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Climate change is making prescribed burning trickier in the West

Jun 3, 2022
The controlled burns are supposed to help minimize wildfire hazards, but fires in New Mexico that got out of control have some questioning whether climate change is altering that calculation.
Prescribed burns are used to prevent large fires, but an incident in New Mexico is leading to some reconsideration about the practice.
Terray Sylvester/Getty Images

Big storms are coming. Are we ready?

Jun 1, 2022
Networking plays a huge part in how prepared – and funded – communities can be for disasters.
Trees bend in the tropical storm wind along North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state September 10, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The powerful hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

More severe hurricane seasons bring higher costs

May 27, 2022
Storms are becoming more frequent and covering new ground. At the same time, mitigation efforts are getting more expensive
As oceans warm, storms get more severe.
NOAA via Getty Images

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

What does the current energy crisis mean for the clean energy transition?

Apr 28, 2022
The war in Ukraine is forcing the U.S. to reconsider its dependence on oil.
"We have seen this scenario time and time again, where oil is proving to be an unstable factor in our economy," said Mark Brownstein at the Environmental Defense Fund. "And now we have the opportunity to move to a different future."
David McNew/Getty Images

Coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, is in high demand

Apr 26, 2022
While coal is having a resurgence as a fuel source, the spike in its use may not last.
People line up for ice cream in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, near a coal-burning power station. Existing coal plants in the U.S. are being used more, though that’s likely only temporary.
Jeff Swenson/Getty Images

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Wildfires in April signal growing costs of climate change

Apr 26, 2022
What to do when fuel for fires seems infinite, but resources to fight fires is decidedly finite?
As the risk for wildfires rises, small cities struggle to find the resources to combat them.

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. 
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

What will it take for yellow buses to go green?

Apr 5, 2022
Electric school buses cost about three times as much as diesel ones. The White House is putting $5 billion toward the zero-emission models.
The Biden administration is putting $5 billion toward replacing existing school buses with zero-emission models.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images