Climate & Resilience: Page 2
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New Jersey breaks ground on hurricane shelter for rail cars
Officials proposed the project after Hurricane Sandy caused $400 million worth of damage to an NJ Transit maintenance complex and hundreds of trains stored there.
By Matthew Thibault • Jan. 2, 2025 -
tunart via Getty Images
9 predictions about what 2025 may hold for US cities
“Playground” cities will thrive, innovative housing programs will proliferate and technology will transform transit and municipal services, these sources say.
By Smart Cities Dive staff • Jan. 2, 2025 -
Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images
Biden raises GHG emissions-reduction goal, but experts say Trump ‘hellbent’ on reversing course
“Even though the Trump administration may not lift a finger to deliver on this plan, it sets a north star for what the U.S. should be aiming for,” said World Resources Institute's Debbie Weyl.
By Robert Walton • Dec. 20, 2024 -
Rene Notenbomer via Getty Images
‘Smart surfaces’ policy tracker shows how cities boost green infrastructure, solar, cool pavement
Local officials can use the over 450 resources in the tracker to develop their own policies, according to Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Smart Surfaces Coalition.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 20, 2024 -
Courtesy of General Motors
GM, ChargePoint partner to deploy 500 ultra-fast EV chargers
The two companies plan to open the charging stations to the public before the end of 2025.
By Eric Walz • Dec. 19, 2024 -
RyanJLane via Getty Images
Washington local governments sue to block builder-supported measure favoring natural gas
Voter-approved I-2066, which prevents the state and local governments from restricting access to natural gas, is unconstitutional, said Seattle, King County and other groups in a lawsuit filed last week.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 19, 2024 -
welcomia via Getty Images
OpinionThe key to successfully deploying heat pump water heaters? Funding innovation.
Small grants allow local organizations to test new technologies and approaches, a vital step in scaling climate solutions.
By Chris Badger • Dec. 17, 2024 -
Nafiz Rahat via Getty Images
92% of large NYC buildings meet 2024 carbon emission limits: report
Site energy use in buildings over 25,000 square feet dropped for the fifth year in a row, with 43% of buildings set to meet Local Law 97’s stricter 2030 targets, the Urban Green Council says.
By Nish Amarnath • Dec. 16, 2024 -
Davel5957 via Getty Images
Climate resilience top of mind for Denver as it plans to revamp landscaping rules
Facing prolonged drought and heat, Denver plans rules that may require native grasses, shrubs and trees in new development and some redevelopment projects.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 16, 2024 -
Drew Angerer/Getty Images via Getty Images
EPA awards more climate justice grants, but ‘overwhelming’ number of applications to review remain
As Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration approaches, the Environmental Protection Agency says it will not have time before then to award more funds under the Community Change grants program.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 13, 2024 -
Phillip Faraone via Getty Images
California approves $1.4B to deploy 17,000 EV chargers, hydrogen fueling infrastructure
California has about 152,000 public and shared private chargers installed today, and it expects that number to reach 250,000 in the next few years.
By Robert Walton • Dec. 13, 2024 -
BanksPhotos via Getty Images
5 community-scale geothermal systems to be built with $35M from DOE
The projects will demonstrate how communities can leverage energy underground to decarbonize buildings, the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office says.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Updated Dec. 18, 2024 -
Gabriel Shakour via Getty Images
OpinionStepping up to achieve local climate progress despite federal headwinds
As a second Trump administration takes office, state and local action will be among the most effective means of continuing the momentum for clean energy deployment and cost reductions.
By Darren Springer • Dec. 11, 2024 -
halbergman via Getty Images
Deep DiveA Michigan city’s ‘sustainable energy utility’ got the green light from voters. What now?
By creating a supplemental utility that will focus on scaling up rooftop solar, battery storage and microgrids, Ann Arbor, Michigan, is taking its clean energy future into its own hands.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 10, 2024 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
Biden administration releases $849M to fix aging water infrastructure in the West
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding will help boost drought resilience via 77 projects in 11 states.
By Julie Strupp • Dec. 10, 2024 -
Courtesy of Eastman
Kansas county sues major plastic producers, alleging deceptive recycling messaging
Ford County, Kansas, seeks damages, cleanup and abatement services from the companies. But defendant and trade association American Chemistry Council called the county’s claims “meritless.”
By Megan Quinn • Dec. 4, 2024 -
Nafiz Rahat via Getty Images
New York makes $10M available for building heating and cooling tech
HVAC manufacturers and building owners can use the funds to develop and demonstrate cold-climate heat pumps as the state aims to reduce buildings' on-site energy consumption by 2025.
By Nish Amarnath • Dec. 3, 2024 -
Retrieved from City of Phoenix.
New group wants to help US cities scale up climate-resilient ‘smart surfaces’
Exclusive access to data, funding opportunities and model ordinances to expand cool pavement, green surfaces, porous pavement and solar panels will be among the benefits for the peer learning network participants.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 3, 2024 -
Ysabelle Kempe/Smart Cities Dive
AI could help cities tackle climate change, but only if it solves ‘real problems’: NYC climate chief
“We don’t need AI or big data to tell us with much greater detail how screwed we are as a city or as a planet,” Rohit Aggarwala said at Cornell Tech’s Urban Tech Summit last week.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Nov. 26, 2024 -
anatoliy_gleb via Getty Images
IRS finalizes direct pay rules, increasing access to IRA’s clean energy tax credits
Direct-pay-eligible entities like local governments, public school districts, churches and hospitals will more easily be able to jointly invest in clean energy projects under rules released Tuesday.
By Diana DiGangi • Nov. 21, 2024 -
(2022). "Las Vegas heat tabletop exercise" [Photograph]. Retrieved from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Want a heat resilience ‘blueprint’ for your city? This federal research center can help.
Up to 10 communities will get $10,000 each and technical support to figure out how to fund and prepare responses during heat waves.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Nov. 21, 2024 -
Win McNamee/Getty Images via Getty Images
‘We’ve been here before’: What Trump’s win could mean for local climate action
City leaders are preparing for a president who has cast doubt on the scientific consensus around climate change and threatened to rescind unspent Inflation Reduction Act dollars.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Nov. 20, 2024 -
David Dee Delgado via Getty Images
New York City Employees’ Retirement System joins UN investor alliance committed to net-zero emissions
The nation’s largest municipal public retirement system joined the United Nations-backed Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, committing to transitioning its investment portfolio to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
By Zoya Mirza • Nov. 18, 2024 -
Jacob Boomsma via Getty Images
Thermal energy networks can decarbonize neighborhoods. Meet the US cities giving them a shot.
With federal dollars, cities want to leverage heat from waste sources and the ground to move buildings away from burning fossil fuels on-site.
By Brian Martucci • Nov. 18, 2024 -
Magnus Manske. (2006). "Como Park Zoo and Conservatory-2006" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
Automation, efficiency upgrades at Minnesota zoo could save city up to $1.8M over 3 years
Groundwater-based geothermal heat pumps and building automation systems are among the changes at St. Paul's Como Park Zoo, which a city official said accounts for about 25% of total energy use among city properties.
By Brian Martucci • Nov. 15, 2024
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