Infrastructure

"In Arizona, researchers are studying playgrounds where the equipment gets so hot it can burn kids’ skin. As heat worsens nationwide, other communities will need to take note."

"A lawsuit filed by Mississippi Gulf Coast local governments, representatives of its tourism industry and Mississippi fishers against the Army Corps of Engineers to protect bottlenose dolphins from death or injury caused by openings of the Bonnet Carre Spillway has been thrown out by a federal judge in Gulfport."

"Many dams in the Midwest do not meet grant eligibility requirements, leaving safety officials and residents worried about how they’ll prevent future collapses as flood risks increase."

"MINNEAPOLIS—A record amount of federal aid will soon flow to states to help fix, replace or demolish their aging dams, many of which are under increasing pressure as climate change fuels more frequent and severe extreme weather events.

"The Department of Energy gave the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation what seemed like very good news earlier this year: It had won a $32 million grant for a novel solar energy project in Washington state. ... Months after announcing the grant, the same department is making it nearly impossible for the tribal nation to access the money."

"Opponents of offshore wind around the U.S. are pelting projects with lawsuits seeking to cancel them or tie them up for years in costly litigation."

"The bare hot asphalt schoolyard of the American past is getting a redo." "Schools across the country are adding trees, tent-like structures and water to their playgrounds as temperatures soar."

"The owner of the shuttered Pennsylvania plant plans to bring it online by 2028, with the tech giant buying all the power it produces."

"Former President Donald Trump has said he would cancel all unspent funds from President Joe Biden's signature climate law if he wins the presidential election on Nov. 5. But the vast majority of grants will be spent by the time a new president takes office in January, and targeting what remains would be a massive legal challenge, according to Biden administration officials."

"Yorba Linda is a small, sunny city southeast of Los Angeles. It’s perhaps best known for being the birthplace of President Richard Nixon. But in the past few years, Yorba Linda has picked up another distinction: It’s home to the nation’s largest per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) water treatment plant of its kind, according to the city."

"We toured a facility in Northern Virginia to see how it works and to understand why water use and energy consumption are such a concern."