Climate & Resilience: Page 2

  • A man wearing a winter coat and scarf stands in front of a garbage truck with the words "100% Electric" printed on the side.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    9 senators call for EPA funding to address landfill methane

    They want more than $6.7 million to go to states for advanced methane detection technology and $5 million for local governments to develop methane reductions plans at municipally owned landfills. 

    By Jacob Wallace • June 11, 2024
  • Aerial shot of buildings in a downtown. A tree-covered hill sits in the background.
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    Davel5957 via Getty Images
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    Tax on gas-powered large buildings will go to voters in Berkeley, California

    A 2023 court decision that struck down Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation ban on gas hookups in new construction is part of what led to the ballot measure, an organizer said. 

    By • June 10, 2024
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline➔
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    jamesteohart via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them in 2024.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • A facade of a Department of Energy building
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    MingzheZhang via Getty Images
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    5 states, DC get $45M to finance energy efficiency retrofits

    The revolving loan funds established with the federal awards can unlock millions in private capital for energy efficiency improvements, says the U.S. Department of Energy.

    By Nish Amarnath • June 10, 2024
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    The heat is on. Contractors say they’re ready.

    Commercial construction firms aren’t waiting on OSHA’s much-anticipated heat standard to protect their workers.

    By Zachary Phillips • June 7, 2024
  • A main street in Vermont is flooded with one person wading through the water.
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    Kylie Cooper via Getty Images
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    Vermont sends climate change tab to fossil fuel companies

    Although the governor allowed the bill to become law, he expressed misgivings about the state's ability to hold oil and gas companies financially accountable for climate change damages.

    By Lamar Johnson • June 6, 2024
  • A worker in a hard hat and yellow vest lays a large pipe in the ground. On the side of the pipe, the word "geothermal" is written three times.
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    Permission granted by Ania Camargo
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    Geothermal system is a US first

    A networked, utility-owned system in a Massachusetts community's pilot could replace fossil fuel for heating and cooling across entire neighborhoods.

    By • June 5, 2024
  • A man in a dark suit stands in front of an audience.
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    Julie Strupp/Smart Cities Dive
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    How climate change is hitting highways

    The Federal Highway Administration does not have enough money to continue replacing roads that are not resilient against extreme weather, a federal highway research engineer said.

    By Julie Strupp • June 5, 2024
  • Charging port on the Volvo C40 recharge SUV.
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    Courtesy of Volvo Cars
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    $1.3B available for EV charging network expansion in US

    Government entities nationwide can apply for federal funding to build charging infrastructure in their communities. 

    By Haley Cawthon • June 4, 2024
  • A person wearing a ponytail and purple tank top raches up to touch cardboard around a window AC unit on the outside of a building. A plastic water bottle sits on the windowsill.
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    David Ryder/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    How US summer cooling costs are rising in 2 charts

    The average U.S. electric bill this summer is projected to set a 10-year record, finds a June 3 report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and Center for Energy Poverty and Climate.

    By • June 4, 2024
  • Three people in dark suits sit at a table with a black curtain in the background and people in chairs in front of them.
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    Julie Strupp/Smart Cities Dive
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    Code compliance not enough to protect builders from lawsuits amid climate change

    Contractors and engineers must keep up with more frequent, severe extreme weather despite outdated building codes, said legal experts at a recent building innovation conference.

    By Julie Strupp • June 3, 2024
  • A woman wipes her brow in a crowd of people.
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    Spencer Platt/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    NYC’s heat safety plans for 2024: Free ‘cool kits,’ pet-friendly cooling centers

    “We learned a lot from last year,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a May 30 press conference.

    By • June 3, 2024
  • Fermata Energy has partnered with the City of Boulder on a vehicle-to-grid charging project
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    Permission granted by Fermata Energy
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    EVs will power buildings in Colorado city’s ‘transformative’ pilot

    The pilot will inform how vehicle-to-everything charging technology can be used in areas at high risk of prolonged outages due to natural disaster or emergency events, a utility partner said.

    By Robert Walton • May 31, 2024
  • Man in military uniform and two others wearing high visibility apparel outside a railroad terminal.
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    (2012). "Sailors set up lights in Hoboken." [Photograph]. Retrieved from Official U.S. Navy Page/Flickr.
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    FTA publishes climate resilience guidebook for transit agencies

    Updated climate data sources and community vulnerability screening tools are among the recommendations in the latest resource from the Federal Transit Administration.

