due to climate change and outside influences, giant clam populations have been declining around the pacific. in response, local communities and governments have been working together and across borders to restore their numbers.

earlier this year, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration put forward a proposal to update the status of giant clams under the endangered species act and increase federal protections. however, many local researchers and community members oppose this, as they believe such projects would make local restoration initiatives and cultural practices more difficult, if not impossible. this story follows indigenous scientist frank roberto’s project in giant clam restoration on guam and his response to the proposal within his community.

republican nominee and former president donald trump and democratic nominee and current vice president kamala harris will face off on nov. 5 for the presidency and have stated differing opinions on climate change.

the harris’ campaign

harris, with current president joe biden, has worked to address climate change through legislation such as the bipartisan infrastructure act and the inflation reduction act. 

both the bipartisan infrastructure act and the ira gave funding for local projects which will alleviate the effects of climate change and benefit other areas of the economy. the ira was signed on aug. 16, 2022, and a year after it was signed the biden administration stated it has made changes. 

within the first year the ira was signed into law, there was $110 billion in new clean energy manufacturing including $10 billion in solar manufacturing. the administration also awarded over a billion dollars to protect communities from the impacts of climate change when struck by hurricanes or droughts. the white house stated within the first year of the ira’s implementation american families were projected to save between $27-38 billion on electricity bills between 2022 and 2030.

in a speech regarding its second year anniversary, harris spoke positively about the ira while running for president, saying the legislation is also improving manufacturing and innovation. 

“while taking on the climate crisis and lowering utility bills for families, it is helping us to rebuild american manufacturing and drive american innovation,” harris said.

but there is a question of whether harris will continue to address climate change in her agenda called new way forward if she wins the presidency. seth schuster, a spokesperson for the harris campaign, said there is not another candidate who will “fight harder” to combat climate change. 

“she’s proud to have delivered the most significant climate legislation in american history with president biden,” schuster said. 

according to her presidential campaign website, as president she will “unite” citizens to tackle climate change and build on president biden’s “historic work,” including environmental justice, increasing resilience to climate disasters, and lowering household energy costs.  

“she and governor walz will always fight for the freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis,” her website states. 

harris picked minnesota gov. tim walz as her running mate and democratic vice presidential nominee in early august. 

as governor, walz has championed many initiatives on climate change, including 40 during the 2023 legislative session in minnesota. one legislation included a law requiring all minnesotans to get all their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040 to stop climate change caused by coal and gas pollution.   

a report from npr stated climate change activists have given “praise” to harris for picking walz as his running mate, including from jamie henn of fossil free media.
“tim walz had the best climate record of any of the vp contenders and has been unafraid to take on big oil,” henn wrote on x.

trump’s outlook

before trump ran for president in 2016, he was known for calling climate change, or global warming, a “hoax,” which he attributed to china in 2012. 

“the concept of global warming was created by and for the chinese in order to make u.s. manufacturing non-competitive,” trump wrote on x. 

during his first administration, the brookings institution said trump was more interested in stopping climate policy than addressing climate change, highlighting his 2017 executive order stating for every new regulation, two regulations have to be eliminated. 

the new york times reported that by the end of his presidency, trump had completed “roll backs” on 98 environmental policies and was in progress on an additional 14. 

trump’s agenda47, a plan detailing what policies he would enact during his possible second administration, does not state climate change as an issue which should be addressed. he instead focuses on making america produce more oil.

trump stated, “america must have the number one lowest cost energy and electricity on earth” through producing more oil. his website also stated this will lower inflation and allow america to become the manufacturing “superpower” of the world. 

“to keep pace with the world economy that depends on fossil fuels for more than 80% of its energy, president trump will drill, baby, drill,” his website states. 

during his 2020 presidential campaign, trump also spread misinformation on climate change, saying wind turbines cause cancer and sink property values by 75%. 

during a recent rally in pennsylvania on sept. 29 for his 2024 presidential bid, three days after the impact of  hurricane helene, trump denied the existence of climate change. 
jd vance, trump’s running mate and the vice presidential republican nominee, responded to hurricane helene in relation to climate change during the vice presidential debate between him and walz, hosted by cbs on oct. 1.

vance took a bipartisan approach to hurricane helene by saying he and walz’s “hearts” and “prayers” go out to those affected, calling it an “unbelievable, unspeakable human tragedy.” he said they both want the federal government to help people affected by natural disasters.

but vance said he and trump want to make the environment cleaner and safer since americans worry about these “crazy weather patterns.” 

“we want as robust and aggressive a federal response as we can get to save as many lives as possible,” vance said. 

the last day for u.s. citizens to cast their ballot is election day on nov. 5.

washington – only nine years after the signing of the paris agreement — a landmark treaty promoting international cooperation to combat climate change  — global carbon emissions are out of line with paris’ global warming targets, the international monetary fund (imf) reported in a staff climate notes report this month. 

the imf report calculated that greenhouse gas emissions must be cut by 25% to meet a 2 degrees target or 50% to reach 1.5 degrees. currently, national targets would result in only a 12% drop in emissions. 

they prescribed urgent action to avoid an “emissions cliff edge,” which would make limiting global warming to only 1.5 degrees celsius, and even 2 degrees celsius, unattainable by 2030. 

