January 15, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
President Biden’s American Climate Corps, aimed at creating green jobs to combat climate change, is shutting down ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Launched in 2023 with a goa
Why the White House’s environmental justice tool is still disappointing advocates
Summary
The revised version of the U.S. government's "disadvantaged communities" tool automatically considers more than 750 federally recognized tribal tracts disadvantaged, refines its income formula, and adds nine new criteria for judging whether a neighborhood is disadvantaged. The changes led to an addition of roughly 4,400 census tracts to the ranks of the disadvantaged, resulting in 37 percent of the country's nearly 74,000 tracts now considered disadvantaged by the tool. The "disadvantaged" designation remains highly correlated with race, with the larger share of people of color in a tract, the more likely it is to be flagged. However, the addition of new data and methodological changes did not dramatically alter the tool's effectiveness at capturing communities of color shouldering environmental burdens. The tool's focus on communities of color has actually been diluted by the addition of many rural, majority-white tracts.
January 15, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares for a second term, state-level climate initiatives are poised to counteract federal rollbacks. States like California, bolstered by the U.
January 14, 2025
Energy Justice
Energy Justice
The Center for Microgrid Research at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, not to be confused with the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, is expanding its efforts to
January 9, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
New York City has implemented congestion pricing, making it the first U.S. city to adopt this policy, which charges vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street. The plan aims to
January 9, 2025
Energy Justice
Energy Justice
Jimmy Carter’s presidency made energy a central political issue in the U.S., emphasizing reduced oil dependency and energy conservation. As president, Carter created the Departmen
January 9, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
Texas is experiencing a rapid increase in microgrid adoption as extreme weather events, such as Winter Storm Uri in 2021 and Hurricane Beryl in 2024, expose vulnerabilities in the
January 9, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
New research highlights the growing prevalence of "weather whiplash," rapid shifts between extreme rain and drought, as a hallmark of climate change. In Los Angeles, this phenomen
January 8, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
Florida faces a looming water crisis as climate change, rapid population growth, and overuse of groundwater threaten its freshwater supply. The state relies on aquifers for 90% of
January 8, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
New Clark City, a $2.5 billion project in the Philippines, is designed to be a climate-resilient urban hub with plans for green infrastructure, renewable energy, and flood-resista
January 8, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
President Biden’s new ban on offshore oil and gas drilling excludes the western Gulf of Mexico, the area responsible for 97% of U.S. offshore oil production. The ban protects the
UN Special Rapporteur Elisa Morgera has called for fundamental reforms to the global climate regime, criticizing the current system as ineffective and dominated by misinformation
January 4, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
Rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten to severely damage 13 major oil ports globally, including key facilities in Saudi Arabia, the US, China, and the Netherlands. A
January 3, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
In a landmark decision, the Montana Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs in *Held v. Montana*, affirming their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful en
January 3, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
AI-driven weather forecasting models are proving faster, cheaper, and more accurate than traditional numerical methods reliant on expensive supercomputers. These tools leverage ma
January 3, 2025
Energy Justice
Energy Justice
Elon Musk, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President-elect Donald Trump. Tasked with cutting $2 trillion in federal spend