Infrastructure

"Nation At Risk Of Winter Blackouts As Power Grid Remains Under Strain"

"The nation’s power grid faces a sharp risk of buckling in the event of major storms or prolonged cold snaps this coming winter, according to the regulator that monitors the electricity system, with much of the country threatened with outages triggered by severe weather."

Source: Washington Post, 11/10/2023

"Leave It To Beavers? Not If You’re A Wolf."

"This is what happens when an apex predator collides with an ecosystem engineer."

"Beavers are influential. By cutting trees and damming streams, these rodents change the world around them, raising water levels and creating habitats for diverse plants, insects, fish and more. They are some of the world’s best-known ecosystem engineers, a term for species that produce outsize effects on their environments.

Source: NYTimes, 11/09/2023

Baltimore, Maryland Dept. of Environment Settle Lawsuits Over Sewage Plants

"Environmental advocates hope an agreement negotiated earlier this month by Baltimore City, the state Department of the Environment and the nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore to upgrade the city’s two wastewater treatment plants will help meet the state’s Chesapeake Bay restoration goals."

Source: Inside Climate News, 11/08/2023

Some Houses Being Built To Stand Up To Hurricanes And Cut Emissions, Too

"When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson’s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, Florida, even though the house rests on pillars 14 feet above the ground. But Paulson’s home, with a rounded shape that looks something like a ship, shrugged off Category 5 winds that might otherwise have collapsed it."

Source: AP, 11/07/2023

Texas Could Spend U.S. Funds Meant To Cut CO2 Emissions On Highway Projects

"The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act required Texas’ transportation agency to create a carbon reduction strategy to get $641 million federal dollars. Critics say the plan is unlikely to meaningfully cut greenhouse gasses from the state’s massive transportation sector."

Source: Texas Tribune, 11/07/2023

Reporting on Environmental Solutions and Equity — at a Watershed Scale

Reporting on interconnected ecosystems lends itself to better environmental stories, and so tracing how water moves across landscapes, communities, industries and regulatory schemes can help the public connect the dots. That’s how Annie Ropeik, who helps run the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, sees the watershed beat. She shares expert views and offers insights for environment journalists to use in their reporting.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

"King Tide Floods Offer Glimpse Of Miami’s Soggy, Salty Future"

"The roar of a generator overwhelmed the quiet burbling of water at the Little River Pocket Park on Monday. It hadn’t rained in days, but the park — and several nearby streets — were under nearly two feet of water from this year’s king tides, the annual highest tides of the year."

Source: Miami Herald, 11/02/2023

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