The Elephant
A resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens interested in climate change and the environmental emergency
The ElephantA resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens interested in climate change and the environmental emergency
Maria Powell: Madison's long history of racist planning and development
2023-11-14 (or before) by in The Capital Times: Madison WI NewsFlying in the face of its stated commitment to racial equity and social justice, Madison is as racist and classist as less “progressive” cities — and when it comes to
Tagged under: Economics | Housing | Finance
Monument, ironstone, basalt: Why the colour of the nation's roofs is a hot topic
2023-10-23 (or before) in ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)Tagged under: Housing
Housing and climate: UK homes need urgent adaptation to protect our health
2023-10-05 (or before) in The BMJ: British Medical JournalWe must ensure that health is once again central to all housing policy, say Isobel Braithwaite and colleagues The climate emergency is already affecting our homes,1 and it will drive a range of key health risks in the coming decades.2 Many of these are closely connected to our housing system, including overheating and increased flood risks. This situation is further exacerbated in the UK by its wider housing crisis, with high levels of unaffordability—particularly in the private rental sector—as well as low tenure security, rising rates of homelessness and use of temporary accommodation, and an ageing and poor qua...
Tagged under: Climate Change | Housing | Health
UK housebuilders save billions as government delays low-carbon rules
2023-10-04 in The GuardianHousebuilders have little incentive to take steps by themselves. It’s no surprise they are so keen to wade into the political arena as major donors
Tagged under: Housing
MPs vow to fight new plans to scrap pollution rules for housebuilders
2023-09-27 in The GuardianCampaigners and parliamentarians gear up to fight ‘reckless proposals’ on pollution from new developments
Tagged under: Housing | Wildlife
Community Solar Policy Screening Workbook for Multifamily Affordable Housing Building Portfolios | NREL Data Catalog
2023-09-01 (or before) in NREL Data Catalog l NRELTagged under: Solar Energy | Housing
New Housing Plans Could Cause 'Total Ecological Collapse' Of UK Rivers, Warn Campaigners
2023-08-29 in Huffington Post UKLevelling up secretary Michael Gove is set to announce plans to make it easier to build houses near rivers, according to reports.
Tagged under: Rishi Sunak | Housing | Rivers | Collapse
Rishi Sunak took helicopter to housebuilding visit where he defended government’s ‘green credentials’ – as it happened
2023-08-29 in The GuardianPM flew to Norwich for the event where it was announced the government scrapping of nutrient neutrality rules
Tagged under: Rishi Sunak | Housing
Remarks by Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Graham Steele at Event Hosted by the Brookings Institution's Assessing Insurance Regulation and Supervision of Climate-Related Financial Risk
2023-08-29 (or before) in home.treasury.govAs Prepared for Delivery Introduction Thank you, Carlos. It is my pleasure to be with you all today, both those in the room and watching virtually. As the Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, my portfolio includes developing the Department’s policy views on banks, credit unions, consumer protection, access to capital, and financial sector cybersecurity matters. My remarks will focus on the work that Treasury, through the Federal Insurance office (FIO), is doing to understand and help address the financial risks that our changing climate poses in the insurance sector. Work on climate-related financial...
Tagged under: Drought | Finance | Climate Change | Housing | Insurance | Litigation | Economic Growth | California | Climate Change Impacts | Wildfires | Florida | Climate Change Mitigation
England’s rivers at risk as Michael Gove rips up rules on new housing
2023-08-28 in The GuardianExclusive: Announcement set to anger environmentalists, but builders say nutrient neutrality laws are exacerbating housing crisis
Tagged under: Housing | Rivers
Solar Up 20X, Fossil Fuel Use Down In California
2023-08-22 by in Cleantech News Ñ #1 In EV, Solar, Wind, Tesla NewsCalifornia’s been getting a lot of bad press lately. There seems like an endless supply of videos on social media of robberies and shoplifting incidents, some committed in broad daylight. Housing shortages and homelessness, high interest rates, and even bad environmental stories flow out of the state as fast as residents supposedly do to other […]
Tagged under: Solar Energy | Housing | California
On the Highway to Climate Hell
2023-08-12 (or before) by in Foreign Policy - the Global Magazine of News and IdeasThe world's infrastructure was built for a climate that no longer exists.
Tagged under: Climate Change | Housing
Portugal’s bid to attract foreign money backfires as rental market goes ‘crazy’
2023-07-29 in The GuardianGovernment incentives and deregulation have brought digital nomads, Airbnbs and ‘golden visas’ – but steep housing costs for locals
Tagged under: Housing
Vermont Floods Show Limits of America’s Efforts to Adapt to Climate Change
2023-07-11 in The New York TimesTagged under: Climate Change | Housing
Water supply fears prompt first housing objections - BBC News
2023-06-26 (or before) in The BBCThe Environment Agency objects to thousands of new homes because of "significant risk" of harm.
Tagged under: Housing
Opinion | Your Homeowners’ Insurance Bill Is the Canary in the Climate Coal Mine
2023-05-07 in The New York TimesTagged under: Climate Change | Housing | Insurance
Are you ready for a heatwave summer?
