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Biden Joins State Leaders Backing Push for Floating Wind Turbines
The Biden administration is betting big on floating wind turbines — a technology that is still in its infancy — to be a significant part of the nation’s transition to renewable energy. The White House announced last week that it is aiming to deploy 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035, enough to […]
Michigan Governor Seeks to Reopen Nuclear Plant
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s last-minute attempts to save the Palisades Nuclear Plant appeared to have failed when the plant shut down in May. But the Democrat now is backing a new plan to reopen the plant under a different company, pledging state support and asking for federal funds to save the facility. “We have a […]
Geothermal Bubbles Up as Another Way to Fight Climate Change
Geothermal power currently provides only a tiny fraction of the nation’s electricity. But as states ramp up their transitions to renewable electricity, some leaders see a big role for geothermal as a stable, renewable power source. Used in the United States since 1960, geothermal plants pipe steam or hot water from deep wells to power […]
Buoyed by Some Lawmakers, Minor League Players Vote to Unionize
Amid nascent efforts from state lawmakers to help minor league baseball players earn better wages, a majority of players have voted in favor of joining the union representing their major league counterparts. The Major League Baseball Players Association, known as MLBPA, announced Tuesday that a “significant majority” of minor league players voted to create their […]
Towns May Grow Millions More Trees with .5B for Urban Forestry
SEATTLE — Last year, legislators in Washington state passed a law to bolster the urban forestry work of the Department of Natural Resources. The agency’s urban and community forestry program, which had just two staffers in 2020, will grow to nine positions once the department finalizes new hires. Those new staffers, along with a new […]
Public Health Agencies Lack Money to Combat Climate Threats
Medical experts say climate change will affect nearly every aspect of public health. Many of those impacts already are being felt. Heat deaths in the United States are severely undercounted, researchers say, with some studies putting the actual total at thousands each year. Scientists are working to understand the health effects of wildfire smoke, which […]
More States Back Offshore Wind, Citing Economic Potential
Many states are looking to offshore wind as a key source of clean energy that’s essential in their fight against climate change. Other states are just looking to cash in. “States and regions that invest in offshore wind are going to benefit greatly economically,” said South Carolina state Rep. Jason Elliott, a Republican. “If South […]
Climate Change is Shifting State Views on Nuclear Power
In many of the states with the nation’s most aggressive climate goals, officials are investing millions of dollars to save the power source that was long the No. 1 target of many environmental activists: nuclear plants. “We are moving expeditiously toward a clean energy mix, but that is going to take a while,” said Joe […]
Environmental Concerns Challenge States’ Space Ambitions
As companies such as SpaceX drive the growing commercial space industry, states and counties across the country are touting themselves as great places to launch satellites and other cargo into space. “The demand for launch is increasing,” said James Causey, executive director of the Global Spaceport Alliance, a membership organization that supports the planning and […]
Cities Support Community Land Trusts to Protect Affordable Housing
As housing prices skyrocket in neighborhoods across the country, some state lawmakers and local officials are turning to a decades-old model for keeping homes affordable: community land trusts. Known as CLTs, community land trusts are mostly nonprofit organizations that operate within a specific neighborhood facing development pressure. They acquire and own land while selling homes […]
Water Shortages Threaten Development in More Western Cities
As the Western United States endures an ongoing megadrought that has spanned more than two decades, an increasing number of cities, towns and water districts are being forced to say no to new growth. There’s just not enough water to go around. Last month, the California Coastal Commission urged San Luis Obispo County to stop […]
More States Want Power to Approve Wetlands Development
In 2020, Florida became just the third state—and the first in decades—to take over management of a key federal Clean Water Act program. Now, state rather than federal officials decide whether companies can dredge and fill wetlands and waterways for projects ranging from mining to housing developments to roads and bridges. Several other states are […]