In northeast Houston, residents are creating solar-powered “hub homes” to serve as community refuges during power outages, filling the gap left by the lack of formal resilience...
The Critical Role Trees Play During Heat Waves

Carlos Claussell Velez discusses the significant impact of trees in mitigating the effects of urban heat islands, particularly during heat waves. Urban areas with fewer trees experience higher temperatures, contributing to health risks and energy costs. This disparity often affects marginalized communities more severely, exacerbating existing inequities. Trees help cool the air through shade and evapotranspiration, which can reduce temperatures by 12-18°F. Initiatives like Philadelphia’s Beat the Heat campaign and the Philly Tree Plan aim to increase tree cover in underserved areas. Velez advocates for nature-based urban planning solutions, community involvement, and extending protections to outdoor workers to build more resilient and equitable cities.
Houston’s air pollution, especially PM2.5, is rising again, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities near industry...
Internal documents and whistleblower accounts reveal that Trump appointees at HUD have gutted enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, slashing staff, blocking cases,
Houston leads major U.S. cities in poverty, with 21.2% of residents—over 500,000 people—living below the federal threshold...
After 26 years at EPA, environmental justice pioneer Charles Lee retires and joins Howard University’s Environmental and Climate Justice Center, arguing that despite Trump...
Two decades after Hurricane Katrina, overlooked survivors are reclaiming their narratives through TikTok, challenging long-standing portrayals from 2005.
The Sierra Club fired Executive Director Ben Jealous after no-confidence votes, budget cuts, layoffs, and misconduct concerns. Union leaders welcomed his departure...
U.S. clean hydrogen projects are collapsing amid shortened tax credit deadlines, rising energy costs, and policy shifts, leaving most proposals ineligible and investors...
A coalition of nonprofits, tribes, and local governments filed a class-action lawsuit against the EPA, demanding reinstatement of a $3bn climate justice grant program halted...
The Trump administration’s move to revoke the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases marks a major policy reversal, undermining decades of climate protections...
Ben Jealous was placed on leave by the Sierra Club amid widespread internal dissent over his leadership, with staff citing failed vision, contentious layoffs...
The UN's International Court of Justice declared climate change a human rights issue, advising that nations must act or risk reparations, influencing global litigation...
The Trump administration has targeted over 4,000 federal grants worth up to $8.2 billion for termination across 600+ U.S. colleges, disproportionately affecting public...
The USDA under the Trump administration has eliminated the term “socially disadvantaged” from its policies, ending race- and gender-based support programs for minority farmers...
President Trump's elimination of federal DEI programs has halted essential USDA funding to East Texas Black farmers, further endangering their livelihoods amid decades...















