High-tide flood risk is accelerating, putting coastal economies at risk

NOAA's 2021 high-tide flooding outlook shows where the risks are highest and growing. Some communities are seeing 20 or more days of flooding a year now.

Renee Collini, Coastal Climate Resilience Specialist, Mississippi State University • conversation
July 14, 2021 ~7 min

For flood-prone cities, seawalls raise as many questions as they answer

Many coastal US cities are contending with increasingly frequent and severe tidal flooding as sea levels rise. Some are considering building seawalls, but this strategy is not simple or cheap.

Gary Griggs, Director, Institute of Marine Sciences and Distinguished Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz • conversation
June 23, 2021 ~8 min


The gas tax's tortured history shows how hard it is to fund new infrastructure

A bipartisan group of senators proposed the gas tax should be indexed to inflation to help pay for new infrastructure spending, an approach Biden calls 'regressive.'

Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida • conversation
June 22, 2021 ~9 min

Lighter pavement really does cool cities when it’s done right

Here’s how reflective pavement works and what cities need to think about.

Randolph E. Kirchain, Co-Director, MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, Massachusetts Institute of Technology • conversation
June 18, 2021 ~7 min

Restoring land around abandoned oil and gas wells would free up millions of acres of forests, farmlands and grasslands

Abandoned US oil and gas wells and their associated land cover more than 2 million acres, a recent study estimates – an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.

Matthew D. Moran, Professor of Biology, Hendrix College • conversation
June 8, 2021 ~6 min

How electric cars can advance environmental justice: By putting low-income and racially diverse drivers behind the wheel

Electric cars offer benefits for low-income and minority drivers, including cleaner air and lower maintenance costs. But it will take more than rebates on new models to make EVs accessible for all.

Andrea Marpillero-Colomina, Adjunct Lecturer in Urban Studies, The New School • conversation
May 21, 2021 ~9 min

The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the SolarWinds hack were all but inevitable – why national cyber defense is a 'wicked' problem

Fragmented authority for national cyber defense and the vulnerabilities of private companies that control software and infrastructure stack the deck against US cybersecurity.

Terry Thompson, Adjunct Instructor in Cybersecurity, Johns Hopkins University • conversation
May 10, 2021 ~13 min

GPS tracking could help tigers and traffic coexist in Asia

An infrastructure boom threatens endangered tigers across Asia. Scientists want to know more about how tigers behave near roads so they can design wildlife-friendly transportation networks.

Neil Carter, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Conservation, University of Michigan • conversation
April 23, 2021 ~9 min


Nearly 60 million Americans don't drink their tap water, research suggests – here's why that's a public health problem

New research finds that tap water avoidance is on the rise in the US, especially among minorities. An expert on water and health calls for better public education about water quality and testing.

Asher Rosinger, Assistant Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Anthropology, and Demography. Director, Water, Health, and Nutrition Laboratory, Penn State • conversation
April 15, 2021 ~9 min

The US needs a macrogrid to move electricity from areas that make it to areas that need it

The US electricity grid is actually five regional grids, and it's hard to share power between them. A macrogrid could bridge the gaps, making electricity cheaper and more reliable.

James D. McCalley, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Iowa State University • conversation
April 5, 2021 ~9 min

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