“we’re in the greatest transition since the last industrial revolution,” said simon stiell, executive secretary of the united nations framework convention on climate change, at an imf climate panel in washington, d.c., wednesday. 

the paris agreement target

at the 21st conference of the parties to the un framework convention on climate change (cop21) in 2015, the paris agreement set a target of ideally 1.5 degrees celsius and “well below” 2 degrees celsius, beginning in november 2016. 

environmental economist and stanford professor charles kolstad, who was not present at the imf panel on wednesday, said it was not surprising that current national contributions were not aligned with the target warming rates. he added that, while the 2 degrees target is helpful in measuring progress, it was a political agreement, rather than a scientific goal. 

“it’s a helpful goal to have,” he said. “just because they didn’t meet the goal doesn’t mean it didn’t serve its purposes.”

“if we don’t achieve 50% by 2030, we’re going to see what we call a ‘climate cliff,’” imf deputy managing director bo li said at the imf panel. “we’d have to do dramatic reduction in the next 30 years after 2030, and that might be unbearable for the global economy.”

the panel focused on “mitigation,” or strategies to lessen the destructive impact of climate change. stanford professor rob jackson, who was not present at the panel, said mitigation is essential to “stave off the worst damages of climate change.”  

mitigation through carbon pricing

one of the mitigation strategies presented by the report was setting a carbon price of $85 per tonne, which would align emissions with the 2 degrees celsius target. in order to reach the 1.5 degrees celsius target, the price would have to be much higher. 

carbon pricing is a strategy that attaches a financial cost to carbon emissions, passing on part of the burden of emissions to polluters and consumers. currently, the imf reports the global carbon price to be only $5 per tonne. 

some u.s. states have adopted emission permit programs to indirectly raise carbon prices. climate policies, such as subsidies, can also impact carbon pricing, kolstad said. still, there is no comprehensive federal or international carbon pricing program. 

“carbon pollution is essentially free in the u.s.,” jackson said. 

during the panel, li suggested that large economies should take the lead on negotiating an international carbon pricing floor, adding that carbon pricing is critical to climate mitigation policy. 

the need for international collaboration

he also noted that climate action demands international cooperation, referencing last year’s sunnylands statement, in which the u.s. and china reaffirmed their commitment to working jointly against the climate crisis. 

“climate change is such an existential threat to humanity that we believe, and we hope, that countries can put aside their differences and collaborate,” li said. “we can collaborate on many fronts, including carbon pricing, including climate finance.”

the imf report also provides emissions targets aligned with the paris goals for 2030, averaging the reductions between countries based on their per-capita income. this design would provide for a more equitable distribution of climate responsibility, placing more of the burden on richer countries. 

during the panel, li highlighted how countries with lower levels of pollution are often most affected by climate change, such as island countries in the pacific and caribbean. he added that, even within countries, certain groups will be more disadvantaged by the transition to reduce emissions and urged domestic policymakers to support the affected groups.

next month, almost 200 countries are expected to attend cop29 in baku, azerbaijan. nicknamed the “finance cop,” the conference will center on funding climate solutions. 

cop29 hopes to renew ambition surrounding climate action and increase financial support for developing countries hoping to transition to cleaner energy, mukhtar babayev, cop29 president-designate said at the imf panel. 

at cop29, countries may also present updated national contributions, or emissions strategies. per the paris agreement, these are due by early 2025.

one of the cbs news debate moderators norah o’donnell asked about climate change in relation to hurricane helene, which hit the southeastern united states over the weekend, and has killed more than 160 people with hundreds of more missing. o’donnell said scientists say climate change makes these hurricanes “larger, stronger and more deadly” because of the historic rainfall.

according to a cbs news poll from april, 70% of americans overall and more than 60% of republicans under the age of 45 favor the u.s. to take steps and try to reduce climate change. o’donnell first addressed vance on climate change.

“what responsibility would the trump administration have to try and reduce the impact of climate change?” o’donnell asked.

vance began his response by calling hurricane helene an “unbelievable, unspeakable human tragedy.” he said before the debate he saw a picture of two grandparents and their grandchild on a roof before it collapsed and swept them away to their deaths. 

vance took a bipartisan approach while answering the question as he said he and gov. walz’ “hearts” and “prayers” go out to those affected by hurricane helene. he said they both want the federal government to help people affected by natural disasters.

“we want as robust and aggressive as a federal response as we can get to save as many lives as possible,” vance said. 

vance said he and republican presidential nominee donald trump want to make the environment cleaner and safer since americans worry about these “crazy weather patterns.” 

even though vance began on a bipartisan approach, he then criticized the biden administration on their approach to climate change. he said his “democratic friends” are concerned about carbon emissions from manufacturing affecting the environment. vance said if the democratic party was worried about carbon emissions, they would want to consolidate manufacturing in the u.s. 

