Infrastructure

"The Vaux's Swift is a tiny bird – some people call it “a cigar with wings.” But every fall these little birds make a big trip, from summer breeding grounds in the Pacific Northwest down to their winter home in Central and South America. Along the way, many of them roost as a big flock in chimneys up and down the west coast. And their murmurations in the air – and simultaneously dive together into chimneys – are so spectacular that they draw crowds."

"Kameale Terry saw it coming before almost anyone else did. She realized the expanding network of electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S. would need a workforce to maintain it."

"Abnormally dry conditions have caused low water levels that disrupt barge transports carrying fuel and grain. Climatologists say it could be part of a larger trend."

"In Virginia, the planet's largest proposed data center threatens local ecosystems"

"Thanks to $500 million in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, a new initiative called the Green Bank for Rural America could help channel money to nonprofit lenders like the Mountain Association to support community solar arrays, apprenticeships in renewable energy fields, electrified public transit, and other projects."

"Political extremists have attempted a number of attacks on electrical infrastructure and substations in recent years, with a goal of sowing chaos and civil conflict."

"Study uncovers thousands of undocumented quakes, underscoring the link between injection sites and seismic activity."

"A two-year long drought in the semi-desert municipality of Colón, in the central Mexican state of Querétaro, has left many struggling with dead crops and water rationing. But at the same time, the local government in Querétaro is giving incentives to companies to build data centres that generally use large amounts of water to cool their servers."

"A study has found most cities receive significantly more rain than nearby rural regions, an effect that has become more pronounced over the past two decades."