Buildings
Climate Change Is Ravaging California. It’s Time to Electrify.
COVID-19 isn’t the only crisis taking a toll on California this summer. Record-breaking heat has helped fuel the largest wildfire season on record, with more than two million acres already burned. Smoke from the fires has blanketed much of the state, causing some of the worst air quality in…
Climate Action is Heating Up in Illinois: Here’s the Missing Piece
Illinois is poised to be a national climate leader. After committing to cut carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, Governor JB Pritzker recently continued his push for climate action with a new set of principles for a clean and renewable Illinois economy. In the state legislature,…
We Need a New Approach to Cooling
The world’s first air conditioner was developed in 1902 to remove humidity from a building. Willis Carrier’s invention, that enabled the precise control of temperature and humidity, became the fundamental building block for modern air conditioning, evolving through the 1920s into air conditioners to provide cooling to the built environment.
The Wonders of Weatherization: Improving Equity through Stimulus Funding
COVID-related health impacts and financial hardship have disproportionately affected people of color in the United States. At the same time, the protests over the killing of George Floyd have further emphasized the need to address this country’s systemic racial inequities. Rather than allowing racial inequality to worsen further, Congress can…
How to Stay Cool while Saving Energy
As a heat wave grips much of the country, with temperatures in some areas running into the triple digits, keeping cool is critical. Yet as millions of people rely on air conditioners we run into problems.
