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☆ A growing urban-farming movement has transformed dozens of vacant lots in Philadelphia. Now with city backing, some crucial green spaces can flourish without the threat of development.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Philadelphia recently announced it would buy 91 properties containing green spaces and gardens. Studies show urban gardens can help keep neighborhoods cooler and perhaps reduce gun violence and depression. The urban garden he helped start nearly a decade ago on abandoned lots in West Philadelphia was finally protected. Thousands of properties tied up in the deal sat neglected for decades, and locals transformed some into urban gardens. Many Black and brown neighborhoods don't have enough green spaces, which makes residents more susceptible to extreme heat.

Persons: Victor Young, We'd, Young, Ash Richards, Richards, Jenny Greenberg, Greenberg, Beverly Giles Carter, it's Organizations: Service, Young, Neighborhood Gardens Trust, US Bank, Neighborhood Gardens, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, City Council, Philadelphia's Land Bank Locations: Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, aren't, Philadelphia's

☆ Cargill ingredients are probably in every meal you eat. That makes the company's environmental goals a big deal.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Cargill, the largest private company in the US, buys from farmers and ranchers in 70 countries. Some environmental groups, including Greenpeace and Stand.earth , accuse Cargill of not doing enough on those fronts. What is Cargill doing about the climate crisis? What is Cargill doing about that? (A Cargill spokesperson added that the company also offers premium payments to soy growers in South America enrolled in a company sustainability program.

Persons: Cargill, Pilar Cruz, Burger, didn't Cargill Organizations: Service, Privacy, Cargill, Greenpeace, Stand.earth, Latina, Soil Health Institute, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Innovation Fund, Tropical Forest Alliance, US, Brazil —, Gran Chaco, South America Locations: South America, Southeast Asia, Cargill, North America, Germany, Romania, Poland, Southern, Brazil, West Africa, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, South

☆ Return to Office, Ending Work From Home May Make Climate Crisis Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Whether mandatory return-to-office policies will make the climate crisis worse is an important question, especially as scientists predict that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. But determining whether working from an office is worse for the planet isn't that simple. Failing to find a balance between boosting productivity at the office and protecting the planet risks making the crisis worse. Even though the study only covered the early part of the pandemic, it illustrated how a shift away from office work can have some positive effects for the planet. "There was no clear answer to whether work from home was better or worse for the environment in general terms."

Persons: Rachel, it's, JPMorgan Chase, James Elfer, Elfer, It's, Ty Colman, Colman, Ralf Martin, Martin, teleworking, Megan Litke, We've, Litke, Efler, Operta's Colman, JPMorgan Chase —, Apple, Tony Johnson, Schneider, Johnson, That's, she's, Catherine Boudreau Organizations: Amazon, Google, JPMorgan, Fortune, Employees, Greenhouse, International Energy Agency, IEA, Imperial College Business School, American University, Energy, Target, Dell, Apple, Schneider Locations: , Maryland, Greater London, London, Washington , DC, Williams, Sonoma, North America

☆ Maui wildfires made Hawaii's housing market crisis worse — residents already feared being priced out
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The wildfires that destroyed Lahaina last week exacerbated a housing crisis in Hawaii. Many Native Hawaiians and locals can't buy a home in Maui, where the average cost is $1 million. A woman digs through rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii. Rick Bowmer/Associated PressHiga rents a home with his family in Haiku on the North Shore of Maui that was spared from the wildfires. He also serves on a working group that the governor convened in July after declaring Hawaii's affordable-housing shortage an emergency .

Persons: Josh Green of, he'd, Green, Sterling Higa, Higa, Rick Bowmer Organizations: Service, Maui, Gov, Housing, Press Locations: Lahaina, Hawaii, Maui, Hawaiian, Josh Green of Hawaii, United States, Lahaina , Hawaii, Shore

☆ Handbags and hats made of mushroom leather could become the next luxury items for brands like Hermès
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company will open its first commercial plant in September to supply luxury brands like Hermès. Fashion brands are investing in materials that don't use animals or plastic to meet climate goals. Many fashion brands have set climate goals and are searching for sustainable substitutes to animal- or plastic-based leather and other textiles with high carbon footprints. An Hermès bag made of MycoWorks' mycelium leather. She sees a luxury fashion house like Hermès as an ideal pioneer for alternative leather because the brand's status is based in part on scarcity.

