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Passenger cars have been leading the way, so far, in the development of zero emission technologies. But there’s also a movement underway to develop heavy-duty electric vehicles – like freight trucks and buses – that could have sweeping benefits for the climate, public health, and American jobs. At EDF, we just released a new report,

New report from EDF and Soil Health Partnership helps farmers better understand the benefits, opportunities and limiting factors associated with common conservation practices. The post Understanding the impact of conservation tillage on operating expenses first appeared on Growing Returns.

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. You know how sometimes you know something is going on behind closed doors, but you just can’t prove it?  Well, this isn’t one of those cases. At numerous points in recent years, we heard tell of secret meetings that Trump EPA political appointees were holding with the chemical …

Researchers found that counties with higher soil organic matter are associated with greater yields, lower yield losses and lower rates of crop insurance payouts under drought conditions. The post Study shows healthy soils protect corn yields and lower crop insurance payouts first appeared on Growing Returns.

By Toby Short, Associate Vice President, Federal Affairs. My father and grandparents worked in the textile mills in North Carolina. When those mills closed, the once vibrant towns that housed the mills began to shut down as well.

By Larissa Koehler Every pre-COVID school day, approximately 480,000 school buses carry more than 25 million children to school across the United States. Most of them run on diesel fuel and spew pollution that causes cancer, triggers asthma attacks and makes climate change worse. Indeed, of the over 40,000 school buses registered in the U.S.

This blog post was authored by Pedro Piris-Cabezas, Director of Sustainable International Transport & Lead Senior Economist at Environmental Defense Fund, and Anna Stratton, Consultant This month, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nation’s aviation agency, is holding its 222nd Council meeting. On the agenda: an opportunity for ICAO Council to signal its commitment …

The pace of vehicle electrification continues to pick up steam. The latest company to make a big splash is FedEx — the delivery behemoth with more than 80,000 vehicles in its fleet. The company announced its pickup and delivery fleet will include only zero-emission vehicles by 2040. This is an important step forward, not just …

Here are three key takeaways from how the Hays Trinity district is proactively managing groundwater to protect its long-term viability and landowners’ rights to groundwater. The post 3 lessons from a Texas groundwater district on managing during drought first appeared on Growing Returns.

This blog post was co-authored with Nat Keohane, Senior Vice President for Climate at EDF. Now that the United States is officially back in the Paris Agreement, after four years of climate inaction and denial, all eyes are on the Biden administration to see whether it will meet the moment by putting forward a new emissions …

On February 19, the U.S. officially reentered the Paris Agreement after being on the sidelines for four years. Even with the federal government beginning to restore and strengthen climate leadership, states still have a critical role to play in putting climate action points on the board. Oregon’s recently launched Climate Protection Program has the potential …

By Melissa Mahoney and Shems Jud With fisheries providing livelihoods, income and nutrition for hundreds of millions of people around the world, finding ways to preserve them is always essential. Yet in many countries, fisheries management hasn’t caught up with the digital world we live in today. Electronic fisheries monitoring and other applications of cutting-edge …

Last year, a collection of 15 states and Washington D.C. committed to transitioning to zero-emission trucks and buses via a multi-state memorandum of understanding. This year will be a critical year for the effort, as these states begin to pinpoint the suite of policies needed to foster this transition in an equitable, maximally beneficial way.

This post was co-authored with Kjellen Belcher, Senior Analyst, U.S. Climate Policy at EDF. The Washington Legislature has just advanced ambitious climate policy that would make the state the second in the nation to place an enforceable, declining limit on climate pollution from the largest-emitting sectors of its economy. This is a fundamental step toward …

By Colin Leyden and John Hall The aftermath of the storm we just endured will linger a lot longer than the average Texas winter. At least 80 people died. Millions of families lost power and water service as broad swaths of our critical infrastructure froze up. Families, businesses and cities are still tallying the damage,

Every pre-COVID school day, approximately 480,000 school buses carry more than 25 million children to school across the United States. Most of them run on diesel fuel and spew pollution that causes cancer, triggers asthma attacks and makes climate change worse. Indeed, of the over 40,000 school buses registered in the U.S. in 2019, only …

Recently, there has been a great deal of interest and even excitement about how seaweed might be able to help save us from climate change. I appreciate the newfound exuberance for seaweed, and wholeheartedly agree that seaweeds do a lot for society and the planet. A similar awakening to the wonders of seaweed occurred in …

By proactively investing in natural infrastructure and conservation priorities, Congress can begin to build protections for the coastal ecosystems that help protect communities, while creating jobs and reducing the costs of future disasters. The post 3 actions Congress can take now to build more resilient coasts first appeared on Growing Returns.

The latest California-Quebec auction was fully subscribed, based on results released today. This is the second quarter in a row where all allowances sold, which is good news for the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. There is still opportunity, however, for more ambition in the program moving forward. Today’s results, by the numbers All 54,773,607 …

1. Our first priority must be to help Texas families Millions in Texas were without power and drinkable water for days on end, and families across the state are still working to find food and assess the damage from burst pipes. Helping them must be our first priority. 2. Climate change means all of our …

Last year tied for the hottest year on record. Increasing heat and flood risks from climate change, the result of historical and ongoing emissions of heat-trapping gases, threaten infrastructure, agriculture, and public health throughout Pennsylvania. The federal government, Wall Street, and Americans across the country have awakened to the challenge of climate change and are …

New report details how California orchard growers can harness the power of nature to build a more resilient agricultural system. The post Report shows how nuts and managed vegetation are a winning combination for California growers first appeared on Growing Returns.

Sam Lovell, Project Manager. Across the country, over 9 million homes still get their water through a lead pipe, called a lead service line (LSL). Fully replacing LSLs poses a myriad of challenges – cost chief amongst them – but replacement is critical to protecting the public from the harms posed by lead exposure. It …

Electricity system operators balance supply and demand precisely at every moment of every day through market design grounded in economic principles. As the share of variable renewable resources like wind and solar electricity on our electricity system increases, system operators, policy makers and energy market regulators are facing new questions on how to design the …

The N-Visible framework represents a significant advancement in the science of quantifying environmental outcomes from agriculture. The post A breakthrough to measure agriculture’s environmental impact first appeared on Growing Returns.