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Need a new outfit? Try the library.
At a library in Dover, New Hampshire, earlier this year, the shelves of books and CDs typically available for lending were accompanied by something else — racks of clothes. Every Sunday and Monday from December through mid-January, community members could visit a lecture hall in the Dover Public Library to participate in the pilot of a new type of lending project: a clothing library. Visitors could check out up to five garments for two weeks at a time. The collection focused on “occasion wear,” the types of things people might buy for the purpose of wearing once: a holiday party dress, a wedding outfit, a ski trip ensemble.
Can Claudia Sheinbaum solve Mexico’s water crisis?
Claudia Sheinbaum won a commanding victory in last month’s Mexican presidential election, winning almost 60 percent of the vote and securing legislative majorities for her left-wing Morena party. A former climate scientist and mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum dominated the polls after emerging as the successor to the popular outgoing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
After SCOTUS decision, Georgia will keep ‘problematic’ voting system for energy regulators
This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising electricity bills to developing renewable energy. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a case challenging...
A group of young people just forced Hawaiʻi to take major climate action
The government of Hawaiʻi and a group of young people have reached a historic settlement that requires the state to decarbonize its transportation network. The agreement is the first of its kind in the nation and comes two years after 13 Hawaiian youth sued the state Department of Transportation for failing to protect their “constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.”
Extreme heat kills 1,301 pilgrims during the Hajj in Mecca
The Hajj is a time of great reverence for the Muslims who embark upon the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in adherence with a pillar of Islam. But this year’s gathering was tinged by sorrow as a sustained wave of extreme heat pushed temperatures in the desert city as high as 125 degrees, leading to the deaths of at least 1,301 worshippers.
The climate case for mock meats is clear. But who can afford them?
Isobelle McClements was 13 when she came home from school and told her parents she was going vegan. Reading one book that delved into meat processing was all it took to convince her it was time for a lifestyle upheaval. The logistics of seamlessly feeding a family is a big reason her parents followed suit.
Pollution from Ohio train derailment reached 110 million Americans
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region. On February 3, 2023, a freight train owned by Norfolk Southern carrying thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals derailed in the town of East Palestine, Ohio.. For days, flames engulfed the rail cars, which contained highly hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, used in the production of plastic. A thick, tall plume of black smoke billowed from the accident site and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. Now, scientists say that traces of this pollution was found across 16 states, spanning 540,000 square miles from Wisconsin to Maine to South Carolina.
How a ‘citizen map’ is helping Brazil prepare for its next big flood
This story was originally published by Yale Environment 360 and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. When Lucas George Wendt arrived in Lajeado in late May, the water had already started to recede. Just days before, the peaks of roofs and the tops of trees were...
This coal-heavy rural co-op utility is buying its first solar plants
This story was originally published by Canary Media. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, one of the largest rural cooperative utilities in the U.S., is bringing the energy transition home to its massive western service territory. It’s acquiring its first large-scale solar power plants as it prepares to shift away from its current dependence on coal power.
Food’s climate footprint was once again MIA at global talks
Last week, the leaders of the world’s seven biggest economies convened in Italy to discuss several pressing global issues during the annual gathering known as the G7 summit. They agreed to lend Russia’s frozen assets to Ukraine, pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza, and pledged to launch a migration coalition.
The kids are not alright: Countries fail to include children in their climate plans
Kathrin Zangerl is a pediatrician at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health in Germany, where she is a specialist on how climate change affects children at different stages in their lives. For instance, an infant’s developing lungs make her more susceptible to lasting harm from air pollution. A teenager, on the other hand, might be more likely to become part of the mental health pandemic among adolescents, where climate anxiety is a factor.
When West Nile virus turns deadly
James Parravani came down with flu-like symptoms the day before his daughter’s wedding reception. He had a fever, a headache, and chills. It was Labor Day weekend 2021, and his family thought he might have COVID-19. But a test at an emergency room near his home in Westchester, New York, came back negative.
How this summer’s brutal hurricanes might one day save lives
Just a few weeks into the hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has declared the end of El Niño, the warm streak of water in the Pacific that influences global weather. That makes an already dire outlook for cyclones even more dangerous — in April, scientists forecasted five major hurricanes and 21 named storms in the North Atlantic alone — because El Niño tends to suppress the formation of such tempests.
Forever chemicals are poisoning your insurance
This story was originally published by The Lever, an investigative newsroom. If you like this story, sign up for The Lever's free newsletter. Elizabeth Mitchell received a notice from her commercial property insurance company in April that set off alarm bells. Acadia Insurance, the insurer for the market, workspace, and...
The American Climate Corps officially kicks off
Within weeks, the nation will deploy 9,000 people to begin restoring landscapes, erecting solar panels, and taking other steps to help guide the country toward a cleaner, greener future. The first of those workers were inducted into the American Climate Corps on Tuesday during a virtual event from the White...
What your gut has in common with Arctic permafrost, and why it’s a troubling sign for climate change
Every time you eat a blueberry, the microbiome in your gut gets to work. Bacterial enzymes attack the organic compounds of the fruit: a burbling, gurgling digestive process that can, often to our embarrassment, cause us to pass gas. That may not be such a big deal for a human, but new research shows that the microbial action in icy Arctic soils might not be so different. On a global scale, it could mean the planet belching up more dangerous greenhouse gases.
Chicago teachers demand climate solutions in their next contract
Solar panels. Heat Pumps. Electric buses. Those are just three of the things the Chicago Teachers Union, or CTU, is hoping to acquire in their latest negotiations for a new contract, one that would address the rising toll of climate change in the more than 500 schools in which their members teach.
The Mille Lacs Band will see the return of 18 acres of state trust land
After decades of advocacy, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe will see 18 acres of land returned to them by the state of Minnesota. The move comes after lawmakers passed legislation last month to formally return state trust lands inside the boundaries of the Mille Lacs Band’s reservation. Minnesota’s...
Downstream effects: The cautionary tale of the Mississippi River
In an often-excerpted passage from his memoir, Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain describes how his perceptions of the Mississippi River changed after he spent months piloting a steamboat up and down its muddy length. “The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book,” he said, allowing him to read the bends and eddies that meant nothing to his passengers. But the tragedy of this “valuable acquisition” was that “the romance and the beauty were all gone from the river.”
Pennsylvania landowners could be forced to accept carbon dioxide burial on their land
This story was originally published by Capital & Main. Amid a divided state Legislature, Pennsylvania Democrats and Republicans are finding rare common ground in a bill designed to usher in a new industry for capturing climate-altering carbon dioxide and burying it underground. Among other provisions, Senate Bill 831 would create...
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