U.S. schools are rebuilding on safer ground to combat flooding and climate change

Jul 18, 2022
Thousands of schools are located in areas subject to flooding, a Pew study says. Rebuilding puts schools in competition for safer land.
Needing to rebuild and re-purchase supplies after a flood can be very expensive for schools and their communities, said Matt Casale with the Public Interest Research Group. Above, volunteers clean a school in Houston after flooding from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. 
Scott Olson/Getty Images

A hurricane destroyed farmworker housing. A nonprofit’s rebuilding something better.

Jul 7, 2022
Hurricane Irma damaged or destroyed already dilapidated trailer homes in Immokalee, Florida, in 2017. An effort to build permanent affordable housing is now getting off the ground.
The Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance broke ground on a new affordable housing complex on approximately 10 acres of vacant land in November 2021. IFHA chairman Arol Buntzman, left, is joined by supporters of the project.
Courtesy Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance

Ocean acidification raises economic concerns for shellfish hatcheries

Jul 5, 2022
Lower pH water, caused by higher carbon dioxide emissions, can kill baby oysters as they fight for minerals to grow their shells.
Oceans are the most acidic they’ve been in 26,000 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization. That can impact the development of shellfish, like the ones fishermen depend on for income.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The climate crisis comes for outdoor tourism

Jun 23, 2022
A historic drought and massive wildfire have hurt the outdoor tourism industry in the Southwest United States.
Longer, more intense wildfire seasons are hurting towns in the southwest U.S. that rely heavily on tourism. Above, trees scorched by the Canyon Fire near Mora, New Mexico, on June 2.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Extreme heat is becoming more common. Should tenants have a right to air conditioning?

Jun 14, 2022
There are many more laws and programs to help low-income people stay warm in the winter than cool in the summer.
Above, temperatures reached 114º F in of El Centro, California on June 12. Much of the South and West have been grappling with a heat wave, underscoring how air conditioning is becoming increasingly necessary.
Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

"Refilleries" give consumers a way to reuse plastic bottles and cut waste

Jun 13, 2022
Businesses are reviving an old model to reduce single-use plastic in an effort to curb plastic pollution and fight climate change.
Samantha Keough browses the plastic-free products at Lite Foot, a mobile refillery that helps customers reuse containers instead of throwing out plastic.
Emily Jones/WABE

Workers face blistering temperatures again, with little federal protection

Jun 10, 2022
The Biden Administration ordered OSHA to draw up workplace heat standards. How soon will they be in place?
Farmworkers and other laborers could suffer in this weekend's heat wave.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

States are increasingly using LIHEAP fund to buy air conditioners for low-income families as heat waves and high temperatures become more common.
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Quantifying climate risk goes mainstream

May 16, 2022
People seeking to minimize flood and fire risk when looking for a home have new tools to guide them.
The 2017 Tubbs Fire decimated neighborhoods. Many people are seeking safer homes as fire risk worsens, but there are few tools to help them.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A UN report says making cities more population-dense can help cut carbon emissions

May 2, 2022
Cities were responsible for over half of the world's carbon emissions in recent years. They could turn that around in the decades to come.
An aerial view of a "green" roof in Caracas, Venezuela. Green roofs are roofs that incorporate vegetation.
Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images