Swimming pools could slash bills by harvesting heat from servers – here’s how to make it work

Computer data centres produce vast amounts of heat that often gets wasted - now that’s being harnessed to warm swimming pools and improve overall energy efficiency.

Amin Al-Habaibeh, Professor of Intelligent Engineering Systems, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Jan. 25, 2024 • ~6 min

After a pandemic pause, Detroit restarts water shut-offs – part of a nationwide trend as costs rise

Detroit residents with past-due bills are facing water shut-offs again after a reprieve during COVID-19. At the same time, providers are also raising rates.

Tony Grubesic, Professor of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside • conversation
Nov. 28, 2023 • ~9 min

Every state is about to dole out federal funding for broadband internet – not every state is ready for the task

Every state is poised to receive a large amount of federal money to expand broadband access, but they have a lot of work to do to meet the government’s requirements for distributing it.

Brian Whitacre, Professor and Neustadt Chair, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University • conversation
Nov. 20, 2023 • ~8 min

Climate change is a fiscal disaster for local governments − our study shows how it's testing communities in Florida

A new study of Florida’s fiscal vulnerability to climate change finds that flooding directly threatens many local tax bases.

William Butler, Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida State University • conversation
Oct. 5, 2023 • ~11 min

Machines can't always take the heat − two engineers explain the physics behind how heat waves threaten everything from cars to computers

People aren’t the only ones harmed by heat waves. The hotter it gets, the harder it is for machines to keep their cool.

Matthew T. Hughes, Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) • conversation
Aug. 29, 2023 • ~9 min

Looking for a US 'climate haven' away from heat and disaster risks? Good luck finding one

Even ‘climate havens’ face a riskier future, and infrastructure often isn’t built to handle climate change. But there are steps cities can take to prepare.

Earl Lewis, Director and Founder, Center for Social Solutions, Professor of History, Afroamerican and African Studies, and public policy, University of Michigan • conversation
Aug. 23, 2023 • ~10 min

Bridge collapses, road repairs, evacuations: How transportation agencies plan for large-scale traffic disruptions

When a major roadway or bridge needs fixing, all that traffic has to go somewhere.

Lee D. Han, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee • conversation
June 29, 2023 • ~9 min

If humans went extinct, what would the Earth look like one year later?

Maybe it was a nuclear war, devastating climate change, or a killer virus. But if something caused people to disappear, imagine what would happen afterward.

Carlton Basmajian, Associate Professor of Community and Regional Planning, Urban Design, Iowa State University • conversation
June 12, 2023 • ~8 min

Will faster federal reviews speed up the clean energy shift? Two legal scholars explain what the National Environmental Policy Act does and doesn't do

Do environmental reviews improve projects or delay them and drive up costs? Two legal scholars explain how the law works and how it could influence the ongoing transition to renewable energy.

James Salzman, Professor of Environmental Law, University of California, Los Angeles • conversation
June 8, 2023 • ~10 min

America’s aging flood control infrastructure is failing – federal funding is coming, but too often new construction relies on old data

Flood risks are rising, yet communities may spend millions of dollars in federal infrastructure funding on systems that aren’t built to handle them.

Lu Liu, Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University • conversation
May 10, 2023 • ~9 min

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