Raising Efficiency Standards for New Home Mortgages Could Save Families a Bundle
Mario Tama/Getty Images/Grist This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Buried deep within the minutiae of federal regulation is a seemingly tiny policy switch that, if flicked, would dramatically raise the energy efficiency standard for new homes. Such a move would save homeowners thousands of dollars on their energy…
The Democratic Party Has Finally Gone YIMBY
Former President Barack Obama speaks at the DNC. Nate Gowdy Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. The immediate reaction to former President Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night was that it sounded a lot like the sort of remarks…
Plagued by Developers and Rising Seas, a Historic Black Community Embraces Conservation
A birds-eye view of historic Ten Mile and the Copahee Sound marsh. Courtesy of Dana Coleman This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. At high tide, the marsh alongside Seafood Road disappears under an inscrutable mirror of water. Then, as it drains, reeds resurface and begin…
These Floridians Rebuilt Houses in Flood Zones. Now FEMA Is Cracking Down.
Thomas Simonetti/Washington Post/Getty/Grist This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. When US homeowners buy subsidized flood insurance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they make a commitment to build back better after flood disasters, even if it costs them. FEMA’s notorious 50 percent rule stipulates that if a home in…
Berkeley’s People’s Park Is a Metaphor That Has Outlived Its Use
Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.This essay was originally published on Dashka Slater’s Substack, A Sigh of Relief, which you can sign up for here. I was homeless when I started college at the University of California, Berkeley. First-year students weren’t guaranteed housing in…
AOC and Bernie Sanders Aim to Tackle Housing and Climate Change in One Bill
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) take part in a press conference with other Democratic lawmakers and advocates reintroducing the Green New Deal for Public Housing.Mother Jones illustration; Francis Chung/POLITICO/AP This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. With a sweeping legislative proposal, Representative Alexandria…