Climate
This city in the West made itself drought-proof. Then its dam started leaking.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, and cities across the West rely on fragile water sources—and aging infrastructure.
Government software that shines: Solar permitting’s bright future in 2024
COMMENTARY | By automating the permitting process for rooftop solar, cities and counties can save time and money for their building departments and homeowners.
Federal rule forces oil states to cut planet-warming methane emissions
Some states say the new regulation is too heavy a lift.
How one city funds climate resilience, a dollar at a time
With $1 collected from every electric and gas bills each month, Minneapolis plans to weatherize residents’ homes, install rooftop solar on commercial buildings and build electric vehicle charging stations.
Who should have land-use authority in green energy projects?
Michigan lawmakers are considering legislation that would shift some land-use authorities to the state to streamline renewable energy developments. But local governments and residents fear their voices will get left behind in the race to build green infrastructure.
Farm groups, weather and climate watchers pitch state funding for network of weather stations
The Nebraska Mesonet system, once the envy of the nation, has fallen on hard times because of uncertain funding/
FEMA rolls out climate adaptation loans for small and overlooked communities
The federal disaster relief agency has taken heat for steering past resilience funds to whiter, wealthier areas.
Mobile homes could be a climate solution. So why don’t they get more respect?
Mobile homes could be a key player in combatting climate change as they can be built or retrofitted with more energy-efficient and climate-friendly features.
How local leaders are getting one hot county to cool down
From emissions reductions to cool roofs, Miami-Dade County is exploring how building efficiency plays a role in the growing heat crisis.
Emission-reduction initiatives prime city and state agencies for federal grants
Robust climate action plans are also helping governments mitigate the financial and human costs of natural disasters.
Featured eBooks
NSF jumpstarts regional innovation with $20M awards
The National Science Foundation will fund research in six states to advance energy-water systems, biomanufacturing, health care, wildfire management and artificial intelligence.
Prediction: 2023 will be a ‘very active’ hurricane season
Using a machine learning model, researchers predict heightened hurricane activity this year that may leave the East Coast and Gulf Coast especially vulnerable.
Synthetic storms provide supplemental data for hurricane damage predictions
Emergency managers no longer have to rely on limited historical datasets to prepare for hurricane-related infrastructure damage.
Statistical model predicts daily high tide flooding
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a new model that can predict daily high tide flooding months in advance.
Urban climate lab makes holistic appraisal of resilience
The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative will integrate environmental, health and community response data to drive potential climate solutions that support equity and resilience.
Climate projections everyone can understand
The Climate Risk and Resilience portal gives emergency managers nontechnical climate datasets and high-resolution, forward-looking climate insights.
Early warning system pinpoints flooded roads in some states
Nearly a dozen states are using real-time, hyper-local monitoring to assess potential flooding at specific bridges or roads.
Low-cost sensors are helping communities find gaps in air quality data
Portable air sensors are helping citizen-scientists living near fracking or industrial operations collect data on volatile organic compounds -- pollutants not tracked by EPA monitors.
How can cities respond to extreme heat?
A new report offers a practical framework to help communities ensure urban heat resilience planning efforts are as effective and equitable as possible.
Satellites zoom in on cities’ hottest neighborhoods to help combat the urban heat island effect
Satellite and population data can help cities created detailed heat maps so they can prepare for and respond to risks associated with extreme heat, a top weather-related killer.
