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Climate change means more extremes for Washington hops farmer

Sep 25, 2023
After a cold spring and unseasonably hot and dry summer, Patrick Smith of Yakima is seeing some abnormalities in when his crops mature.
"Overall, I'd say that the apple crop statewide is looking quite good," Washington farmer Patrick Smith says.
Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images

A plan for alleviating poverty and climate change

The two challenges are interrelated, and a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute says they must be addressed in tandem.
It'll take investment equal to about 8% of global GDP annually to close both the economic empowerment gap and the net-zero transition gap, according to the McKinsey Global Institute,
China Photos/Getty Images

Fossil fuels built Houston into an energy capital. Can it lead the clean energy transition?

Sep 13, 2023
With the aid of workers, technology and cash from the oil and gas industry, new companies offer a glimpse of a post-fossil fuels future.
An oil refinery in operation with the Houston skyline in the background. Fossil fuels continue to enrich the Texas economy, but some see the need to respond to the climate crisis.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Big Tech is buying into the early carbon-removal market

Sep 7, 2023
Microsoft is paying $200 million to a company using crushed rock to absorb carbon, and the Frontier consortium is backing emerging technology.
Investing in emerging environmental technology "signals to consumers or to their customers that this is a company that's a leader, that's ahead of the game," said Daniel Korschun, a marketing professor at Drexel University.
Tim Heitman/Getty Images for BIG3

Citrus industry flowers in Georgia as winters get warmer

Sep 5, 2023
Citrus, a relatively new crop for the state, is taking root thanks to the combined forces of climate change, crop science and disease in Florida.
Jake Price, a scientist at the University of Georgia, walks among citrus trees he’s growing as part of an experiment to find varieties that can withstand cold weather.
Emily Jones/WABE/Grist

Heat strains Texas power grid as population keeps growing

Aug 28, 2023
The state is home to many of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Add record temperatures, and it's no surprise that the grid is stressed.
This summer, peak demand for the Texas grid is 11,000 megawatts more than it was two years ago.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

How businesses can better prepare for climate change

Along with the obvious human case for looking out for employees, climate change poses a serious threat to productivity and retention.
Ralph Freso/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Homes destroyed by the wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii. Despite multiple severe weather events this summer, only a small minority of CEOs say climate change poses a "serious" risk to their business.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Water-short cities in the West want to use every drop, even from sewage

Aug 23, 2023
Direct potable reuse technology, which lets cities pump treated wastewater back into pipes, is picking up steam from Colorado to California.
A flask of purified recycled water after a demonstration in Carson, California.
Alex Hager/KUNC

The extreme heat takes a physical toll — and an economic one

Aug 18, 2023
Low-income workers who aren't able to choose their work schedules are especially hard hit. And that has a cost of its own.
Construction workers rebuild an interstate highway during a heat wave in Houston on July 14.
Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images