Persons: MycoWorks, Matt Scullin, Coppie Barbieri, Scullin, Stella McCartney, Dan Widmaier, haven't, Anne Higonnet, Hermès, Birkin, Higonnet, Reishi, That's Organizations: Service, Ligne, General Motors, Adidas, Vogue Business, New York's Barnard College, Consumers Locations: Wall, Silicon, San Francisco, South Carolina

☆ Extreme heat has cost the global economy $16 trillion on average, research shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The extreme heat is harming people's health and labor productivity. Newly available economic data and more advanced climate models now make it possible to measure how extreme heat hurts the global economy. "The economic costs of extreme heat do not encompass the totality of the economic costs of climate change," Mankin said. "Average temperatures are rising, so statistically, we are going to have more extreme heat in more places," he said. "What's unique about the extreme heat right now is the number of people it's impacting.

Persons: Justin Mankin, Mankin, Adrienne Arsht Organizations: Service, Dartmouth College, Rockefeller Foundation Resilience, CNN, European Union Locations: . Texas, Southern Europe, North Africa, Italy, Spain, Greece, Tunisia

☆ I'm a Barbie girl who almost got tricked by a plastic-free hoax
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A fake campaign by environmental activists said Barbie-maker Mattel would go plastic-free by 2030. Outlets like People, The Washington Times , and Dow Jones Newswires reported that Mattel, the maker of Barbie and other toys like American Girl dolls and Hot Wheels, would go plastic-free by 2030. "With our plastic-free commitment, we denounce the empty promises of plastic recycling and take a bold step towards real ecological sustainability. By the end of the day, Yahoo News had the exclusive on the team behind the stunt : The Barbie Liberation Organization. The stunt did make me envision what seaweed Barbie would look like — but it's unclear if that's possible.

Persons: Barbie, I've, that'd, Dow Jones Newswires, Greta Thunberg, Daryl Hannah, Instagram, Hannah, Hannah didn't, Ynon Kreiz, Mattel, Igor Vamos, Mike Bonnaro, Vamos, Adam McKay Organizations: Mattel, Service, The Washington Times, Yahoo News, Liberation Organization, Barbie Liberation Organization, Dot Studios Locations: Russian

☆ Passive House designs could cut your energy bill in half
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One way is through designing buildings and residences using Passive House standards, a green building-certification program focused on energy efficiency. Developers are interested in how Passive House buildings can help save energy, emit fewer greenhouse gasses, and deliver lower utility bills. A Passive House is more akin to a thermos," Ken Levenson, the executive director of the Passive House Network, a nonprofit that educates the real-estate and construction industry on the standards, said. Passive House standards don't require that electricity come from renewable-energy sources, but they do encourage it, Levenson said. He said there weren't any major cost increases due to designing to Passive House standards.

Persons: Ken Levenson, Levenson, Kent Gonzales Organizations: Service, Passive House Network, Residents Locations: New York, Massachusetts, Europe, Newton , Massachusetts, Northland, New York City, Boston

☆ A historic settlement could bring environmental justice to a Chicago neighborhood that's been filled with polluting industries
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"If you take away our health, you take away our wealth," Sanchez, a community planning manager at the Southeast Environmental Task Force, told Insider. The first-of-its-kind settlement with HUD could be a model for environmental justice advocates in other cities. If the city didn't agree to address environmental harms, it risked losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal housing money. "Now all levels of city government have to listen to us and develop policies that are protective of public health." Sanchez said the case underscored the importance of updating city policies, because administrations come and go.

Persons: Oscar Sanchez, Sanchez, polluters, Robert Weinstock, who's, he's, Cheryl Johnson, Johnson, Jamie Kelter Davis, Weinstock, Brandon Johnson, Charles Rex Arbogast, Angela Tovar Organizations: Service, Environmental, Force, US Department of Housing, Urban Development, Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law, Urban, Community, Factories, Washington, Getty, Chicago AP Locations: Chicago's, Chicago, Lincoln Park, Black, Calumet

☆ Don't call the extreme heat, flooding, and wildfires 'the new normal'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The climate crisis is causing a "new abnormal" characterized by more frequent and intense disasters. More people are connecting their personal run-ins with disasters to the climate crisis. "We're not on a plateau," Leiserowitz, who studies people's attitudes toward the climate crisis, said. Still, the climate crisis remains psychologically distant for many people. These institutions haven't acted fast enough to avert the crisis, climate scientists say.

