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Opinion: Changing the Climate for Environmental Racism

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Kevin McKie

Environmental toxic exposure suffered in many minority neighborhoods is part of the systemic racism evident in society, and environmental justice belongs near the top of discussions to right those wrongs, writes Kevin McKie, an attorney at the Environmental Litigation Group P.C. Communities can take several steps, including passing legislation requiring industries to comply with stricter environmental regulations or pay additional fines, requiring that stringent environmental impact studies be performed before construction of new plants or the installation of toxic emission monitoring stations, and offering free medical monitoring.

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West Coast Wildfires, Gulf Coast Hurricanes: How Climate Change Connects These Extreme Events

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kellie Hwang

In Northern California, crews labored Thursday to control megafires sparked by a rare barrage of lightning strikes.

Across the country, a Category 4 hurricane made landfall overnight in Louisiana, destroying buildings and toppling powerlines with unrelenting winds and rain.

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Water Groups Call for More Funding as Way to Pull Nation out of COVID Recession

/in , /by /Engineering News-Recordby Pam McFarland

Decades of inadequate investment in water infrastructure has exacerbated the economic challenges faced by water and wastewater utilities in the era of COVID-19, according to a new report released Aug. 26 by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the U.S. Water Alliance’s Value of Water Campaign.

 

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Environmental Justice Becomes Part of California City Planning

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Emily C. Dooley

More than 140 cities and counties in California intend to update their long-term plans over the next two years to include environmental justice, meaning air pollution, water quality, and other factors affecting disadvantaged communities would get a closer look.

Local governments across the country typically have general plans that spell out long-term visions for land use, open space, housing, safety, and other planning factors. Some local governments haven’t updated their overall general plans since the 1970s, said Erik de Kok, a program manager in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.

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U.S. Flood Strategy Shifts to ‘Unavoidable’ Relocation of Entire Neighborhoods

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Christopher Flavelle

Using tax dollars to move whole communities out of flood zones, an idea long dismissed as radical, is swiftly becoming policy, marking a new and more disruptive phase of climate change.

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California’s Dams Need Repairs to Survive Future Major Flood, says Author

/in , , /by /Press Play (KCRW-FM)

A recent UCLA study says that in the next 40 years, California could likely see a flood massive enough to cause nearly $1 trillion of damage, force millions of people to evacuate, and leave houses in California’s Central Valley 30 to 40 feet underwater. And the state is ill-prepared when it comes to infrastructure like dams that could prevent flooding.

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Opinion: California Must Prepare its Electric Grid for Complex Climate Risks

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Anna Brockway, Laurel Dunn and Steven Weissman

California was caught flat-footed by the climate-driven challenges it has faced last week: extreme temperatures, unseasonable lightning strikes, diminishing water supplies and red flag fire conditions. As a result, CalFire was short on firefighters to battle the blazes and the electric utilities had too little power to serve all of their customers at the same time.

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COVID-19 Pandemic Should be a Wake-Up Call for Water Security

/in , , /by /PHYS.ORGby University of Birmingham

Urgent action on water security is essential to better prepare societies for future global health crises, say experts at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and Northwestern University in the U.S.

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Major Real Estate Website Now Shows Flood Risk. Should They All?

/in , /by /NPRby Rebecca Hersher and Lauren Sommer

Millions of people rely on real estate websites when they’re hoping to buy or rent a home. Major sites such as Zillow, Redfin, Trulia and Realtor.com feature kitchens, bathrooms, mortgage estimates and even school ratings. But those sites don’t show buyers whether the house is likely to flood while they’re living there. Now, Realtor.com has become the first site to disclose information about a home’s flood risk and how climate change could increase that risk in the coming decades, potentially signaling a major shift in consumers’ access to information about climate threats.

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Lake Mead and Lower Colorado River to Remain in Tier Zero Shortage for 2021

/in , , /by /Audubonby Jennifer Pitt

The Colorado River millennial mega-drought continues, despite robust snowpack last winter. Above-average temperatures in spring resulted in a paltry 57% runoff, nowhere near enough water to refill the reservoirs that remain half-empty. Based on these conditions, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently determined that 2021 will be a “tier zero” year under the Lower Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency Plan, with reduced water deliveries for Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico.

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