“what have kamala harris’s policies actually led to? more energy production in china, more manufacturing overseas, more doing business in some of the dirtiest parts of the entire world.” vance said. 

the biden administration in 2022 spent $583 billion on imports from china but that number then dropped to $501 billion in 2023. during the last two years of the trump administration, $479 billion was spent in 2018 and $419 billion was spent in 2019 on imports from china.  

vance also called the u.s. the “cleanest economy in the entire world.” but according to the 2023 hinrich-imd sustainable trade index (sti), which measures economies’ level of sustainability, new zealand is ranked first with the u.s. ranking ninth.  

walz then responded to vance by first addressing hurricane helene where he said he has been in contact with governors of the affected southeastern states since he was co-chair of the governor’s council. 

but walz quickly turned to addressing climate change where he said even though vance sees it as a “problem,” he criticized trump’s approach.

“donald trump called it a hoax and then joked that these things would make more beachfront property to be able to invest in,” walz said.

he then said the biden administration has made “massive” investments through the passage of the inflation reduction act which provides funding for clean energy and combating climate change. 

walz said the biden administration has created 200,000 jobs across the country. but a fact-check from cnn found the number walz mentioned includes both the current number of jobs created and anticipated jobs. 

walz also said the u.s. is both producing more natural gas and more oil along with more clean energy, compared to the past.

“we are seeing us becoming an energy superpower for the future, not just the current,” walz said. “and that’s exactly what makes sense.”

the u.s. energy information administration found increases in production in natural gas along with stating the u.s. is producing more oil than ever. the organization also states the u.s. is using more renewable energy too but considerably less than natural gas and oil. 

vance then responded to walz’s statements by drawing back on his points on how the biden administration is importing manufactured goods from other countries. he said if their administration followed their beliefs regarding climate change they should be doing more manufacturing and energy production in the u.s. 

“kamala harris herself doesn’t believe her own rhetoric on this,” vance said.

vance also said when the biden administration is creating clean energy, they are using taxpayers money to import solar panels into the u.s. from other countries such as china. instead he said the u.s. should be working to produce more solar panels domestically.

“if you really want to make the environment cleaner, you’ve got to invest in more energy production,” vance said.  

data from the international energy agency states china produces the majority of four out of five materials used to create solar panels. 

walz then responded to vance by addressing farmers in his home state of minnesota who have seen the effects of climate change by noticing a drought one year and a flood the next. he then again honed in on laws passed by the biden administration allowing the u.s. to solve the problems of climate change in the future. 

“how do we make sure that we’re protecting by burying our power lines? how do we make sure that we’re protecting lakefronts and things that we’re seeing more and more of?” walz questioned.

walz ended his response criticizing trump by saying he invited oil executives to mar-a-lago where he told them to give money to his campaign and he will do “whatever they want.”

a report from the new york times in may stated trump invited oil executives from companies such as exxonmobil and eqt corporation to mar-a-lago where he asked them to donate $1 billion to his campaign and he would “roll back” on environmental rules affecting their business. 

o’donnell concluded the climate change discussion by saying the “overwhelming consensus” among scientists is the climate is warming at an “unprecedented rate.”

moderators david muir and linsey davis asked current vice president and democratic presidential nominee kamala harris and former president and republican presidential nominee donald trump about their stances on climate change. one third of registered voters, or 62% of harris’s voters and 11% of trump’s voters, reported climate change as a “very important” issue when voting in this year’s presidential election. 

before discussing climate change, the candidates mostly used the presidential debate to discuss three hot button issues: abortion, the economy and immigration. 

trump and harris also attacked each other on other non-issues. trump called harris a “marxist,” stating her father, who is a professor in economics at stanford university, “taught her well.” harris also referred to trump as a “fella” and said viewers are going to hear a “bunch of lies.” 

the first question about climate change came more than 90 minutes into the presidential debate. davis was the one to ask the question: 

“we have another issue that we’d like to get to that’s important for a number of americans, in particular younger voters, and that’s climate change. president trump, with regard to the environment, you say that we have to have clean air and clean water. vice president harris, you call climate change an existential threat. the question to you both tonight is what would you do to fight climate change?”

the vice president, who responded first, began her statement by saying trump has previously called climate change a “hoax.” she said while working for the biden administration, they have invested heavily in clean energy.

“i’m proud that we have invested a trillion dollars in a clean energy economy as we have also increased domestic oil and gas to historic levels,” harris said. 

according to a fact-check reported by abc and what the new york times called “misleading,” the three laws passed by the biden administration addressing funding for climate change, the bipartisan infrastructure law, chips and science act of 2022 and the inflation reduction act, would not exceed $1 trillion.  

harris has cited this statistic multiple times in campaign speeches. 

beyond her work in the biden administration, she also said people who are denied or cannot afford home insurance and are “victims” of natural disasters have nowhere to go after they are displaced from their residences. 

she agreed with davis’ lead-up to the question on how young people “care deeply” about climate change. a cbs news poll from april stated 76% of americans aged 18-29 say the u.s. “needs to take steps” to slow down the effects of climate change. 

but harris then pivoted back to economic issues, discussing auto workers and how the biden administration has increased manufacturing jobs in the united states by 800,000. 

trump, in response to harris jumping back to the economy, avoided the moderator’s original question on climate change altogether.

he said in his response that the biden administration has lost 10,000 manufacturing jobs within the last month. the u.s. department of labor monthly payroll report stated manufacturing jobs declined 24,000 in august. 

due to this decrease in manufacturing jobs, trump said auto manufacturers are leaving the u.s. and building “big” auto plants in mexico with some owned by foreign countries like china. 