2023-5-2 in building.co.ukPreparing your house for soaring summer temperatures requires thinking tactically about solar and natural ventilation, before rushing into expensive high-tech fixes, writes Susan Roaf
Tagged under: Solar Energy | Adaptation | Housing | Heatwaves
BREAKING: COURTS PROVE THEMSELVES TO BE “MORALLY BANKRUPT” AS FIVE PEOPLE ARE JAILED IN ONE WEEK FOR VOWING TO CONTINUE IN CIVIL RESISTANCE - Insulate Britain
2023-04-20 by in Insulate BritainA further two Insulate Britain supporters were jailed today for public nuisance after they told the court they planned to continue in civil resistance until the government decarbonises the U.K. housing stock and halts new oil and gas. They join three people jailed on Tuesday bringing to five the total number of people sent to … BREAKING: COURTS PROVE THEMSELVES TO BE “MORALLY BANKRUPT” AS FIVE PEOPLE ARE JAILED IN ONE WEEK FOR VOWING TO CONTINUE IN CIVIL RESISTANCE Read More »
Tagged under: Housing
A home for all within planetary boundaries: pathways for meeting Englands housing needs without transgressing national climate and biodiversity goals
2023-03-31 (or before) in OSF - Center for Open ScienceSecure housing is core to the Sustainable Development Goals and a fundamental human right. However, potential conflicts between housing and sustainability objectives remain under-researched. We explore the impact of current English government housing policy, and alternative housing strategies, on national carbon and biodiversity goals. Using material flow and land use change/biodiversity models, we estimate from 2022-2050 under current policy housing alone would consume 104% of Englands cumulative carbon budget (2.6/2.5Gt [50% chance of <1.5C]); 12% from the construction and operation of new builds and 92% from the existing s...
Tagged under: Climate Change | Housing | Sustainability
A Huge City Polluter? Buildings. Here’s a Surprising Fix.
2023-03-10 in The New York TimesTagged under: Housing
Insulation only provides short-term reduction in household gas consumption
2023-01-25 (or before) in cam.ac.ukFirst study to look at long-term effect of home insulation in England and Wales finds fall in gas consumption per household was small and only lasts a few
Tagged under: Insulation | Housing | Sustainability
Prioritization of carceral spending in U.S. cities: Development of the Carceral Resource Index (CRI) and the role of race and income inequality
2022-12-22 (or before) in PLOS - Open ScienceBackground Policing, corrections, and other carceral institutions are under scrutiny for driving health harms, while receiving disproportionate resources at the expense of prevention and other services. Amidst renewed interest in structural determinants of health, roles of race and class in shaping government investment priorities are poorly understood. Methods Based on the Social Conflict Model, we assessed relationships between city racial/ economic profiles measured by the Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE) and budgetary priorities measured by the novel Carceral Resource Index (CRI), contrasting investments in car...
Tagged under: Economics | Housing | Health
The UK needs better insulated homes to free us from Putin and the fossil fuel giants | Helena Bennett
2022-09-13 in The GuardianGovernment investment should be targeted at cutting bills by cutting waste. Until then we will remain dependent, says Helena Bennett of the Green Energy Alliance
Tagged under: Housing | Vladimir Putin
New greenfield housing still designed around cars, report finds - BBC News
2022-07-11 (or before) in The BBCServices such as shops, schools and doctors are often almost impossible to reach on foot or by bike
Architects call for mass insulation of England’s interwar suburbs
2022-02-11 in The GuardianRIBA says scheme targeting efficiency and heating of older 20th-century housing could cut emissions by 4%
Tagged under: Insulation | Housing
New greenfield housing forcing people to use cars, report finds
2022-02-07 in The GuardianResearch finds sites too often far from amenities without public transport, cycling links or even pavements
Heat pumps are suitable for all types of housing, government-backed study concludes
2021-12-17 in Business GreenFindings deliver blow to claims that heat pumps will only be able to decarbonise certain types of homes
Tagged under: Housing
Audit office blames UK government for botched £1.5bn green homes scheme
2021-09-08 in The GuardianSpending watchdog says home insulation drive was fatally rushed and missed chance to cut heating bills and create jobs
Tagged under: Greenhouse Gases | Insulation | Housing
Washington State fails to protect low-income communities from toxic chemicals - Toxic-Free Future
2021-08-10 in Toxic-Free Future | Science, Advocacy, ResultsBy Colin Hartke Community members living in affordable housing and construction workers building affordable housing in Washington State are left vulnerable to toxic chemicals under a recently updated regulation. The Department of Commerce (DOC) has released an update to the Evergreen Sustainable De
Tagged under: Housing | Washington State
A fifth of Tory party donations from property sector
2021-7-12 in housingtoday.co.ukAnti-corruption charity says scale of donations creates 'real risk of corruption' as controversy over planning bill continues
Tagged under: Housing
Leading housebuilder pushed for weaker climate targets
2021-07-05 in Greenpeace UK - UnearthedTaylor Wimpey, one of Britain’s largest housebuilders, tried to water down the government’s signature green homes policy.
