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.
New testing standards, staffing strains, and persistent absenteeism are testing the sustainability of the state’s post-pandemic academic rebound.
Transportation emissions accounted for 35 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, the most of any sector. The Advanced Clean Cars II mandate will require 51 percent of new car sales to be electric in 2027.
The comprehensive report found that the state has taken among the fewest climate adaptation and mitigation actions of all the states and is just one of three states whose carbon intensity of their economies increased from 2010 to 2021.
Swinging between drought and flooding, the river needs coordinated oversight. But nobody is setting priorities or getting scores of federal agencies, states, towns, tribal nations and NGOs to sing from the same hymnal.
The Peterbilt 520 EV emerged onto the streets of outer Northeast Portland recently, becoming the city’s second-largest EV, behind the Fire Bureau’s electric fire engine. The truck cost $675,000, nearly double a diesel-powered one.
The massive, 2,000-page report is only issued every four to five years and outlines the major climate issues impacting regions and communities across the nation. Here are five main points of the assessment.
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.