“what they’ve done to business and manufacturing in this country is horrible,” trump said in reference to the biden administration. 

he then moved over to talking about how current president joe biden and his son hunter biden are receiving money from foreign countries like ukraine along with $3.5 million from the mayor of moscow’s wife. 

“this is a crooked administration, and they’re selling our country down the tubes,” trump said. 

the house committee on oversight and accountability, the house committee on the judiciary, and the house committee on ways and means reported in june members of the biden family have received $35 million from countries like ukraine and russia. but they could only prove biden’s son hunter and brother james, along with their “related companies,” received money and not the current president. 

trump did not deny calling climate change a hoax. 

even though climate change is a “very important” issue among over one third of voters, both nominees pivoted away when the lone question was asked.

washington – when dr. lisa patel was working on a project for the environmental protection agency in 2005, she visited a children’s hospital for asthma in mumbai, india. after seeing the main parts of the center, she was surprised when the coordinators took her to a nearby gymnasium that had been converted to a children’s asthma ward. it was filled with even more children who were receiving care.

seeing an entire gymnasium full of child asthmatics struggling to breathe was moving for dr. patel, the executive director of the medical society 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 on climate and health. but the global climate crisis became much more personal when the california wildfires reached her own children almost a decade later.

“that’s when it became very concrete to me that no child should be breathing in this absolutely foul pollution that’s ruining their health,” she said.

according to a report by the harvard t.h. chan school of public health, children face disproportionate ill effects as a result of climate change, largely because they are actively developing both mentally and physically.

children are affected by both “indoor air” and their surrounding climate, executive director of the children’s environmental health network nsedu obot witherspoon said at a moms clean air force (mcaf) event about children’s health in the face of the climate crisis on feb. 8.

according to witherspoon, “indoor air” is impacted by a number of products including cleaners, toys, pesticides and other human-made items children encounter. “climate” encompasses air quality, water quality, pollution, natural disasters and any additional environmental factors. 

while everyone is impacted by these types of exposure, children are more likely to be negatively impacted.

“their airways are smaller. they have developing immune systems,” dr. patel said. “so things like nox or pm2.5 irritate the lung lining and put children at higher risk for respiratory illnesses.”

nox, also known as nitrogen oxides, are “a group of highly reactive gasses, including nitrogen dioxide, nitrous acid, and nitric acid,” according to the arizona department of environmental quality (adeq). similarly, the adeq classifies pm2.5 as “the smallest, most harmful particulate pollution.” pm2.5 is a combination of nitrogen oxides and other harmful substances.

in the u.s., 49% of parents say climate change has affected their decision about having more children, according to a recent study conducted by morning consult on behalf of the technology company, hp. 

moreover, the study concluded that 91% of parents globally are worried about the climate crisis and have changed their purchasing habits as a result.

“i studied climate change in college and at the time, it felt like a calling, and it felt like something that i wanted to do,” dr. patel said. “but i think when i had my kids, it no longer felt like a choice. it felt like something that i had to do.”

even so, parents have little control over what substances their children come into contact with. with more than 12 million children under the age of five in the united states in some form of nonparental care, witherspoon said the industry lacks sufficient regulations, focusing on these “critical windows of exposure.”

prevention through policy

existing health and safety policy surrounding child care is largely centered around the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases and violence, though there are also climate-related regulations to highlight.

the national resource center for health and safety in child care and early education is the most prevalent organization setting health and safety standards for child care facilities. their resources give providers national and state standards to follow.

one national standard largely influenced by the clean air act stated that providers must check the air quality index before determining if it is safe for children to play outside. there are also established protocols surrounding natural disasters to keep facilities prepared to protect children in the event of an emergency.  

states can establish their own rules for child care providers too. for example, a 2018 california law required licensed child care centers to test their water for lead by 2023. 

after results found shocking levels of the poisonous substance in the water supplies, rep. katie porter (d-calif.) said california children’s lead exposure was alarming.

“one in four california child care centers has dangerously high levels of lead in their drinking water,” porter said. “children are our future, and we owe it to every american to protect all kids’ safety and well-being.”

in remarks made in pittsburgh on feb. 20, vice president kamala harris promised to eliminate all lead pipes in the united states, recognizing the impact that lead has on children’s health.

the biden-harris lead pipe and paint action plan “includes over 15 new actions from more than 10 federal agencies that ensure the federal government is marshalling every resource to make rapid progress towards replacing all lead pipes in the next decade.”

“when children drink toxic water through lead pipes, it has an impact on their learning ability, on their health,” harris said. “and for too long, this has been the case, that communities have been crying out for support to get rid of these lead pipes.”

there are also environmental justice concerns around the quality of drinking water, which porter alluded to in her remarks.

“many of the worst facilities for lead levels are in low-income areas or communities of color,” she said.

according to witherspoon, the child care industry is a space where environmental injustice is heightened because the profession is largely dominated by women, including women of color and women of childbearing age. she said there is a dual benefit of reducing the environmental hazards and limiting the negative health effects for both children and their care providers. 

exposure to plastic

another concern for children’s environmental health is exposure to plastics. judith enck is the founder and president of beyond plastics and a former epa regional administrator. her work focuses on the dangers of plastic pollution. at the mcaf event in early february, she cited how plastic emissions are replacing those originally produced by the coal industry.

