan’s language “problematic for our industry.” Miami floated the idea for a new policy banning hookups starting with new construction and expanding to city building retrofits.
The federal funding will be used to reduce air pollution and encourage the use of electric vehicles and charging stations, which are crucial to EV growth. The state will add $10.6 million to the funding.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids sponsored a bill that would create a group to study the developing industry of advanced air mobility, which includes drone delivery and air-taxis. The state is already well-established in aeronautics.
Commercial nuclear reactors produced one-fifth of the nation’s electricity in 2020, without requiring the direct combustion of fossil fuels. But it’s difficult finding the funds to develop and maintain the sites.
COP26 convened amid projections that greenhouse emissions were on track to go up, not down, over the next decade, and severe climate impacts have arrived much sooner than imagined. Will the summit change this picture?
The county’s only active landfill will become inoperable sooner than previously estimated. Officials must create a solution that doesn’t harm neighboring communities or the environment, and figure out how to pay for it.
The Western Fire Chiefs Association, a nonprofit that started in California during the 1800s, sees much potential in a new tool that can save substantial time and manpower in wildfire recovery missions.
Minneapolis residents voted 56 percent to 44 percent against an amendment that would have transformed the city’s police. The reasons they did so are complicated, an expert writes.
The city purchased two Tesla vehicles for a pilot program of electrifying the police department’s fleet. Preliminary reviews gave the Teslas low marks but the scope of the survey was very narrow.
Mayor Jenny Durkan announced an executive order that will expand the existing free transportation program for public school students and calls for incentives for electric vehicles and pedestrian travel.
The state’s low-cost energy is a great draw for those looking to expand the cryptocurrency industry. But mining the digital currencies consumes a lot of power and some experts aren’t certain that the state’s power grid can withstand the stress.
The county’s Regional Decarbonization Framework report not only outlines the county’s goals of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2035 but also puts local governments as the driving force behind climate response.
The Boring Company has proposed to build a pair of tunnels that would shuttle riders to the city’s beachfront in self-driving Teslas. But there are still cost and environmental concerns that need to be resolved before approval.
The quasi-government agency would be able to seek grants, issue bonds and even levy fees to carry out projects that would protect life and property from the increasing number of storms and heat waves across the state.
The state’s largest electric utility, Ameren Corp.’s Sioux Energy Center, is mining bitcoin to avoid wasting energy and stressing its power plants. Ameren believes it is the first or one of the first utilities in the nation to do so.
If passed, the proposed legislation would prevent Internet providers from blocking, throttling or engaging in the paid prioritization of providing Internet service to Massachusetts residents.
Offshore wind has many advantages over land-based turbines. Developers have to consider a variety of factors, including speed and consistency of the wind, as well as possible conflicts with fishing and shipping.
Technology leaders from Connecticut, Minnesota and Vermont shared their approaches to digital service delivery and developing those services “in a way that brings people in.”
A commission created by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation argues that tracking metrics reflecting the social factors of health is integral to reforming the current disjointed public health data system.
The current system does not service many jurisdictions in the area and isn’t capable of handling the growing demand for mental health response systems. The city will switch away from its current model in 2024.
Gov. Charlie Baker has filed clean energy legislation that would remove the existing price cap on project proposals in hopes to attract greater investment into the state’s developing offshore wind industry.
The state has proposed new greenhouse gas rules that would reduce carbon emissions by 1.5 million metric tons by 2030, the equivalent of removing 300,000 cars from the road. The vote on the proposal could happen as soon as Nov. 18.
Most state CIOs expect remote work to continue and for digital services to keep proliferating. That introduces a host of shifting priorities, including a renewed need for cybersecurity enhancements and identity tools.
Some say that Michigan is well suited to become the hub for next-gen technologies like semiconductors and electric vehicles, but will need more investment before it outpaces tech hubs in New England and the West.
The partnership will develop strategies and landing pads in preparation for future electric oversized drone technologies. But some argue that the city’s resources would be better spent on existing transportation infrastructure.
Artificial intelligence made few gains during the pandemic, Gartner finds, even as more agencies turn to chatbots. Confusion about the technology and anxiety among government workers are among the main hurdles.
The Central Ohio Transit Authority will stop running diesel-powered buses by 2025 and will implement eight more electric buses next summer. There are approximately 700 electric transit vehicles currently operating in the U.S.
