This Week’s News for LA’s Best Buildings
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Climate Change Makes Catastrophic Flood Twice as Likely, Study Shows
Increased runoff could lead to devastating landslides and debris flows — particularly in hilly areas burned by wildfires.
News
The New US Climate Law Will Reduce Carbon Emissions and Make Electricity Less Expensive, Economists Say
U.S. consumers are expected to save money on their electricity bills under the nation’s first comprehensive climate law—perhaps more than $200 billion over the next decade, economists project. Even utilities are talking about eased prices at the same time they are detailing new clean energy investments.
LADWP Customers Continue to Reduce Their Water Use, Achieving Another Record Month of Conservation in July
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) announced today that customers have continued to heed the call to conserve water during this historic drought. LADWP customers achieved an 11% reduction in July, that’s a record for any July on record for Los Angeles. July’s conservation surpasses the 9% reduction for the previous month, which also marked the lowest water use for any June on record in Los Angeles. LADWP implemented two-days-a-week watering restrictions on June 1, as part of the city’s phase 3 outdoor watering restrictions.
With California Expected to Lose 10% of its Water Within 20 Years, Newsom Calls for Urgent Action
With California enduring historic drought amplified by global warming, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday released a new plan to adapt to the state’s hotter, drier future by capturing and storing more water, recycling more wastewater and desalinating seawater and salty groundwater.
How Local Governments and Communities Are Taking Action to Get Fossil Fuels Out of Buildings
Across the United States, 80 cities and counties have adopted policies that require or encourage the move off fossil fuels to all-electric homes and buildings. As of August 2022, nearly 28 million people across 11 states live in a jurisdiction where local policies favor fossil fuel-free, healthy buildings. And the momentum behind these policies keeps building — dozens more local governments have strong commitments to decarbonize their buildings stock, which will soon become formal policy.
One-Third of Tenants Behind on Utility Bills, Highlights Need for Energy Upgrades
Renter households that were behind on energy bills were also more likely to report being behind on rent when being surveyed, according to an analysis averaging experimental Census Bureau data collected since July 2021. Our analysis of that new data, from last month’s Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, reveals that 33% of roughly 44 million renter households across the United States were behind on their energy bills in the past year. Among those behind on energy bills nearly every month, almost half were also behind on rent.
Power lines along Ruland Road in Melville, New York (Image via Getty Images.)