State / Local

POWER-GRID RESILIENCEScience and Supercomputers Help Utilities Adapt to Climate Change
Northern Illinois traditionally enjoys four predictable seasons. But climate is changing, with big repercussions for the people who live in the region and the power grid that supports them.
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FLOODSFlooding in California: What Went Wrong, and What Comes Next
By Sarah Fecht
Battered by storm after storm, California is facing intense flooding, with at least 19 lives lost so far and nearly 100,000 people evacuated from their homes. And there’s no sign that the storms will be letting up soon.
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DISASTERSCalifornia Declares Storm State of Emergency
A huge storm has hit the West Coast of the US, prompting California’s governor to declare a state of emergency. Officials said it may be “one of the most challenging and impactful” storms to hit the state in five years.
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CLIMATE & DISASTER INSURANCECoughing Up Billions of Dollars to Save Florida’s Insurance Market
By Jake Bittle
In the three months since Hurricane Ian struck Florida, the state’s fragile property insurance market has been teetering on the brink of collapse. The historic storm caused over $50 billion in damage, and dealt a body blow to an industry that was already struggling to stay standing: Several insurance companies had already collapsed this year even before the hurricane, and major funders are now poised to abandon those that remain.
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WATER SECURITYA Water War Is Brewing Over the Dwindling Colorado River
By Abrahm Lustgarten
Diminished by climate change and overuse, the river can no longer provide the water states try to take from it.
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WATER SECURITYA Simmering Revolt Against Groundwater Cutbacks in California
By Felicity Barringer
In 2014, California legislators, focused on groundwater’s accelerating decline during a prolonged drought, passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. New agencies find making sustainability plans is hard, but easier than persuading growers to accept them.
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GUNSMore U.S. Adults Carrying Loaded Handguns Daily: Study
The number of U.S. adult handgun owners carrying a loaded handgun on their person doubled from 2015 to 2019, according to new research. S larger proportion of handgun owners carried handguns in states with less restrictive carrying regulation, where approximately one-third of handgun owners reported carrying in the past month.
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SCHOOL SECURITYPanic Buttons, Automatic Locks and Bulletproof Windows Top the Proposed Safety Rules after Uvalde Shooting
By Brian Lopez
These proposed requirements could take effect this school year after the Texas Education Agency takes public comment into consideration.
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GUNSUnexpected Trends in Gun Violence Revealed by Statistical Analysis
Only a handful of U.S. states showed a surge in gun violence incidents in mid-2020 during civil unrest at the start of COVID-19 lockdowns and the murder of George Floyd, a new study finds.
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WATER SECURITYTexas’ Plan to Provide Water for a Growing Population Ignores Climate Change
By Erin Douglas
Texas’ biggest single solution to providing enough water for its soaring population in the coming decades is using more surface water, including about two dozen new large reservoirs. But climate change has made damming rivers a riskier bet.
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DISASTER COSTSThe “Hurricane Tax”: Ian Is Pushing Florida’s Home Insurance Market Toward Collapse
By Jake Bittle
Hurricane Ian has dissipated, but it will bring even more turmoil to the Sunshine State in the coming months. This damage will be financial rather than physical, as ratings agencies and real estate companies have estimated the storm’s damages at anywhere between $30 and $60 billion. The storm is poised to be one of the largest insured loss events in U.S. history.
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DISASTERSPuerto Rico: A U.S. Territory in Crisis
By Amelia Cheatham and Diana Roy
The Caribbean island, which shares a close yet fraught relationship with the rest of the United States, faces a multilayered economic and social crisis rooted in long-standing policy and compounded by natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic, migration, and government mismanagement.
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ELECTRIC VEHICLSCalifornia Dreaming? Nope.
By Alvin Powell
Expert welcomes aggressive move toward electric vehicles, but sees one ‘huge mistake’ policymakers need to avoid and a surefire way to anger drivers.
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WATER SECURITYParched California prepares for first-ever Colorado River Cuts
By Jake Bittle
An emerging deal would cut water deliveries to Southern California — but fall far short of federal demands.
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BATTERIESThe Electric Vehicle Boom Could Bring Lithium Mines Back to North Carolina
By Blanca Begert
Today, less than 1 percent of global lithium is mined in the United States, all from one mine in Nevada; the vast majority comes from Chile, Australia, and China.But as nations seek to cut emissions and transition to clean energy sources, demand for the metal is increasing, and the U.S. is looking to ramp up production within its borders.Mining companies are once again eyeing North Carolina as they seek to capitalize on the booming market for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. Not all locals are happy about it.
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