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Before we get into the news this week, we wanted to tell you a few things. Our changes to Climate Fwd: newsletter — changes to help you understand the climate crisis and what it means for you. From next month, Climate Fwd: delivery twice a week once instead. And Somini Sengupta, the Times’ global climate correspondent, The new guide to the latest news and ideas as lead author of the newsletter. Please stay tuned for more.

Black, Hispanic, and other people of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. President Biden has promised to fix the problem, but his strategy to identify areas that need help will be colorblind: Race won’t be a factor.

Administration officials say this is because of the threat of lawsuits and a conservative-leaning Supreme Court that is likely to reject a race-based approach to allocating federal benefits. Instead, the White House will focus on economically disadvantaged communities.

Law Scholars I’ve Interviewed this week’s article on the plan acceptance. They said that if management uses race to set policy or funding for environmental programs, those programs could be circulated in court.

But when I spoke to activists, many voiced their concerns. They said they had been exposed for decades to environmental hazards based on historical inaccuracies like them. racist zoning and housing policiescannot be effectively addressed with a race-neutral approach.

quotation: “When you look at the strongest predictor of where industrial pollution is most prevalent, race is the strongest predictor,” said Robert Bullard, a professor and pioneer in the environmental justice movement. “Not income, not property values, but race. If you leave the race out, how are you going to fix it?”

From the Food Section: Fake chicken taste test

There’s a food reporter early taste of lab-grown meat companies are racing to bring it to market, he said. (She needed to sign a waiver first.)

From Review: The Joy of Cooking (Insects)

Climate-conscious cooking means being creative. That’s why our colleagues opinion section made a video about an alternative source of protein.

The West’s worst drought in 12 centuries

The mega-drought that has gripped the Southwest America since 2000 has reached another milestone, and that’s not a very good reason. A group of scientists studying past, present and future climate in the region said this two decades was the driest in at least 1,200 years, and climate change has a lot to do with it.

These researchers analyze historical tree ring data to reconstruct past climate. Thin or thick tree growth rings are an accurate indicator of how much moisture is in the soil, making it a good measure of drought. Using this data, the researchers determined that several years ago the current drought was the second driest in the 16th century and slightly less intense.

But that was before the summer of 2021, when conditions all over the West were extremely dry. Last summer, as one of the researchers told me, brought the current drought to its peak. this week’s article. It may now be worse than the drought of the 16th century and worse than what occurred before 800 AD. But we’ll never know – that’s as old as tree-ring data goes.

Numbers: Southwest drought has been going on for 22 years. The researchers say it’s very likely to continue until 23, and slightly less likely to reach 30. They say warming up fills the membranes.

California is back

California is back as a leader in clean air and climate policies.

For more than 40 years, the state has set the tone for vehicle pollution rules in the United States. Under the Clean Air Act of 1970, lawmakers had specific powers to set their own more stringent standards for car and truck emissions. Because the California market is so large and important, automakers had no choice but to pay attention. However, this came to a major standstill under the administration of President Donald J. Trump, who stripped the state of its power to set its own rules.

Now, the Biden administration is taking back California’s special power. It means a resurgence of the state’s excessive influence on pollution rules.

The management is also setting strict new limits on pollution from buses, delivery trucks and heavy trucks, with tailpipe standards being tightened for the first time since 2001 for the biggest pollutants on the roads. These guidelines will largely be based on California standards.

To find out why this is important read full article here.

Background: California was initially granted a waiver under the Clean Air Act, due to special circumstances such as its large population and severe smoke problem in the 1960s.

US coastal sea levels will rise one foot by 2050

Precise measurements show that the increase will happen “whatever we do with emissions”. new research confirms.

Wolves win a round in court

Last week, wolves and their supporters won an important victory: A federal court overturned a 2020 decision to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list. For more information on this and a look at what might happen next. Read our article on the decision.

There is a new goal in tackling climate change: highway expansions.

For decades, states have spent billions of dollars building new roads and widening existing highways to relieve traffic congestion. But research shows that widening roads encourages people to drive more and accelerates suburban sprawl, increasing planet-warming emissions from cars and trucks.

Now some states are rethinking their approach. Aspect I searched in a new article.Colorado has enacted a first-of-its-kind climate rule that will force local transportation planners to shift funding away from highway expansions and to projects that reduce vehicle pollution, such as buses and bike lanes. But in a state where most people still rely on cars to get around, it’s a contentious move.

Why is it important: The new infrastructure law signed by President Biden gives states $273 billion for highways over five years. One analysis found that if states continue to add new highway lanes, that money could lead to a significant increase in U.S. emissions. Colorado will be a test as to whether big change is possible.

quotation: Infrastructure analyst Kevin DeGood said the highway expansions are “a big blind spot for politicians who say they care about climate change.” “Everyone understands that oil pipelines are carbon infrastructure. But new highways are also carbon infrastructure.”

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