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.
Most of Alabama may be covered in forests, but asphalt still reigns on school playgrounds. The Alabama Forestry Foundation wants to change that.
On Oct. 20, Navigator CO2 announced that it would abandon its plan to send a $3.4 billion carbon dioxide pipeline through five states. But the company is still pursuing carbon storage projects in central Illinois.
Insurers have begun pulling out of high-risk states, like Florida and California, due to increased climate risks; some are also beginning to depart from Texas, leaving homeowners and buyers with coverage challenges.
In 2020, lawn equipment across the county emitted approximately 245 tons of fine particulates, which is equivalent to 2.6 million cars on the road for one year and is the fifth-highest in the nation.
The North Carolina governor issued an executive order on Tuesday that will expand the state’s Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board to 20 members, establish new actions for the cabinet agencies and set up a new website.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials predict that the El Nino conditions will extend the state’s current drought well into next year. Some are concerned about increased fire risk.
The new map analyzes more than 70,000 tracts across the nation and illustrates what conditions shape a person’s level of vulnerability, including factors such as health, socioeconomic impact, environment, weather events, infrastructure and more.
The U.S. EPA disapproved the state’s ozone reduction plan for ignoring the primary focus of reducing future emissions. Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria have long failed to attain federal air regulation standards.
Water providers say rebates for residential areas are costly and many people refuse to remove their lawns. The rules aim to save enough water for more than a million households a year.
Echo Heights, one of the city’s predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, is worse than 91 percent of the country for proximity to hazardous waste. The ZIP code’s average life expectancy in 2019 was just 73.4 years, well below the average for the county.
When a wildfire or storm strikes, the elderly die at twice or three times the rate of other age groups. There’s much that could be done to make them less vulnerable.
The people of Fort Myers Beach mostly survived. How many can afford to stay remains an open question.
By investing in solar arrays, building efficiency and other clean energy infrastructure, schools could save billions annually while significantly cutting carbon pollution. And federal money is available to help with the upfront costs.
Nearly 5 million properties in the Western U.S. could see higher insurance rates or claim nonrenewals due to wildfire danger alone in the next 30 years. Experts worry this is just one factor that could cause a housing bubble.
World Rivers Day 2023 comes with a push to better understand the health of these life-giving resources.
A coalition of organizations have accused Southern California regulators of allowing heavy smog-emitting companies to avoid millions of dollars in federally mandated penalties.
Gov. Maura Healey announced on Monday, Sept. 18, that the state will ban the purchase of single-use plastics by state agencies with an executive order that will be effective immediately upon issue.
The funding comes from President Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act and marks the act’s largest investment to date in urban and community forests. Overall, $1 billion will be distributed for urban canopy improvements.
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.
Nationally, heat was the underlying or contributing cause of about 1,670 deaths last year, making it the highest heat-related death rate in at least two decades. Substance use, the housing crisis and an aging population contribute to the problem.
The state’s fourth carbon emissions allowances auction brought the program’s revenue to an all-time high in the first year, far outpacing early estimates. The state is still deciding how the money will be spent.
There’s no reason to think the consequences of dumping water contaminated by a nuclear accident into the ocean would be only local or only short-term. No one's drinking that ocean water, but the sea does feed billions of people.
As Chicago residents have spent the last few months hounded by wildfire smoke, experts have a variety of recommendations on how to avoid the bad air quality, including recirculating indoor air, using HEPA filters and creating a clean room.
It saw the 10th highest rate of 911 calls for heat of any state in August. This summer has been particularly hot and temperatures are likely to continue to rise in coming years, according to the N.C. Climate Science Report.
The island, one of the eight Channel Islands off of California, was ready to evacuate its 3,500 permanent residents if Tropical Storm Hilary became too unruly. But their comprehensive emergency plan was not needed in the end.
Despite an unusually wet winter, the state is considering making permanent a temporary ban on watering “ornamental turf” at corporate, industrial or government properties with potable water.
As funds flow from the Inflation Reduction Act for projects across the country, getting the full benefit of this landmark law will depend on governors seizing the moment.
The city’s air quality index hovered between 170 and 190 on Sunday evening and was ranked the worst in the world as smoke from ongoing wildfires in British Columbia, Eastern Washington and the Cascades enveloped the city.
California is one of the few states that requires farmworkers working in the heat to have shade, water and rest, but those rules are often not followed. Additionally, 39 percent of workers reported having problems keeping their own homes cool.
The federal agency found Alabama’s program of managing its own coal ash is “significantly” less protective than what the federal rules require. For many the decision is evidence that other states, like Georgia, need to adjust their plans.
A recent study found that reused water is not only safe but it’s actually cleaner than conventionally sourced water, but proponents are still fighting an uphill battle against the “yuck” factor.
