By Greg Horner and Vero Bourg-Meyer The rooftop solar industry is booming, but far too few lower-income Americans are benefiting as a result. It’s a ​“modern version of redlining,” according to Joe Evans of the Kresge Foundation. Now an increasing number of charitable foundations are stepping up to redress that injustice, using a range of approaches…

By Jacqueline Patterson, Aiko Schaefer, and Alvaro S. Sanchez Climate justice is racial justice. There is no way to talk about equitable, effective, and just solutions to climate change without also talking about the disproportionate burdens that communities of color shoulder as the planet warms. …

By Heather Mcilvaine-Newsad In May, seven people died and 37 were injured when a rare dust storm caused a 72-vehicle pileup on Interstate 55 in Illinois. For many in the scientific and agricultural communities, the dust storm harkened back to the devastating Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Recent climate patterns in Illinois are…

By Laurie Mazur Earlier in her career, Robin Hacke believed that money alone could solve the problem of underinvested communities. As Hacke observed in a Center for Community Investment video, she thought, “They don’t have the money to do the projects and deals that they would like to do. We’re going to bring…

By Travis Beck Cities across the U.S. and Canada have embraced Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), also known as “granny flats,” as a means to quickly address severe housing shortages. Implemented at scale, however, ADUs are a bad urban design solution. …

By L. Michelle Moore More communities are saying “not in my backyard” to clean energy projects. The Jefferson County Commission in Tennessee recently said “not now” to a new 250-MW energy storage project, passing a moratorium on permitting such projects until January 2024. Ten rural Ohio counties have banned new solar and wind installations…

By Danielle Arigoni The summer of 2023 was a wake-up call on climate change. We may remember it for the deadly wildfire in Maui, but that was just one of the nation’s major climate-fueled disasters of the year. Phoenix withstood a monthlong stretch of 110-plus-degree days. Canadian wildfires raged, bringing code-red air quality…

By Shannon Britton My entry into landscape maintenance began as a deep need to do work that was outdoors, among nature. …

By Lotte Schlegel Antonio Díaz and Dawn Curtis share a common vision: a future when their neighbors are thriving in healthy, resilient homes, schools and workplaces, and benefiting from a green economy. Díaz and Curtis are also both part of Community Climate Shift, an initiative working for equitable emissions reduction and community-driven policymaking. …