• Sustainability

6 Former EPA Administrators Call For Agency “Re-Set;” As EJ Orgs Sue Chicago For Environmental Racism

• conservation
• environment
• Environmental Justice
• environmental racism
• EPA
• pollution

This week, six former Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it is time to conduct a sweeping overhaul of the agency.  They called for a “reset” to move the “EPA in a new, forward-looking direction to address the environmental challenges we face today and those that lie ahead.

Why This Matters:  The “formers” who come from both political parties are right.  Our 50-year-old system of pollution protection laws, regulations, and agencies is outdated and ineffective to fight the pollution and climate challenges we face today and going forward.

• Sustainability

New Report Finds Protecting 30% of US By 2030 Provides Major Carbon Offsets

• #30x30
• carbon offsets
• carbon sequestration
• carbon sink
• climate change
• nature based solutions

New research by the Center for American Progress (CAP) takes this analysis the next step and calculates the carbon sequestration benefits of various nature-based solutions being contemplated as part of the effort to conserve 30% of the U.S. lands and waters by 2030.  Forests and other lands in the United States, if properly conserved, have the potential to store an additional 1,000 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.  

Why This Matters:  We need to use our full arsenal of tools to sequester carbon.

• Sustainability

Climate Change Impacts Roads, May Make Traffic Worse Unless We Adapt Them

• adaptation
• climate change
• New York City
• resilience
• transportation

Climate change will impact roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure in ways you may not have realized, writes Matt Alderton in The Washington Post over the weekend.  Infrastructure is built to withstand certain weather conditions and extremes: “the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has guidelines that say asphalt should be engineered to withstand the hottest week on record during a certain historical period — say, 1970 and 2000.”

Why This Matters:  We need to adapt our roads to withstand future conditions, otherwise drivers will experience much worse road conditions and traffic, not to mention the huge expense for taxpayers for repairs due to ineffective design.

• Sustainability

Why Equitable, Clean Transportation is Key to a Sustainable Economic Recovery

• clean air
• electric vehicles
• EVs
• Infrastructure
• Political Climate
• public transit
• public transportation
• Third Way

By Julia Pyper, host/producer Political Climate As Congress looks toward the next coronavirus relief package, a growing number of stakeholders from across the political spectrum are calling for a comprehensive clean energy infrastructure plan to address the nation’s economic challenges. Updating America’s transportation system offers a ripe opportunity to create jobs while lowering carbon emissions. […]

• Sustainability

Apple and Microsoft Take Big Aim at Carbon Neutrality

• Apple
• carbon emissions
• manufacturing
• Microsoft
• net zero

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that it will be teaming up with Unilever, Starbucks, Mercedes-Benz, Nike, and four other companies to form Transform to Net Zero, an initiative focused on achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. As CNET reported, the team will work with the Environmental Defense Fund to share information on the best practices for decreasing carbon […]

• Sustainability

Imagining a Future Of Cities With Many Fewer Or Even Without Cars

• air pollution
• bikes
• cars
• New York City

The New York Times’ opinion writer Farhad Manjoo penned a fantastic story (the graphics are amazing) that visualizes a carless future for NYC and asks the fundamental question “why do cities waste so much space on cars.” 

Why This Matters:  Now is the time to reimagine urban spaces — particularly if, as Manjoo predicts, more people worry that the only way to safely get around in cities is in their own car.