California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours Diana Ionescu Wed, 04/24/2024 - 12:00 Primary Image Primary Image Caption Solar panels and wind turbines in the Southern California desert. The state of California was powered entirely by renewable energy for over 9 hours last Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday, reports Adele Peters in Fast Company, making Sunday “the ninth straight day that solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and battery storage fully powered the electric grid for at least some portion of the time.” Of the last 45 days, renewable energy powered the grid entirel ..read more

New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths Mary Hammon Wed, 04/24/2024 - 11:00 Primary Image The National Weather Service and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a new online heat risk system called the Heat Risk Dashboard, according to an Associated Press article in the Portland Press Herald. The new tool provides a simplified seven-day forecast that uses a color-coded rating system to indicate when temperatures could be a health risk. Moving forward, magenta will signal the deadliest of the five heat threat categories, indicating rare, long-duration extreme h ..read more

AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth Mary Hammon Wed, 04/24/2024 - 10:00 Primary Image Cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex are using AI to help manage traffic, reports the Dallas Morning News. Cities like Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, and McKinney are using a platform called NoTraffic, which uses AI to lengthen yellow lights and hold cross traffic if an approaching car isn’t slowing or to give a green light to police and emergency vehicles like ambulances or fire trucks. “Variabilities in traffic patterns, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, are making it ..read more

Podcast: Addressing the Root Causes of Transit Violence Diana Ionescu Wed, 04/24/2024 - 09:00 Primary Image Primary Image Caption BART Police vehicle in San Francisco, California. A recent episode of Streetsblog’s The Brake podcast discusses security on public transit, questioning whether an increased police presence addresses violence effectively. According to Urban Institute Senior Research Associate Lindiwe Rennert, “Criminologists, as well as folks who just study transit and behavior in public space, have identified that bringing in law enforcement may decrease instances of violence ..read more

Indy Bikeshare System Turns 10, Expands to E-Bikes Diana Ionescu Wed, 04/24/2024 - 07:00 Primary Image A popular bikeshare system in Indianapolis, Pacers Bikeshare, is set to expand its fleet of over 500 pedal-powered bikes to include 350 e-bikes, reports Nicole Hernandez in Indy Today. “Pacers Bikeshare is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year + bikes are available at any of the 50 stations through the BCycle mobile app. Pass options include “Pay as You Ride” and annual passes.” The system launched in 2014 with 250 bikes at 25 stations along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. According ..read more

LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan Diana Ionescu Mon, 04/22/2024 - 12:00 Primary Image Primary Image Caption Anti-710 expansion sign in Pasadena, California protesting the expansion of the northern section of the 710. The Los Angeles Metro Board Planning Committee approved a plan to widen the 710 freeway, citing “no known displacements” of residents or businesses. As Joe Linton explains in Streetsblog LA, a prior plan, which would have widened the freeway significantly and displaced local residents, caused significant concern among environmental justice advocates and community ..read more

Austin’s Proposed EV Charging Rules Regulate Station Locations, Size Diana Ionescu Mon, 04/22/2024 - 11:00 Primary Image The Austin City Council is considering changes to the city’s regulations on electric vehicle charging stations, reports Jo Clifton in Austin Monitor. “According to the city’s Climate Equity Plan, by 2030, Austin should have ‘a compelling and equitably distributed mix of level 1, 2, and DC fast charging infrastructure to accommodate 40 percent of total vehicle miles traveled in the city. This translates to 226 megawatts of electrical load and could mean more than 37,000 c ..read more

Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient Clement Lau Mon, 04/22/2024 - 10:00 Primary Image Primary Image Caption Chino Hills State Park in Southern California. California's State Park System is the largest in the U.S.  This system includes 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres, with more than 280 miles of coastline, 625 miles of lake and river frontage, almost 15,000 campsites, and 3,000 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. However, these cherished spaces are now increasingly threatened by climate change. For example, ancient sequoia grov ..read more

Nashville Proposes $3.1B Plan to Expand Bus System Mary Hammon Mon, 04/22/2024 - 09:00 Primary Image Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced a $3.1 billion dollar plan to expand transit in the city. The proposed initiative, called “Choose How You Move,” would be paid for with a half-cent sales tax increase that will appear on the ballot in November, reports Cassandra Stephenson for the Nashville Tennessean. The majority of the proposed improvements (nearly 60 percent) would come in the form of expanded and enhanced bus service. According to Stephenson, the local WeGo bus service would ..read more

Just Transition: Bringing Equity to the Clean Energy Conversation Clement Lau Mon, 04/22/2024 - 08:00 Primary Image Just Transition is typically defined as a set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. Just Transition strategies were first forged by labor unions and environmental justice groups that were rooted in low-income communities of color. Specifically, they saw the need to: 1) phase out the industries that were harming workers, community health, and the environment; and 2) pr ..read more