Posts tagged with 'electricity'
Data centers are poised to consume land, water and power across the United States at an unprecedented rate. Driven by artificial intelligence, cloud computing and supportive government policies, U.S. data centers’ power capacity could reach 194 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, ...
At 5 a.m., an electric bus glides out of its depot after charging overnight, ready to carry children to school without spewing diesel fumes. As the city stirs, heat pumps have already brought homes and offices to a comfortable temperature, ...
Recent federal policy decisions combined with rising energy demand are contributing to an immediate set of challenges for Americans: volatile electricity prices and growing concerns about affordability and reliability. In this moment of uncertainty, local governments remain some of the ...
There’s a growing housing crisis that’s impossible to ignore. Consider the stats: Nearly 3 billion people lack access to housing that is both safe and connected to basic services like energy, water and sanitation. Around 40% of the world’s population lives in ...
Every day, millions of children ride to school in diesel buses that expose them to pollution linked to serious health issues. Replacing those buses with electric models has benefits that go far beyond a quieter ride and cleaner air. Electric ...
In Shenzhen’s Houhai Central District, summer temperatures climb higher each year. Last summer, the city recorded a blistering 37.5 degrees C (99.5 degrees F), one of its hottest days in decades. For residents in dense, aging apartment blocks, staying cool ...
On a hot summer afternoon, the difference between one city block and the next can feel like a different world. On one street, the sun beats down from above while the pavement radiates heat from below. Just around the corner, ...
Momentum for electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States is starting to slip. After years of rapid growth — fueled by federal incentives and nearly $200 billion in announced EV manufacturing investments — EV sales fell 4% in 2025 following a record-breaking 2024. Since ...
Cities have always been shaped by the infrastructure they choose to host. Railways defined the industrial city. Highways reorganized post-war suburbs. Metro systems and airports rewired the geography of globalized urban economies. Today, another form of infrastructure is expanding rapidly ...
With electricity prices up nearly 30% since 2010 across the United States, governors and state policymakers are under growing pressure to help households manage rising energy costs. Many are now turning to an emerging technology gaining traction in Europe: plug-in solar, also ...
AI tools like ChatGPT, navigation apps and streaming platforms feel effortless, drawing information seemingly from thin air. Yet the infrastructure behind them is anything but invisible. Across the country, a surge of new data centers is reshaping local energy grids, ...
Ten years ago, we witnessed something akin to a miracle. Hundreds of leaders came together for the UN’s annual climate summit (COP21) in Paris. There, they forged what many thought impossible: a global agreement to curb climate change — one where virtually ...
Cities are on the front line of climate impacts. They are home to most of the world’s population and economic activity and generate the majority of global emissions. Yet they’re also hubs of innovation and implementation, putting them at the center of ...
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a watershed moment on climate action when more than 190 countries agreed to pursue efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) above pre-industrial levels. Achieving ...
New research from WRI’s Electric School Bus Initiative and Carleton University shows that the U.S. would see an estimated $1.6 billion in health and climate benefits every year by using electric school buses. This estimate accounts for the cost to society of using diesel-burning school buses ...
