Climate & Resilience: Page 22

  • People bicycle and jog on a paved path lined by trees
    Image attribution tooltip
    Stephanie Keith/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NYC plans greenway expansion amid concern about cycling deaths

    Supporters of the expansion called it “historic," but other street safety decisions have left advocates feeling betrayed by the mayor, reports news organization Gothamist.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 18, 2023
  • An overhead view of the six-lane Cross Bronx Expressway filled with bumper-to-bumper cars and large trucks.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How many chargers will the Northeast’s electric trucks need? National Grid aims to find out.

    The U.S. Department of Energy-funded analysis will span some of the nation’s largest cities, targeting highways with heavy trucking traffic and commercial areas such as ports.

    By Robert Walton • Oct. 17, 2023
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline➔
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • Hydrogen energy storage gas tank for clean electricity solar and wind turbine facility.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    DOE selects 7 hydrogen hubs for $7B funding opportunity

    The selection of several hubs focused on hydrogen production from fossil fuels and carbon capture drew the ire of environmental groups.

    By Emma Penrod • Oct. 16, 2023
  • Aerial shot of highways crossing and downtown skyline
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Why Los Angeles’ climate plan has ‘outlived its usefulness’: city controller

    The new report says the plan has the same shortcoming as those in many other cities: a lack of meaningful metrics. What should the California city do now? 

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 16, 2023
  • A building inspector is completing an inspection form on clipboard.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NYC project looks to support climate law with building inspection tech

    The AI-powered technology under development uses robots and drone scans to detect structural flaws that reduce energy efficiency.

    By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 16, 2023
  • Neon signs of famous blues clubs on Beale street
    Image attribution tooltip

    Shutterstock / f11photo

    Image attribution tooltip
    Sponsored by Rubicon

    Why efficient waste management matters: Lessons from Memphis, Tennessee

    Picking up trash at 170,000 locations in the City of Memphis every single week is no small feat.

    By Rubicon • Oct. 16, 2023
  • A street sign above floodwaters
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    FEMA makes ‘key changes’ to $1.8B climate resilience grant programs

    Amid concerns that some communities struggle to access federal climate resilience funding, the agency moved to lower the administrative and financial burden for certain applicants.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 13, 2023
  • Turbines in an offshore wind park in Flevoland, The Netherlands, at sunset.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Reworking the grid for offshore wind is a matter of ‘extreme urgency’: Clean energy company exec

    The need to solve transmission and interconnection issues has become more acute as the Inflation Reduction Act pumps billions of dollars into renewable energy production.

    By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 13, 2023
  • An adult man enjoys a bicycle ride on a sunny autumn day in Seattle.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Seattle publishes guide to reducing transportation emissions

    The city’s transportation department wants to speed up a mode shift away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles as Seattle faces the reality that it isn’t on track to meet its climate goals.

    By • Oct. 13, 2023
  • New York City skyline
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NYC launches ‘smart city testbed’: Here are the first 3 pilot technologies

    Initial projects aim to pull pollution out of the air and scan buildings for flaws that reduce energy efficiency.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 12, 2023
  • An HVAC worker is seen to perform heat pump maintenance
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Clean energy transition in buildings could create 2M+ jobs in US, Europe

    The study by Schneider Electric and Boston University estimates which U.S. regions will see the most new jobs as more buildings get solar PV, heat pumps and battery storage.

    By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 12, 2023
  • Aerial view of wind turbines taken with a drone in Vermont.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Vermont utility wants to give all customers battery storage to prevent outages

    Green Mountain Power aims to shift the state’s grid to a distributed system — a future the utility’s CEO envisions for the entire U.S.

    By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 11, 2023
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Column

    Audit of New York City’s subway system highlights climate vulnerability, recommends resilience action

    Even before Superstorm Sandy flooded New York City’s 100-year-old subway system with stormwater in 2012, the Metropolitan Transit Administration was advised to add resilience to the tunnels and create a climate change mitigation plan.

    By Andy Castillo • Oct. 10, 2023
  • Aerial shot of city
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    New alliance aims to turn this Rust Belt city into a ‘Green Belt’ hub

    The Chicagoland Climate Investment Alliance wants $1 billion in federal funding for a “Rust Belt to Green Belt Initiative,” indicating the region is ready to move past its nickname from the 1970s.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 10, 2023
  • Aerial shot of city with lines connecting different locations
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Notable 2024 conferences for smart city leaders

    Newly added events focus on traffic safety, technology and green infrastructure.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Updated Aug. 2, 2024
  • The U.S. General Services Administrations' building.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    ‘Empty’ federal buildings under scrutiny

    Unused office space poses financial and environmental issues federal agencies must address, lawmakers from both parties said at a Senate committee hearing.

    By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 9, 2023
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference on February 01, 2023 in Sacramento, California.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    California governor signs bill to speed utility interconnections

    The Powering Up Californians Act aims to accelerate the state's electrification efforts and is one of several clean energy bills signed recently by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

    By Robert Walton • Oct. 9, 2023
  • A facade of a sustainable glass office building with a tree for reducing carbon dioxide.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    US Green Building Council’s LEED v5 doubles down on decarbonization

    The proposal for existing buildings would set new requirements to boost climate resilience, assess social impact and cut emissions from embodied carbon, refrigerants and transportation.

    By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 6, 2023
  • City skyline and waterfront
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    What are the ‘greenest’ US cities?

    Personal finance company WalletHub evaluated cities based on 28 key “green” indicators using data from 21 sources. “A well-run city is likely to also be a reasonably green city,” an environmental scientist said.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 6, 2023
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Column

    Climate Vulnerability Index ranks the most at-risk communities—many are in the Deep South

    Climate Vulnerability Index ranks the most at-risk communities—many are in the Deep South

    By Andy Castillo • Oct. 5, 2023
  • An Amtrak "Pacific Surfliner" train at Los Angeles Union Station.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by LOSSAN
    Image attribution tooltip

    Amtrak switches to renewable diesel fuel for ‘Pacific Surfliner’ trains

    Fuel from sources like used cooking oil will cut greenhouse gas emissions 63% for these trains, which run along the Southern California coast, said the agency that manages the service.

    By • Oct. 5, 2023
  • People in a subway station with water on the floor.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    MTA lags on NYC subway flooding prevention plan

    A new audit shows severe weather amplified by climate change poses a huge risk to the city’s transit system, which was swamped by a tropical rainstorm last week.

    By Julie Strupp • Oct. 5, 2023
  • Construction cranes line the city skyline at dusk in New York City.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NYC’s ‘mass timber studio’ aims to warm builders up to the material

    The wood products represent a “huge untapped potential” to drive down the city’s carbon footprint, said the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 4, 2023
  • Two people wielding shovels move organic material from a pallet to a composting bin while others look on.
    Image attribution tooltip
    (2018). "Baltimore Food Waste & Recovery Strategy" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Baltimore Office of Sustainability.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    With a $4M EPA grant, Baltimore looks to chart a fresh course on composting

    The city's organics infrastructure is getting a jolt from the new funding. Composting advocates hope broader changes laid out in the city’s draft waste plan will follow.

    By Jacob Wallace • Oct. 3, 2023
  • Aerial shot of flooded neighborhood
    Image attribution tooltip
    Win McNamee/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    National Weather Service rolls out flood forecast maps

    When paired with existing tools, the maps can show where a forecasted flood overlaps with built infrastructure, including that serving vulnerable communities, a federal water official said.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 3, 2023