Scientists have long recognized coastal wetlands—marshes, tidal forests, seagrass meadows, and mudflats—as unsung environmental powerhouses. They capture 4.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, an annual rate equivalent to removing roughly 1.12 million vehicles from the roads, and deliver an estimated $23 billion in storm-protection benefits in the U.S. alone.
Nestled between the Gran Chaco and Chiquitano dry forests and the Pantanal lowlands in southeastern Bolivia, the Serranía de Sunsas is a chain of rugged mountains shaped by one of South America’s oldest geological formations, known as the Precambrian Brazilian Shield.
Nestled within iconic landscapes throughout the United States, from the misty Adirondack Mountains in New York to North Carolina’s swamps to Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the United States’ peatlands are quiet powerhouses. Beneath their mossy carpets lie layers of carbon-rich soil so deep that, in some places, they could swallow a three-story building.
The Central American nation of Honduras has more than 600 miles of shoreline between its Caribbean and Pacific coasts and encompasses over 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of coastal and island areas. Within this biodiverse, bicoastal country are abundant mangrove forests and seagrass meadows—two types of coastal wetlands that provide enormous benefits for nature, wildlife, and people.
U.S. states and local jurisdictions are largely responsible for governing the nation’s coasts. As a result, they play a major role in protecting and restoring many habitats that capture and store climate-warming carbon—such as seagrasses, salt marshes, mangroves, forested tidal wetlands, and peatlands—and offer myriad other benefits to people and the natural environment.
In one of the world’s most urbanized coastal environments—the waters around Hong Kong—pressure from human activities is threatening the vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, known locally as the Chinese white dolphin.
This year, more than 2 million Americans will hear the words "you have cancer." That's 5,500 people each day—about one every 15 seconds. And as upsetting as that phrase might be, even more distressing is the word that often comes next: chemotherapy.
Tens of thousands of Indiana residents have used land contracts to purchase homes, farms, and other properties over the last two decades. Land contracts—sometimes referred to as “contracts for deed” or “land installment contracts”—are often risky and costly for buyers.
A growing number of mostly small and midsize cities struggling with new housing production have begun providing preapproved building plans to developers as part of a broader effort to lower the cost of building new homes in their communities. A preapproved plan is a reusable set of design specifications and blueprints that has already been approved by a local government agency and is available for builders to use either free or for a nominal fee. One key goal of these programs is to shorten the preconstruction approval process.
Grants from the federal government represent a significant but often overlooked part of state budgets. In state fiscal year 2023, federal funds were the second-largest source of state revenue, after tax collections, accounting for 36% of the 50 states’ combined total revenue.
Federal funds have consistently played an important role in state budgets, accounting for more than a third of state revenue in recent years. However, recent changes in federal priorities—including funding pauses and spending reductions—have introduced uncertainty about how and to what extent federal funds support state programs and activities.
In this episode of “After the Fact,” join us as we visit Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., to discover how the university is combining clean energy innovation with inclusive design. We hear from technical and policy experts, and one student intern on the project team, who explain how microgrids can make communities more self-sufficient, especially in the face of increasing electric grid failures and extreme weather events.