Tagged under: Housing | Net Zero | Greenpeace
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey opposed plans to cut new home emissions
2021-07-05 in The GuardianExclusive: firm also argued against heat pumps, which are proposed as a replacement for gas boilers
Tagged under: Greenhouse Gases | Housing | Fossil Fuels
How are our cities going to look in a rapidly heating world? It won’t be long before 50C will be normal | James Bradley
2021-06-14 in The GuardianHot weather bakes in disadvantage. Regenerating natural and living ecosystems will help us all
Tagged under: Oceans | Extreme Weather | Housing | Wildlife | Trees
Climate emergency
2021-06-09 (or before) by in Birmingham City CouncilThe council is committed to making Birmingham carbon neutral by 2030. Read about the climate emergency and what the city is doing to tackle climate change.
Tagged under: Climate Change | Housing
BedZED: The story of a pioneering eco-village – Bioregional
2021-04-21 (or before) in Bioregional ConsultancyBedZED, in Sutton, south London, has gone down in history as the UK’s first large-scale, mixed-use sustainable community. It has been an inspiration for low-carbon, environmentally- friendly housing developments around the world
Tagged under: Housing
Pioneering rewilding project faces ‘catastrophe’ from plan for new houses
2021-03-21 in The GuardianStorks, butterflies and turtle doves could all suffer at the Knepp estate in West Sussex
Tagged under: Birds | Housing | Wildlife | Butterflies and Moths | Rewilding
Eco-homes become hot property in UK's zero-carbon ‘paradigm shift’
2021-03-06 in The GuardianSmart, low-carbon homes were once the preserve of one-off grand designs – now there are up to 30,000 projects in the pipeline
Tagged under: Greenhouse Gases | Housing
How climate change could spark the next home mortgage disaster
2020-12-01 (or before) in PoliticoTaxpayers are backing more than a trillion dollars in home mortgages, but the agencies buying them are neglecting to consider climate risks.
Tagged under: Climate Change | Housing
No more natural gas in new San Francisco buildings starting next year
2020-11-11 (or before) by in San Francisco ChronicleThe San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to ban natural gas in...
Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me
2020-11-10 by Kontrast.at in TheBetter - thebetter.newsIn Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.
Tagged under: Housing
'This is the Everest of zero carbon' – inside York's green home revolution
2020-10-04 in The GuardianThe city plans to build Britain’s biggest zero-carbon housing project, boasting 600 homes in car-free cycling paradises full of fruit trees and allotments. When will the rest of the UK catch up?
Tagged under: Solar Energy | Housing | Trees
Shadow chancellor calls on ministers to fulfil pledge on money laundering
2020-10-03 in The GuardianIntroduce promised register for foreign owners of UK properties now, says Anneliese Dodds
Tagged under: Housing
Covid-19 impact on ethnic minorities linked to housing and air pollution
2020-07-19 in The GuardianExclusive: Minority ethnic patients twice as likely to live in deprived environments and to be admitted to intensive care
Tagged under: Housing
The Great Affordability Crisis Breaking America
2020-02-09 (or before) by in The AtlanticIn one of the best decades the American economy has ever recorded, families were bled dry.
Tagged under: Housing | Economic Growth | Health | Economics | Finance
New UK housing 'dominated by roads' - BBC News
2020-01-22 (or before) in BBCRoads are dominating new housing developments, a report says, despite more people wanting to drive less.
Tagged under: Housing
Too hot for humans? First Nations people fear becoming Australia's first climate refugees
2019-12-17 in The GuardianAs the big dry bites and temperature records tumble, Aboriginal people in Alice Springs say global heating threatens their culture and very survival
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Drought | Housing | Health
Favela green roof
2019-11-25 in Natural capital • Ecosystem services • Nature-based solutions | OpplaContext In Rio de Janeiro the population living in slums (favelas) in 2010 was 19 % of the inhabitants (last census). The informal occupation of steep slopes and flood-prone areas occurs mainly because of the absence of social housing planning, inducing low-income people to use protected areas that the formal real-estate market cannot occupy. The climate is tropical, with
Tagged under: Housing
Ecological reconstruction » BIOS: Ecological reconstruction
2019-11-10 (or before) in BIOS: Ecological reconstructionWe are living in the ruins of a fossil-fuelled economy. To phase out fossil fuel use, the material structures and social practices of production, transport and housing must be reconstructed. This necessary transition is analogous to the post-war reconstruction, during which the physical infrastructure was rebuilt and foundations of the welfare society were laid. The […]
Tagged under: Housing
Secret Deal Helped Housing Industry Stop Tougher Rules on Climate Change (Published 2019)
2019-10-26 in The New York TimesThe arrangement, in place for years, guarantees industry representatives a bloc of seats on two powerful committees that recommend building codes.
Tagged under: USA | Housing | Climate Change | Greenhouse Gases
Housing and car industries should be ‘ashamed’ of climate record
2018-06-28 in The GuardianFailure to build energy-efficient homes and clean cars risks UK missing its carbon targets, says government’s climate adviser
Tagged under: Greenhouse Gases | Housing | Cars
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