“plastics is plan b for the fossil fuels industry,” she said. “all of us have microplastics in our bodies.”

microplastics are a particular danger because they are being found in a variety of organs, from livers to placentas. according to a study by a peer reviewed journal titled birth defects research, exposure to microplastics as a newborn “is linked to the development of multiple illnesses in adulthood.”

yet exposure can also occur before a child is born, “which may have the potential to cause harmful effects later in life,” according to a recent study by environment international.

while action has been taken against the rise of plastics, enck said she is still working toward more change.

in december, the epa decided that vinyl chloride, which has been a known carcinogen for about 50 years, will be among five chemicals that will begin the risk evaluation prioritization process under the toxic substances control act, enck said. “but that’s the beginning of a ten-year journey to ban vinyl chloride,” she added.

the mental health toll of the climate crisis

research shows that children’s mental wellness is also affected by the climate crisis.

“there’s actually some emerging data that early exposure to air pollution places children at higher risk for anxiety and depression,” dr. patel said.

dr. lise van susteren, a medical doctor and general and forensic psychiatrist, indicated the youth population is paying a mental toll for the climate crisis.

“the extreme weather events they face not only bring – acutely – fear, anger, sorrow, etc. but over time, what happens is they become dispirited, even demoralized and feel potentially a feeling of abandonment and betrayal by their government,” dr. van susteren said.

while the public might differ over which initiatives to support, two-thirds of americans agree that the government should be doing more to solve the climate crisis, according to a 2020 study conducted by the pew research center. this support extends across partisan lines.

dr. van susteren said there should be more psychiatrists who specialize in climate mental health. this support could help improve the morale of a younger generation that feels a widening gap between themselves and their government.

at the mcaf event, she said it is important to consider a child’s particular age, behavior and the context in which they live before talking to them about climate change. supporting a child’s mental well-being is not a “one size fits all approach.” 

while some kids need more transparency, others need protection, dr. van susteren said. it is up to those supporting the children to assess what they need based on existing factors.

dr. van susteren said adults should also be aware of their own mental well-being. she wants people who are struggling mentally with the climate crisis to “recognize that it’s really our collective effort – individually counted, it’s just like votes on election day – but this is what ends up changing the course of our history.”

dr. patel said she feels a particular responsibility to protect her own children.

“i brought them into this world. and so it’s incumbent on me to make sure that this is a world worthy of them,” she said.

in the middle of a solar panel array in north carolina, the grass rustles with movement. a raccoon wanders between the panels. a fox wriggles through the permeable fencing and darts around the site. a cluster of turkeys stare accusingly into the wildlife camera. eventually, a curious bobcat prowls outside the fence, slinking inside and outside of the site boundary. 

the animal sightings were made possible by a carefully-placed camera trap used for conservation research. the project is part of efforts from the nature conservancy to investigate how solar development influences animal movement and work with solar developers to preserve the small corridors — or wildlife passageways — that allow for that movement. 

the sight of wildlife lingering at a solar facility between crystalline panels is an unusual one. but in north carolina, a state that ranks fourth in the nation for solar energy production and ninth for biodiversity, scientists and developers are realizing that the choice between renewables and biodiversity doesn’t have to be a trade-off.  

solar energy in the energy transition and climate crisis

amid national efforts to decarbonize the u.s. energy sector and achieve current emissions reductions goals, the u.s. is increasing its buildout of renewable energy. in the last decade, the solar industry saw an average annual growth rate of 24%, according to the solar energy industries association. 

as more and more renewables projects gain traction in states like north carolina, biologists have raised concerns over potential impacts on wildlife populations, especially amid overdevelopment and fragmentation. scientists have begun to research those impacts, but many studies have focused narrowly on bird deaths, habitat conversion,  pollinator habitat, or soil ecosystems, with fewer insights on migration and movement specifically. with climate change exacerbating the need and scale of future migrations, this research gap is a pressing one. 

while people often think of climate change as the biggest threat to biodiversity, the answer is actually habitat loss. liz kalies, the lead renewable energy scientist at the nature conservancy, spreads this message in her conservation work. “we can’t justify poor siting of renewable energy in the name of biodiversity,” said kalies. 

