This Week’s News for LA’s Best Buildings
Connection Cues
Drought-Stricken Lake Mead's Receding Waters Reveal a Sunken WWII-Era Vessel
The falling water levels at Lake Mead have exposed a sunken World War II-era vessel—a Higgins boat used for beach landings, according to the National Park Services.
The landing craft had at one point been so far underwater that the park service sent divers to the site beginning in 2006. The Associated Press reported that the craft had long been 185 feet below the surface.
News
Angelenos Achieve Record Water Savings in June; LADWP Urges Customers to Keep It Up as Summer Heats Up
After one month of increased outdoor watering restrictions from three days a week to two, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) announced today that Angelenos achieved the all-time lowest water use for any month of June on record in the City of Los Angeles, but urged customers to stay vigilant and continue saving water during the warm summer months ahead.
How Dangerous is Extreme Heat in Your Neighborhood? This Map Tells You
Extreme heat is fueling more than 1,500 excess emergency room visits per “heat day” in Los Angeles County, with some neighborhoods facing far more danger than others, according to a new UCLA mapping tool.
The heat map tracks the number and rate of excess emergency room visits on heat days down to the community level and highlights a stark disparity between wealthier, leafier neighborhoods and those that are home to fewer trees, more concrete and higher occurrences of underlying health issues.
July Top 10 Solutions
The top 10 solutions on the Better Buildings Solution Center from the past month include resources for improving energy performance, leveraging low carbon technologies, sourcing project financing, and more. Dive into the roundup, featuring solutions from partners Celanese, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, IHG Hotels & Resorts, New York City Housing Authority, and Ford Motor Company.
Clean Energy 101: Heat Pumps
Why heat pumps are a cost-effective and climate-friendly solution for extreme heat waves and frigid winters.
Summer in the northern hemisphere is just a few weeks old, but temperature records have already toppled as heat waves baked regions from Scandinavia to Japan to the United States. The heat came early in India and Pakistan this year, with weeks of searing temperatures during deadly heat waves across March and April.
States Can Phase Out Fluorescent Tubes in Favor of LEDs - Like Vermont Just Did
A first-in-the-nation policy in Vermont phasing out most fluorescent tube lights in favor of LEDs points the way for other states to reduce energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and mercury pollution.
Signed by Governor Phil Scott on May 19, Vermont’s law will end the sale of four-foot fluorescent tubes by 2024. California lawmakers are considering enacting similar legislation this year, and other states may do so when their legislatures reconvene in 2023. (In Rhode Island, one chamber passed such a bill this year.)
“Thanks LA!” Graphic by LADWP