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It may have just gotten harder to protect minority communities from pollution
In recent years, some states have invested in air quality monitoring, applied extra scrutiny to permitting decisions and steered cleanup funding to minority communities that have borne the brunt of pollution for decades. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down race-conscious college admissions policies, state lawmakers are facing a […]
Towns could save themselves from wildfire — if they knew about this money
PACKWOOD, Wash. — Last year, Don Pratt fled from his home as a wildfire swept down the mountainside here in Washington’s Cascade Range. “Heading out, I thought it was the last time I was going to see the house,” he said. As residents evacuated and smoke engulfed the small mountain community, fire crews with bulldozers […]
Tech breakthrough could boost states’ use of geothermal power
Lawmakers in some states have been laying the groundwork to add geothermal power to the electrical grid and pump underground heat into buildings. Now, a technological breakthrough could dramatically expand those ambitions — and perhaps unleash a new wave of policies to tap into geothermal sources. Last month, a company announced the successful demonstration in the West of […]
‘This is the existential crisis’: A push for climate change education
When wildfires and smoke swept through Oregon in 2020, Lyra Johnson’s family made plans to evacuate their home near Portland. Johnson, then 14, was told she might have to quickly learn to drive — despite not having a license — in order to get her grandmother to safety. Thankfully, the danger passed before Johnson was […]