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
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

It should be a golden moment for renewable energy. It's not.

Apr 22, 2022
Solar, wind and nuclear energy confront old and new obstacles to competing with fossil fuels.
The trade war between the U.S. and China is causing solar projects to get delayed or canceled. 
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Can supertall buildings help us build more sustainable cities?

Apr 11, 2022
The new book by urban designer Stefan Al explores what the history of skyscrapers can show us about the future.
Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images

How bitcoin mining works

Mar 4, 2022
Ingredients: Tens of thousands of powerful computers, enough energy to power all of Poland. Yield: More than $30 million in newly minted bitcoin every day.
Two technicians inspect a bitcoin mining operation in 2018. The highly lucrative practice is paying off for miners but wreaking environmental havoc.
Lars Hagberg/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How much is climate a factor in where people are moving?

Jan 28, 2022
Duluth, Minnesota, is welcoming people who say they are moving away from places like California because of climate concerns.
Doug Kouma moved to Duluth, Minnesota, from Sonoma County, California, in 2019. He said Duluth may soon be known as a "climate migration hub."
Dan Kraker/MPR News

Why it's so hard to pass climate crisis legislation in the U.S.

Jan 27, 2022
The American political system makes it easier to block change than to create it, explains Shannon Osaka of Grist.
The Build Back Better Bill is stalled, but it's not the first time that legislation aimed at tackling climate change has been sidelined.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

How do you calculate a company's carbon footprint? The SEC is figuring that out.

Jan 19, 2022
Emissions by a company's suppliers and customers could count towards the total.
The SEC may soon require companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions. Whether they'll also include emissions from suppliers — usually a larger proportion of emissions — is unclear.
Nilmar Lage/AFP via Getty Images