Persons: Anthony Leiserowitz, We're, Leiserowitz, Chase, Ross D, aren't, Jodi Kelly, Dan Kelly, Steven Senne, Lena Moffitt, Biden Organizations: Service, Yale, Chase Field, Arizona Diamondbacks, Franklin, Associated, North America ., Veterinary Surgical Center Locations: Phoenix, Iran, —, North America, North America . Vermont, Florida, United States, Montpelier , Vermont

☆ Amazon used 11.6% less plastic for shipping last year and is phasing out those blue and white plastic mailers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon used nearly 86,000 tons of single-use plastic packaging last year, an 11.6% drop. Amazon is also ditching its blue and white padded plastic mailers in favor of easier-to-recycle paper packaging. Oceana for several years has tried to put numbers on how much plastic Amazon is using. Oceana's analysis for 2021 found Amazon used about 709 million pounds of plastic packaging — some 355,000 tons. Amazon said it used less plastic in 2022 by expanding packaging made with recyclable paper across the US, Canada, and Europe.

Persons: —, Matt Littlejohn, Littlejohn, Oceana Organizations: Amazon, Service, Oceana Locations: Oceana, Canada, Europe, Australia

☆ See how Sweden is planning to create a 'wooden city' with thousands of homes and offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Developers in Stockholm announced a project with offices and homes made of wood. The developers said the project would be the world's largest wooden city. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. Loading Something is loading. The developer, Atrium Ljungberg, said in June that the Stockholm Wood City project would total more than 250,000 square meters — some 2.7 million square feet — and include 7,000 office spaces and 2,000 homes.

Persons: Ljungberg Organizations: Service Locations: Stockholm, Stockholm Wood City

☆ Why Exxon Mobil is spending $4.9 billion on a company that pumps carbon dioxide back into the earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That's a business Exxon, the biggest oil company in the US, is looking to expand. The largest US oil major said Thursday it would acquire Denbury, which has the largest network of carbon dioxide pipelines in the country, for $4.9 billion. Denbury is also in the business of what's called enhanced oil recovery, which involves using carbon dioxide to collect more oil from wells. Most of the captured carbon dioxide will likely be stored underground, however. Transporting CO2 requires pipelines, and Denbury has 1,300 miles of carbon dioxide pipelines; much of its network spans Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.

Persons: Denbury, what's, Joe Biden, Dan Ammann, there's, — Organizations: Exxon Mobil, Exxon, Service, Privacy, International Energy Agency, IEA, Exxon's, Carbon Solutions, Bloomberg, Denbury, United Nations Locations: Wall, Silicon, Louisiana , Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, CCUS, US, Qatar, Australia

☆ Climate-change safe havens can still get hit hard. Vermont's flooding is a reminder.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As the water recedes, officials said the storm shows an ongoing need to adapt to the climate crisis. It was the highest level in nearly a century, when the river reached 27 feet during the Great Vermont Flood of 1927, according to local officials . Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets via APEven as water levels recede, more rain is expected on Thursday and Friday. Some residents said the flooding was worse than Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, which at the time seemed like an anomaly in the state. About 18% of properties in Vermont are at significant risk of flooding over the next 30 years, predicts First Street Foundation .

Persons: Justin Michaels, Phil Scott, Irene Organizations: Service, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, AP, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Foundation, FEMA Locations: Vermont, Wall, Silicon, Montpelier, Waterbury, Ludlow, Montpelier , Vermont

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio Is the Most Trusted Authority on the Climate Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Americans named Leonardo DiCaprio the most trustworthy climate authority in an online survey. The climate crisis and the movie "Titanic" have at least one thing in common: They've been the subject of passionate debates for decades. In an online survey, Americans named Leonardo DiCaprio the most trustworthy famous authority on climate change and other environmental issues. In 2021, DiCaprio starred in "Don't Look Up," a film that satirizes how powerful politicians, corporations, and the media have responded to the climate crisis. The film is part of a recent shift in how the climate crisis is portrayed on TV and in movies, Navaratnam-Blair said.

