Environment

New York City Leaders Launch Ambitious Climate Plan

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Indiana Chamber rebuffs newly registered coal lobbyist Scott Pruitt ... Hurricane-recovering Florida Panhandle braces for wildfires ... Tennessee considers plan to fit school buses with traffic cameras.

  • By John Tomasic

New York City Leaders Launch Ambitious Climate Plan

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Indiana Chamber rebuffs newly registered coal lobbyist Scott Pruitt ... Hurricane-recovering Florida Panhandle braces for wildfires ... Tennessee considers plan to fit school buses with traffic cameras.

  • By John Tomasic
Environment

New York City Leaders Launch Ambitious Climate Plan

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Indiana Chamber rebuffs newly registered coal lobbyist Scott Pruitt ... Hurricane-recovering Florida Panhandle braces for wildfires ... Tennessee considers plan to fit school buses with traffic cameras.

  • By John Tomasic

States Move to Crack Down on Air Conditioners’ Pollutants

A handful of states are beginning to look at the how they can phase out hydrofluorocarbons, focusing initially on large, commercial refrigeration units.

  • By Alayna Alvarez

‘Clean Energy’ Transition Promises Wide Range of Well Paid Jobs, Study Finds

The findings come amid debate about the "Green New Deal."

  • By Bill Lucia

Mapping Where Traffic Air Pollution Hurts Children the Most

COMMENTARY | Despite a decline in traffic-related asthma cases between 2000 and 2010, there were still 141,900 childhood asthma cases due to traffic-related air pollution in the U.S. in 2010.

  • By Haneen Khreis, The Conversation

Trump Order Puts State Power Over Pipeline Approvals in Crosshairs

The president charges that there’s “state level abuse” with a certain Clean Water Act certification needed for natural gas pipelines and other energy projects.

  • By Bill Lucia

New York Bans Single-Use Plastic Bags

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Investigating earthquakes in Alabama ... A fight about Chik-Fil-A in San Antonio ... Considering a seasonal gas tax hike.

  • By Laura Maggi

Americans Drove a Record Number of Miles Last Year

That's 3.2 trillion miles on the road, based on new U.S. DOT estimates.

  • By Bill Lucia

Not Out of the Woods Yet—State Borrows $100 Million As it Looks to Solve Forest Controversy

The story of Oregon's Elliott State Forest is one of logging, litigation, old trees, imperiled animals, and school funding.

  • By Bill Lucia

The Feds Are Driving A National Policy of Sprawl

COMMENTARY | "Any legislative or policymaking approach to climate that fails to see the connections between emissions, how and where we build, and our transportation infrastructure decisions, will be destined to fail."

  • By Calvin Gladney

Climate Change Warming Great Lakes Region Faster, a New Report Says

Experts say accelerating renewable energy development, energy efficiency programs and electric vehicle adoption is critical in the Midwest.

  • By Dave Nyczepir

America Cares About Climate Change Again

For the first time in years, a broad spectrum of climate advocates is playing offense.

  • By Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic

Maryland Races to Be First State to Ban Foam Containers and Cups

The clock is ticking on a compromise bill that either Gov. Larry Hogan will sign or both chambers might pass with veto-proof majorities.

  • By Dave Nyczepir

Virginia Governor Vetoes Bill Meant to Stall State Effort to Join Regional Cap-and-Trade Alliance

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Georgia Republicans pass state elections overhaul… Investigation finds Orange County homeless shelters riddled with problems… A Florida town’s two arrested mayors.

  • By John Tomasic, Special to Route Fifty

Get Off My Lawn

How a small group of activists (a correspondent from The Atlantic among them) got leaf blowers banned in the nation’s capital

  • By James Fallows, The Atlantic

Give Up Some Green to Go Green? Bond Investors May Be Reluctant

New research finds the pricing of tax-exempt municipal “green bonds” is nearly identical to similar non-green securities.

  • By Bill Lucia

Some Sunscreens May Kill Corals. Should They Be Banned?

Some scientists say there’s not enough data to limit sunscreen that may be harmful to corals.

  • By Rebecca Beitsch

Is This The End of Recycling?

Americans are consuming more and more stuff. Now that other countries won’t take our papers and plastics, they’re ending up in the trash.

  • By Alana Semuels, The Atlantic

Cities’ Progress Toward Carbon Neutrality Gets Tougher

Some, like Minneapolis, still rely heavily on polluting natural gas to heat buildings through frigid winters.

  • By Dave Nyczepir

Policy Experts: States and Localities Need More Electric Vehicle Incentives

Deployment remains in the early stages in many places.

  • By Dave Nyczepir

Call of the Wild: More States Are Embracing Outdoor Recreation

“Those people out in the woods having fun are spending a lot of money,” says one Montana official.

  • By Bill Lucia