“but similarly, if we ignore climate change, that will also have severe consequences for biodiversity. so, we just really need to keep the two in our mind simultaneously, and not sacrifice one for the other,” she said.

strategies for building wildlife-friendly solar

fortunately, solar developers haves several options to avoid making those sacrifices: selecting sites responsibly (including repurposed mine land), building in wildlife passageways (small corridors to allow animals to pass through)—which could mean splitting a site down the middle—and letting nature reclaim parts of the facility by growing wildflowers, planting native species, or building pollinator habitats. a simple change, such as mowing the lawn in september or october instead of august, after breeding season, can make a difference, according to a research team in new york. 

one of the most promising strategies so far is permeable fencing: swapping out traditional chain-link fencing for larger-holed fencing, which is meshy enough to allow small-to-medium sized mammals to slip through. animal monitoring reports show the early promise of this fencing, as camera traps capture foxes, birds, and coyotes navigating around the fencing. in one study, wildlife-permeable fencing increased the probability that ungulates (hoofed mammals) successfully crossed through the fence by 33% — and they were able to do so in 54% less time.

camera trapping and bobcat tracking: the research behind wildlife-friendly solar

kalies and her team have launched several projects to study solar-wildlife interactions, including the camera trap project, direct site visits with developers, and even a bobcat-specific project. kalies and her team are currently working on the latter, which involves locating, sedating, radio collaring, and tracking bobcats to generate visual maps of their meanderings. bobcats are secretive, elusive animals who prefer uninterrupted vegetation, making them good candidates to study the challenges that animals may face in in solar landscapes. 

surprisingly, bobcats are interacting with the solar facilities. from the videos kalies played, it appears some of them are even drawn to the facilities for unknown reasons. in their preliminary data, one bobcat appeared to cut through a solar facility that didn’t even have a permeable fence. the team hopes to increase their sample size of bobcats in order to predict impacts of solar buildout on their populations through simulation alone.

do developers really want foxes and bobcats roaming through their facilities?

sometimes, the answer is yes, according to developers. medium-sized predators may help quell rodent populations, and rodents have been known to gnaw through the panels’ wiring, breaking the solar array.  

wildlife passageways offer other benefits to developers. at face value, building wildlife-friendly infrastructure is great for a company’s brand image and public relations — especially when local opposition to renewable projects is so prevalent, and sometimes stems from animal conservation concerns. additionally, installing wildlife-friendly fencing is economical, according to kalies. it costs roughly the same as a chain-link fence and holds up just as well structurally, based on her reports from developers. 

“i love the idea of wildlife friendly fencing,”  said scott starr, co-founder of highline renewables. 

“you’re going to be a partner with the community for 30 plus years. so, you want to do things like screen it with evergreens or use wildlife friendly fencing […] and even if it’s a small upcharge, you are looking for things to make the project work that don’t just show up in the pro forma but are also a benefit to the community.” 

as a developer who specializes in small-scale distributed generation,  starr notes that it’s common to screen for endangered species early on as part of choosing a site. “we are very careful as developers towards critical species, critical habitat, wetlands, things like that. that is part of the process.” 

but, when it comes to sharing land with wildlife, the territory is more unfamiliar. starr elaborates on the policy gaps in how governments incentivize wildlife-friendly buildout. 

“the only things that i’ve really seen are ‘we’ll give you adders to put it on this rooftop!’ and ‘we’ll give you adders if  you put it on a brownfield or co-locate with some kind of agricultural operations!’ said starr. “there never is really anything about wildlife corridors—we just don’t know.” 

while developers can’t claim that solar sites are equivalent to wildlife refuges, they do share some compelling similarities: they’re quiet, isolated, fenced off, and relatively low-disturbance on the landscape. whether or not a site is wildlife-friendly often comes down to what’s adjacent to the facility, says kalies, meaning rural sites typically have better luck than urban, overdeveloped, already-degraded plots of land. 

challenges and limitations of building wildlife passageways

some of the biggest research-specific challenges for kalies’s team include accessing sites in the first place, finding partners willing to collaborate, and hours of challenging fieldwork. another difficulty lies in data interpretation. even with data from camera traps, for example, seeing an animal onsite doesn’t mean it’s necessarily benefitting. the animal could be migrating, breeding or nesting, foraging, lost, or simply hanging out. 

starr adds that, from a developer’s perspective, even if you support wildlife-friendly fencing,  you may get a ‘no’ from the county, from financiers, or from any long-term owners of the project who might consider wildlife a risk to their multi-million dollar asset. (some developers are even concerned about bird droppings reducing the efficiency of their solar panels.)

overall, the solar industry’s ability to become “wildlife-friendly” may depend on the level of discussion happening in government. “we need clear guidance and policymaking that incentivizes these kinds of considerations,” said starr.

the future of wildlife-friendly solar 

despite these challenges, pursuing wildlife-friendly solar in north carolina may be a promising step toward preserving biodiversity. the state ranks the 13th highest in the nation for risk of species loss. while wildlife movement patterns are being studied in the western u.s. (such as pronghorn migration), more research is needed on patterns in eastern states.

the first step to preserving biodiverse populations is ensuring that animals can continue to move freely across landscapes. through siting adjustments, permeable fencing, planting wildflower pollinator habitat, and actively collaborating with scientists, the solar industry has a chance to protect wildlife. energy developers and biologists alike can take part in this initiative, giving a new meaning to “energy conservation.” 

it’s hard to imagine a modern neighborhood without cars. or a city without parking lots. instead of rolling through a starbucks drive-thru on a 45-minute commute to work, imagine walking 50 feet to the neighborhood café while wearing pajamas. in a community without roads or garages, neighbors connect through shared walking spaces and european-style plazas. 