Persons: Leonardo DiCaprio, They've, Jack could've, DiCaprio, Greta Thunberg, Al Gore, Dwayne, Johnson, Joe Biden, Fergus Navaratnam, Blair, Navaratnam, BuzzFeed, Page, Jennifer Lawrence, Gore Organizations: National Research Group, National Research, Hollywood, Earth Alliance Locations: Hollywood, Glasgow, Scotland

☆ As the climate crisis intensifies, insurers will likely reshape where people live — leaving desperate homeowners in the lurch
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Nick's dilemma illustrates how the climate crisis is touching even the most mundane aspects of owning a home. That's been stagnant because of strict state regulations on what insurance companies can charge. She's one of many homeowners who for years have bought policies from companies that aren't approved by Florida's insurance regulators. Houses that would cost $1 million or more to rebuild are not covered by the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, leaving them vulnerable to a disaster. Now he's not sure whether he — or anyone — will ever get the chance to live in his former neighborhood again.

Persons: —, Nick, hadn't, McKinney, Hurricane, Madelyn Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Ian, Rodriguez's townhome, Bob Stephens, Stephens, It's, he'd, he's Organizations: Service, California FAIR, Insurance, Institute, State Farm, Allstate, Insurance Information Institute, Property Insurance, Los Angeles Locations: Klamath, Forest, Oregon, McKinney, California, Florida, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, Broward County, Marathon , Florida, —, Marathon

☆ A new Texas law will override mandated rest and water breaks for construction crews as extreme heat rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some construction crews in Texas are no longer guaranteed water breaks under a new law. Critics say the law will override the few protections that construction workers in Austin and Houston are guaranteed, including 10-minute breaks every four hours to drink water and rest in the shade. The agency in 2021 started collecting information to help inform a national heat standard for indoor and outdoor workers, but a final rule could be years away. Mahaleris said the law wouldn't prohibit people from taking water breaks. "Access to drinking water and bathrooms, taking breaks in the shade — and there's also an education component that's important."

Persons: Greg Abbott, Daniela Hernandez, Abbott, Andrew Mahaleris, Mahaleris, Hernandez, Lulu Flores, there's Organizations: Service, Central America, Workers Defense Project, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Texans, Big, National Park Service, US Postal Service, Democrat, Austin, GOP Locations: Texas, Texas , Louisiana, Mexico, Central, Austin, Houston, Texas . Texas, California , Minnesota, Washington, North Texas, West Virginia, East Texas

☆ 'We're in a perfect storm.' Insurers flee parts of America amid the climate crisis and rising costs to rebuild.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some insurers have stopped selling new policies in states like California and Florida. "We're seeing escalating catastrophe risk, a historic rise in inflation, and the cost to recover and rebuild homes is increasing." Still, Friedlander doesn't see Florida's insurance market improving any time soon. Beyond the rising risk of disaster, property insurers are also dealing with construction costs that are outpacing inflation, according to an analysis by the Insurance Information Institute. Insurers saw a 55% increase in rebuilding and replacement costs between 2019 and 2022.

Persons: Carole Walker, Walker, Mark Friedlander, Friedlander, Ian, Ron DeSantis Organizations: Service, Rocky Mountain Insurance Association, State Farm, Allstate, Colorado Division of Insurance, FAIR, Property Insurance Corporation, Insurance, Research, Institute, Contractors Locations: California, Florida . Colorado, Gulf Coast, California , Colorado , Florida , Louisiana, Texas, Colorado , New Mexico , Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, California , Louisiana, Florida

☆ Exxon and Chevron investors shoot down climate proposals after a year a record profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investors shot down proposals urging Exxon and Chevron to set more ambitious climate targets. Climate-minded investors blame Big Oil's soaring profits and Republicans' criticism of ESG. "It's incomprehensible why investors are accepting this when they have more to worry about than the profits of Big Oil. Exxon in December said more than 70% of its capital investments in the coming years would flow to fossil-fuel development. "To be fair, we have seen change at Exxon in the last two years.