    By • May 31, 2024
  • A construction worker atop a steel beam drinks from a bottle of water.
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    Brian Snyder/Reuters

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    Deep Dive

    Heat safety laws for workers in Texas, Florida, Phoenix to be put to the test

    As summer begins, some states prevent cities from mandating water breaks. Still, there are commonsense practices to protect workers from soaring temperatures, safety officials say.

    By Zachary Phillips • May 28, 2024
  • A close up of Michael Regan
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Brownfield clean-up job training programs can get $14M from EPA

    The federal agency also awarded over $300 million in grants to clean up polluted sites so communities can repurpose them into assets such as affordable housing and green space.

    By • May 28, 2024
  • Looking up at skyscrapers against a blue sky
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    aiisha5 via Getty Images
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    Top cities for certified energy-efficient buildings announced by EPA

    Los Angeles has dominated the rankings for Energy Star-certified buildings year after year. The U.S. EPA has some ideas on why. 

    By • May 24, 2024
  • Bottles and cans littered on a sand beach
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    Milos Bicanski via Getty Images
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    Litter audit data could drive more litigation and policy, experts say

    New York is suing PepsiCo for allegedly “harming the public and the environment with its single-use plastic packaging,” in part based on such data.

    By Maria Rachal • May 23, 2024
  • A close up of sideline on a soccer field, with sunlight in the background.
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    matimix for iStock via Getty Images
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    San Francisco and 2 states expand bans on forever chemicals

    The measures outlaw PFAS in items such as turf, menstruation products and firefighter gear.

    By Sara Samora • May 21, 2024
  • A person holds a piece of cardboard over their head while looking across a crowded beach.
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    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Heat resilience research centers unveiled by Biden administration

    Most governments have historically lacked “a comprehensive or coordinated set of strategies to deal with heat and its impacts,” a center lead said. Applications for communities to get involved will open later this year. 

    By • May 21, 2024
  • Overhead view of brick, multistory buildings along a one-way street.
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    deberarr via Getty Images
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    Legal battle over NYC’s building emissions law resurfaces in appellate court

    A panel of New York State Supreme Court judges said the defendants, including New York City, have failed to show that the state’s existing climate legislation does not preempt Local Law 97. 

    By Nish Amarnath • May 20, 2024
  • Two workers in yellow vests and hard hats ride on the back of a truck spraying gray liquid onto a city street
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    Retrieved from City of San Antonio on YouTube on May 20, 2024
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    How cool pavement, heat risk data are helping a Texas city prep for summer

    With heat-related illness on the rise in San Antonio, “it’s critical that we direct resources to those most in need of relief,” said the city’s chief sustainability officer.

    By • May 20, 2024
  • The hallway of a home with white walls, with a thermostat that reads "70" on the wall. Above it is a panel that reads "Year-Round Comfort & Savings."
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    Dylan Slagle, BGE

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    EPA launches new Energy Star residential standard

    Requirements for certification include heat pumps, resident electric vehicle charging stations, electric cooking appliances and highly energy-efficient construction.

    By Mary Salmonsen • May 17, 2024
  • Three rats on the sidewalk next to a trash can at night
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    Katie Dobies via Getty Images
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    To win the war on rats, NYC convenes National Urban Rat Summit

    “The best way to defeat our enemy is to know our enemy,” Mayor Eric Adams said. Municipal experts from cities across the U.S. will be in attendance.

    By • May 17, 2024
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks during a news conference in October 2022.
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    Justin Sullivan/Getty via Getty Images
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    California Gov. Newsom says climate bills are ‘funded’ in his revised state budget

    The governor’s original budget proposal for 2024-2025 left out funding needed to implement a pair of climate disclosure bills — an omission met with much criticism.

    By Zoya Mirza • May 16, 2024
  • A city skyline behind a waterway lined by trees. A boat is in the waterway.
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    pawel.gaul via Getty Images
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    Clean energy fund surplus sparks tension in Pacific Northwest city

    The Portland, Oregon, program has brought in millions of dollars more than originally anticipated, putting some city leaders and climate advocates at odds over how to proceed.

    By • May 16, 2024