in tempe, arizona, a team of developers envisioned exactly this as they built culdesac. the six-acre residential community is filled with coworking spaces, local shops, backyard parks and plazas, small businesses, and transit alternatives such as electric bikes and ride shares. promoted as the “five-minute city,” the neighborhood houses over 100 residents in a 760-apartment complex with no residential parking. culdesac offers one-to three-bedroom apartments costing $1400 to $3200 per month. the neighborhood formally opened in may 2023.

culdesac may be the first of many car-free neighborhoods. its construction is timely, its developers say, as the united states grapples with road congestion and carbon emissions from the transportation sector. the transportation sector alone is a major source of greenhouse gas emission in the us and accounts for more than half of nitrogen oxides in our air, according to epa data. amid high costs of living driven up by parking lot construction, the question of whether to own a car at all has become a prominent dilemma for new city-dwellers. in three weeks, nearly 2,000 people signed up for culdesac’s interest list.

culdesac: a new housing model

the culdesac team is building what members call “missing middle housing.” missing middle housing entails neither single-family homes nor tall apartment buildings – it’s somewhere in between. this semi-dense, walkable urban living is “missing” since there’s not a lot of it on the market. “we’re building the kind of housing most americans are looking for,” said ryan johnson, co-founder and ceo of culdesac.

but is the united states ready for missing middle housing? 

the culdesac team would like to see more of it. however, the answer depends on each city’s level of readiness to ensure a comfortable transition. key factors include whether a neighborhood is close to a light rail or other public transit, as well as ensuring a robust selection of backup transit options such as discounted lyft rides, free e-bikes, and diverse micro-retailers to choose from. 

“zero residential parking” has a daunting ring to many policymakers. the culdesac team had to work closely with local government officials in tempe to achieve that goal while also planning to prevent congestion and navigating zoning regulations. the careful planning process was a time-consuming but not insurmountable challenge for tempe, and local officials were cooperative. (according to johnson, tempe’s mayor now dines at culdesac’s cocina chiwas restaurant nearly every week.)

a shift away from cars?

a growing number of americans are receptive to a car-free lifestyle. over 53% of americans want to live in walkable neighborhoods – but only 8% do. walkability is an important factor in community living – a 2020 survey from the national association of realtors found that people with a place to walk in their community continue to be the most satisfied with their quality of life. many americans instead satiate their walkability cravings by vacationing to the cobblestone streets and greenery of european villages, only to return a week later to a starkly individualistic lifestyle centered around highway commuting. 

the very luxuries americans seek out on vacations can be built into our working lives; for example, green space. when developers don’t have to plan (or pay) for parking lots, roads, and driveways, budgets for gardens, walkways, and patches of green space can rise in priority.

tempe’s car-free community offers three times the average amount of green space seen in typical developments, according to culdesac. this model of living is speaking to some people loudly in the wake of the pandemic, when work-life expectations have shifted dramatically toward remote work.

in addition to the cultural elements of walkability and green space, price is a factor that heavily influences tenants’ decision to go car-free.  not only are cars and gasoline expensive but, providing parking drives up costs for developers. even a surface parking space costs $20,000 to $30,000, said david king, an associate professor of urban planning at arizona state university. these lots accumulate financial, social, and aesthetic costs. “essentially, we require cities to build ample parking in these places where people want to go, and it diminishes the built environment – it makes it dry,” king explains. “if you have to cross the parking lot, that lot separates you from everything you want to do.”

the future of car-free neighborhoods

culdesac is evaluating new site locations across the country. the claim that tempe, arizona is home to the first car-free community of its kind in the united states is a stimulating one — but is more complicated when we consider urban design historically, said king.

 “certainly, it’s very unique now,” said king, noting culdesac is “harking back closer to the way we used to build things 100 years ago. i think we need more of this.” 

geographically, the culdesac model of living is much more popular outside of the united states. founders of culdesac were inspired by walkable neighborhoods in europe, africa, and latin america. some intentional car-free projects have had positive impacts on air quality—including a 40% reduction in no2 levels on car-free days—and getting people moving, which is good for health. a rising number of cities are trying their hand at the car-free model. in freiburg, germany, for example, a ban on cars in the center city increased bike use and decreased traffic and air pollution, while other projects, like google’s sidewalk labs in toronto, have fallen short with an overload of sustainability requirements.

johnson and his team consider culdesac a “reference project” for cities built for people in the 2020s. “to be honest, we’re not sure if future cities will ever be completely car-free,” said johnson. “we’re not necessarily ‘anti-car’ but rather, we’re against our cities’ dependency on private cars.” 

whether or not the 21st century will be defined as a post-car era, culdesac could be one of the first communities to break the cultural mold of car dependency. if successful, the united states may see an upsurge in neighborhoods seeking mobility, community, and the symbolic quietude of a car-free cul-de-sac.

what if the future of air quality justice rested in the threads of a spider web?

in this original hand-drawn comic, climate cartoonist joy reeves explores a recent initiative in north carolina to use spider webs to monitor air pollution. spearheaded by the north carolina environmental justice network and a team of volunteer “funnel web finders,” the “spidey sens-r” project aims to measure heavy metal pollution on funnel weaver spider webs in greenville and goldsboro communities. the team hopes to use the metals collected on the webs to identify air pollution hotspots near polluting industries—especially in areas that lack government air quality monitors — in order to prioritize future testing in those areas and uphold environmental justice principles through community science. 

waves crash against the concrete sea wall hugging the shoreline along chicago’s calumet park. sections of the gray boundary between land and lake are crumbling against the constant pressure of the elements.

with over 25 miles of glistening blue water, chicago’s lakeshore, composed of lake michigan beaches, faces a significant threat. erosion is the shrinking of a shoreline that is slowly worn away by waves, wind, currents and other natural factors, and it is affecting the city’s shoreline at an exacerbated rate due to climate change. 

chicago beaches are narrowing at a rate of nearly 100 ft. per year along parts of the coastline, meaning less space for recreation and the loss of habitats for shorebirds and other beach animals.