Persons: Big, Mark van Baal, Critics, Andrew Logan Organizations: Exxon, Chevron, Service, ExxonMobil, BlackRock, Vanguard, Big, Big Oil Locations: Ukraine

☆ Charm Industrial is getting $53 million for turning agricultural waste into oil that can be pumped underground to lock away carbon dioxide for 1 million years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The company says the oil hardens within days and it estimates the carbon dioxide is locked away for 1 million years. That's far more than the 6,055 tons that Charm Industrial has removed to date under pilot programs. Meeting that global climate goal will likely require billions of metric tons of carbon dioxide to be removed from the atmosphere by 2050. Startups like Climeworks are using fans to suck carbon dioxide out of the sky, while others are using enhanced weathering that speeds up the natural ability of minerals to store carbon dioxide. For its part, Charm Industrial buys agricultural waste from farmers and heats it to high temperatures in a contraption called a pyrolyzer.

☆ The US wants to cut carbon emissions from power plants. Here are the 15 states where coal is king.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration proposed steep pollution cuts by coal- and gas-fired power plants. Most US electricity comes from fossil fuels — the sector creates 25% of the nation's emissions. Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, and plants have been closing over the past decade. Most of the country's more than 3,400 fossil-fuel power plants would have to nearly eliminate their planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040 under a proposal announced by the Environmental Protection Agency last week. Coal plants could also opt to shut down in the first half of the 2030s to avoid meeting most or even all pollution caps.

Persons: Biden, it's Organizations: Service, Environmental, Agency, EPA, Biden, US Energy Information Administration, West Virginia —, Missouri —, Wyoming, Kentucky —, Utah —, Indiana —, Dakota —, Nebraska —, Montana —, Wisconsin —, Colorado —, Mexico —, Arkansas —, Michigan —, Minnesota — Locations: Mexico

☆ Microsoft bets that a fusion power plant from Helion Energy will be operating this decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Microsoft agreed to buy electricity from a fusion power plant being developed by Helion Energy. Microsoft on Wednesday agreed to buy 50 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 40,000 homes — from a fusion power plant being developed by Helion Energy. The seventh prototype, expected be completed this year, is set to be the first to convert fusion energy into electricity, Kirtley said. If Helion doesn't deliver Microsoft the 50 MW of electricity from its fusion power plant, there will be financial penalties, Kirtley said. Helion had previously projected that it would start building a commercial fusion power plant by 2022 — if it obtained sufficient funding.

☆ Women in Climate Leadership: Meet 10 leaders who refuse to let the climate crisis go unchecked
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"It's like a comedy-drama satire," Margolin, a junior at New York University, told Insider of the film, called "Doomers." It's about a former youth climate activist and a former NASA climate scientist who go out for a night of hedonistic destruction to celebrate giving up on fighting the climate crisis. Margolin started to worry that the youth climate movement had inadvertently created a capitalistic monster. So many companies, even big polluters or those with sweatshops in their supply chains, talk about sustainability and climate justice. "Corporations and politicians have exploited the youth climate movement," Margolin said.

☆ Oliver Stone says you should be more worried about the climate crisis than the risks of using nuclear power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Oscar-wining director Oliver Stone released a documentary calling for more use of nuclear power. And nuclear power kills far fewer people than fossil fuels — the main cause of the climate crisis — in terms of air pollution and accidents. These events distorted the safety risks of nuclear energy, Stone argues, noting that beyond the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, few people have died from nuclear accidents. Stone told Insider he didn't know that Ralph Nader, who famously campaigned against nuclear power plants, described the documentary as a "propaganda boomerang." "I'd rather not," Stone told Insider.

☆ Youth climate activists plan to protest the biggest social event for Washington's political-media class
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Saturday, the group plans to blockade the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC. So the White House Correspondents' Association dinner is an appropriate target, Salamon said. The White House did not return requests for comment. Haught acknowledged she had little political choice because GOP candidates have shown paltry interest in prioritizing climate action. "If you're putting your body on the line and risking a record of arrest, that shows you're serious," Haught said.

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