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The Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA 2022) passed through Congress last December as part of the this typically biennial and bipartisan legislation invests in water infrastructure by authorizing projects, studies and programs led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The post How new provisions in the Water Resources Development Act are building climate resilience first appeared on Growing Returns.

As the New York legislature’s budget deliberations drag well into April, they still have the opportunity to pass a budget that would pave the way for the state to have one of the most ambitious and equitable climate programs in the country. Right now, a bold cap-and-invest program is on the table as part of …

Since joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in 2020, Virginia has started capping harmful pollution from power plants, growing clean energy jobs across the state and providing more than $500 million in investments for flood resilience in communities and money-saving energy efficiency in households. But since his first day in office, Governor Youngkin has …

Lindsay McCormick, Senior Manager, Safer Chemicals, Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals and Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities What Happened? Earlier this month, EPA announced an updated formula it will use to allocate federal funds for lead service line (LSL) replacements. This new formula will be based on each state’s expected needs, as determined by a …

Funding for electric vehicles is a direct result of coordinated efforts by EDF and industry partners to request a guaranteed set-aside for funding of zero-emission trucks in the agency’s Texas Clean Fleet Program.

By Ari Pottens and Scott Seymour Last week, the Canadian Government released new estimates for the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions of the potent climate pollutant methane. Methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas and is causing about a third of current global warming. The oil and gas industry is the second largest …

The study of improved plantation forest management practices has gained traction over the past decade as these practices could represent a cost-effective and rapidly deployable natural climate solution.

With each passing year, communities across New Mexico feel the mounting and undeniable pressures from climate change. At times last year, nearly three-fourths of the state was experiencing severe drought. The largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history ripped through New Mexico communities. And mountain snowpack, even in snowy winters, produces less and less water …

Medium- and heavy-duty trucks only make up 10% of the vehicles on American roads and highways, but they produce a disproportionate amount of climate and local air pollution per mile. That’s why states, cities and counties across the country have been working for years to clean up these critical pieces of our economy. Colorado has …

By Flavia Sollazzo One of Italy’s most picturesque cities, Venice, topped the list of European regions most at risk for floods and sea level rise in a recent climate analysis from Cross Dependency Initiative. The research comes just weeks before thousands of environmental activists, experts, government officials, celebrities and citizens will descend on Rome for …

By Pedro Piris-Cabezas and Glenda Chen The Biden administration has worked to keep its promise to follow the science in dealing with challenges like housing, COVID, air pollution — and especially climate change. The next major test is coming soon. The Treasury Department is preparing to issue guidelines about which alternative fuels will qualify for …

This blog is co-authored by Sue Ruiz (Education Manager, Self-Help Enterprises), Chris Freimund (Director of Development, Watershed Progressive), and Laura Dubin, Rural Community Assistance Corporation During a rainy Saturday in Visalia, graduates from the Water Leadership Institute (WLI) gathered for an alumni reunion. It only seemed fitting that alumni congregated to discuss solutions to water …

What Happened? FDA estimates that, each year, food companies designate 82 new food chemicals as “GRAS” (Generally Recognized as Safe) for use in food. On average, FDA reviews only 64 of those new chemicals for safety. For the remaining 18 chemicals in FDA’s estimate, the companies making and marketing them for use in food or …

Smartphone-based catch reporting and the SmartPass camera system have been implemented to generate reliable estimates of total effort and total catch in Lampung’s blue swimming crab fishery.

EDF research shows the likelihood of forest regeneration after a fire is lower than it was in the past.

This post was co-authored by Julia Paltseva, Senior Analyst at EDF, and Tuntiak Katan from the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA). For more resources on high forest, low deforestation (HFLD) crediting, visit edf.org/hfld. This post has also been translated into Spanish and French (leer en español, lire en français). Forests …

In its annual justification of budget estimates to Congress, FDA describes its activities and tracks its performance. One of those performance measures is the percentage of food- and color-additive petitions (FAPs/CAPs) the agency has reviewed and completed within 360 days of receipt.[1] We analyzed FDA’s reports to Congress published from 2016 to 2023 and found …

What’s National Teflon Day? According to National Day Calendar, yesterday (April 6th) was “National Teflon Day”—a day to “celebrate” the accidental discovery in 1938 of a chemical called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE for short)—better known by the product it became associated with, Teflon™. Teflon™ is PFAS Wrapped in a Bow PTFE, the main component of Teflon™, is …

By John Rutecki West Virginia is the nation’s number four energy producing state and has a critical opportunity to demonstrate leadership with solutions to curb oil and gas methane emissions. Commonsense action can create jobs for West Virginians, conserve resources and protect communities. A recent panel at West Virginia University’s Energy Institute explored how reducing …

Key Findings and Recommendations  Air pollution results in a large burden of childhood asthma across the country, and this burden is disproportionately borne by people of color. More than $100 million in grants from the Environmental Protection Agency is available for environmental justice initiatives, but targeting programs to alleviate the health impacts of air pollution to …

Most of California’s Central Valley is dedicated to productive and diverse farmland, helping make California the country’s fruit, nut, and vegetable basket. However, due in part to increasingly intense and variable climate conditions, we must manage agricultural landscapes to ensure productivity and reliance for future generations.  The 2,100-acre Dos Rios Ranch Preserve near Modesto is …

Rural communities across the United States are extraordinarily diverse, all experiencing a wide variety of landscapes, cultural identities and ways of life. But many express common concerns — they are watching their populations deplete as the country urbanizes, their economic systems are becoming more perilous, and there is a feeling of being left behind as …

EDF guide: How investors can engage oil and gas companies and banks on transferred emissions.

EDF launches Understanding the Inflation Reduction Act, a new set of resources we developed in partnership with Deloitte specifically for companies to take advantage of the IRA’s climate and clean energy provisions.

This blog was co-authored by Dr. Grace Tee Lewis, Senior Health Scientist, Climate and Health Last month, Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University published a new study that found all states in the U.S. are at risk from the effects of climate change, particularly neighborhoods experiencing disproportionate environmental harms and risks, health disparities and …