“in a warming climate, there’s more intense precipitation events, which also tend to facilitate higher rates of erosion,” max berkelhammer, a climate and atmospheric scientist and professor at university of illinois at chicago, said. “the primary cause is coastal management. like building right along coastlines and not maintaining basically wetlands or or natural shore ecosystems that absorb the action of the lake. so i think it’s primarily a human or urban development issue.”

berkehammer said the primary action in question is the rising lake levels exposing more of the sand to water, wind and the increase in runoff — when it rains faster than the sand or soil can absorb the water and it runs off a surface, increasing the rate of erosion.

erosion causes damage to infrastructure (roads, buildings and parking lots) and natural habitats. it can also threaten public health by increasing the risk of algal blooms, quick growing areas of algae that can produce harmful toxins. 

edgewater environmental coalition (eec) — a nonprofit organization focused on action, advocacy and education for environmental stewardship — has a shoreline protection program aimed at restoring the natural ecosystems of the lakeshore using nature-based solutions. the organization has used successful strategies of green infrastructure like building dunes, planting native plants and removing invasive ones to mitigate erosion. eec, in conjunction with the loyola university student environmentalist alliance, has planted 300 native grasses and 1,500 marram grass stolons that act as anchors that strengthen dunes across the shore.

natural solutions can often be more cost effective, visually in tune with the natural landscape and equally as durable as traditional gray infrastructure like the concrete ground and walls that make up most of the chicago shoreline, according to eec advisory board member john laswick. he said the main goal of the organization is to reestablish dunes, which are nature’s original protection system.

“what we do is go out every last sunday of the month in the summertime and pull out invasive plants, pick up trash, plant new grasses to extend the dune plantings because if you don’t have the sand anchored with grasses and trees, then it’s just gonna blow away or wash away,” laswick said.

while the organization focuses on dunes and native plants, they also promote other natural resources to combat erosion.

natural solutions to erosion

1. beach nourishment and restoration: replenishing eroded beaches with sediment like sand to protect against wave energy.
2. dune restoration and protection: stabilizing dunes with plants and shrubs to help them last longer and protect the land against erosion.
3. natural shorelines: adding vegetation, oyster reefs and aquatic vegetation to trap sediment and diminish wave energy effects.
4. green infrastructure: adding green infrastructure in urban areas to manage stormwater runoff, like permeable pavement to retain and filter stormwater.
5. coastal vegetation management: adding and preserving native grasses, shrubs, and trees to anchor sediment.
6. integrated coastal zone management: using an integrated approach to coastal management by understanding the interaction of land, water and human activities. 

friends of the parks (fotp), which provided the seed grant that enables eec’s stewardship services along the shore, is a nonprofit organization focused on protecting chicago’s lakefront and ensuring an equitable, ecological park system. they have enacted policy changes — such as partnering with the state and chicago park district to implement the illinois clean harbors program — and educate local residents on park stewardship. 

gin kilgore, interim executive director of fotp, is a former resident of hyde park, a south side neighborhood a few miles from the lakeshore. she says she grew up observing the power of lake michigan to batter the shoreline during big storms, which she notes are more frequent and intense in recent years due to climate change. during long runs along the lakefront she has seen the limitations of “gray infrastructure” to protect against erosion, such as crumbling sidewalks in front of the calumet beach fieldhouse.

fotp is closely monitoring the u.s. army corps of engineers’ general reevaluation report (grr), a study that will evaluate the risk of flooding, erosion and storm damage along lake michigan’s coast in areas of chicago. the study, cost-shared with the city of chicago and the chicago park district, is set to be completed in 2025, at which time solutions will be shared to combat these issues.

according to kilgore, the corps’ mandate is to use the lowest-cost solutions, prioritizing the highest property values. 

“do we only measure cost in terms of how much it costs to put down the concrete? okay, maybe that’s cheap. but, what’s the cost of compromising habitats, or what’s the cost of human access to the lake?” kilgore said. 

fotp also sees the study as an opportunity to complete chicago’s lakefront parks and paths system which currently falls short two miles at both the north and south ends, due in part to private properties that hug the shoreline, kilgore said. creating a buffer between the buildings and water’s edge provides flood protection and allows for public use.

eec also wants to ensure that the report’s proposed solutions are nature-based, and are raising awareness of their work to influence the army corps’ approach.

“a huge part of what is physically chicago and culturally chicago is this lakefront and these parks and the lakeshore drive, and these decisions [about the shore] are going to have an effect for decades,” laswick said. “we got to get started on the right path.”