Synapse: This Week's News for LA’s Best Buildings
LADWP Launches Groundbreaking LA100 Equity Strategies Initiative
Following the release of the ground-breaking Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study (LA100), the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will launch a comprehensive and inclusive, community-driven effort to achieve a just and equitable 100% carbon-free future for all communities of Los Angeles.
California Just Committed to “An Unprecedented Amount” of Clean Energy
California just made a massive order for clean electricity. On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a plan that requires utilities to buy 11.5 gigawatts of zero-carbon electricity by 2026. That’s a lot: Between a third and a fifth of the electricity California is using at any given moment.
As Utilities Plan New Power Plants, Analysis Shows Saving Energy Is a Low-Cost Alternative
Utility decisions about how to meet their customers’ power needs can have far-reaching consequences. At a time when the Biden administration aims to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, utilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and other states are set to switch on more than 6.6 GW of new natural gas power plants this year that will generate heat-trapping emissions for decades to come.
How Heat Waves Form, and How Climate Change Makes Them Worse
his month brought early, record-setting heat waves across the US and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Even before summer officially began, roads buckled in the Midwest, heat emergency calls spiked in the South, and across the West, some 50 million people faced heat-related warnings. Scientists say these record highs align with their expectations for climate change, and warn that more scorchers are coming.