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A brightly colored illustration showing a green hydrogen hub. A container ship on a waterway and a hydrogen production and storage facility are in the foreground, a solar panel array and wind turbines are in the mid-ground, and a city and sunset sky are in the distance.

Can Hydrogen Help Combat the Climate Crisis?

ExplainerUnited StatesSusan Cosier
Hydrogen hubs across the country seek to fuel high-emission industries with cleaner energy.
Aerial view of the National Petroleum Reserve in northwestern Alaska

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

Latest NewsAlaskaJenny Shalant
The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.
Two adults and a child walk along a sandy shoreline

“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall
These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.

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Why Do Water Bills Vary So Wildly?

Expert BlogUnited States, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, New HampshireLarry Levine

A new study holds lessons for water affordability.

Washington on the Verge of “Cleanest Homes in the Nation”

Expert BlogWashingtonAlejandra Mejia Cunningham

The Washington State Building Code Council is poised to extend requirements that all new residential buildings must use high efficiency space and water heating equipment that can run on 100% clean power.

States Commit to Clean and Healthy New Buildings

Expert BlogWashington, ColoradoAlejandra Mejia Cunningham
These are two states that have recently felt the devastating consequences of the climate crisis and are now taking action to ensure their homes and buildings stop relying on polluting fossil fuels quickly as possible.

EPA: It’s Time to Act. We need Clean Trucks Now

Expert BlogUnited States, California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, WashingtonPatricio Portillo, Heather Kryczka
Cutting tailpipe emissions and moving to zero emission vehicles can eliminate the diesel fumes causing childhood asthma, emergency room visits, and loss of life.

How Cities Are Centering Equity in Benchmarking Policies

Expert BlogDenver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, WashingtonCaroline Keicher
A new resource from the City Energy Project—Incorporating Equity into Energy Benchmarking Requirements: Guidance for Policy and Program Practitioners—helps cities understand the opportunity to leverage benchmarking and transparency policies to address racial and social equity.

Stressed by Heat, Farmworkers Deserve Federal Protections

Expert BlogCalifornia, Washington, MinnesotaTeniope Adewumi-Gunn
Unprotected from many basic workplace rights and in the face of a growing climate crisis that threatens their well-being, farmworkers deserve federal safeguards from extreme heat and its dangerous effects.

Seattle Gets Most Fossil Fuels Out of New Large Buildings

Expert BlogUnited States, Washington, SeattleElizabeth Stampe

Seattle’s City Council just voted unanimously to pass strong updates to the city’s building energy code that will significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels in new buildings.

This Is the Moment to Reimagine Public Transportation

Expert BlogUnited States, Seattle, New York CityAmanda Eaken

COVID-19 has changed many aspects of life, including the way we move through our neighborhoods. The pandemic has forced us to reimagine peoples relationship to streets with many cities launching "healthy streets" or "open streets" to allow for more land…

China, Top Player in World A/C Market, Raises Efficiency Bar

Expert BlogChinaNoah Horowitz, Alex Hillbrand
China implemented one of the world’s most stringent energy efficiency requirements for room air conditioners today. The move by the globe’s largest buyer and manufacturer of these appliances will save huge amounts of carbon-intensive electricity, putting a formidable dent in…

Why Benchmarking Is Critical for Saving Energy in China

Expert BlogChinaBarbara Finamore

Over two-thirds of existing buildings in China are energy inefficient; this energy consumption accounts for about one-fourth of the country’s total CO2 emissions. Fortunately, Shanghai’s Changning District is now focusing on tackling this issue: China’s first building energy efficiency benchmarking…

Will China Save the Planet?

NRDC in ActionBeijing, ChinaNicole Greenfield
Barbara Finamore, NRDC’s senior strategic director for Asia, witnessed the birth of China’s clean energy movement. Her new book considers its future.