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💔 There were at least two major incidents of gun violence in the U.S. this week: Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a Utah college event, and two students were shot and injured at a Denver-area high school. This does not have to be our daily reality, and if you're looking for ways to help stop gun violence in the future, here's how to take action.
Boston is transforming abandoned office space into affordable homes for 1,000+ residents
In 2023, Boston launched a city-first Office-to-Residential Conversion Program. The initiative offers a tax deduction of up to 75% for up to 29 years for downtown office buildings that convert to residential use.
Fast forward about two years, and the first residents to benefit from the program are now moving into their new homes.
The city has received 15 applications to create 762 housing units across 20 buildings and convert over 600,000 square feet of office space. Once they're complete, the projects will bring an estimated 1,500 new people living downtown by the end of 2026. With project proposals due in December, it could be even more.
Why is this good news?People deserve housing that's affordable in their community. Instead of office spaces sitting vacant or underutilized, the program helps convert them into something that serves the city's residents — especially those who can't afford skyrocketing rent prices.
For the first time, scientists traced heat waves back to individual fossil fuel companies
In new research that pushes the boundaries of extreme weather event research in multiple ways, scientists have quantified causal links between worsening heat waves and pollution from individual fossil fuel and cement companies.
Looking at 213 heat waves from around the world between 2000 to 2023, it found that they became more frequent, likely, and severe, in large part due to burning fossil fuels. Between the first and second decades, climate change made heatwaves jump from being 20 times more likely to 200 times.
The researchers said as many as a quarter of the extreme heat events would have been "virtually impossible" without the pollution from any of the 14 largest fossil fuel and cement producers, including ExxonMobil and Chevron.
Why is this good news? While individual studies have explored links between climate change and extreme weather events, this latest study connects them in a new, important way. The conclusions could help those looking to make oil and gas companies pay for climate change-related damages, which has historically been difficult to prove.
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Environment
Photo: Paul Hilton/Earth Tree Images/The Guardian
New South Wales is creating one of its largest national parks to protect thousands of koalas and ban logging
In the state of New South Wales, Australia, the current government confirmed its creation of a great koala national park, adding 176,000 hectares of forest to existing reserves and creating one of the state's largest national parks.
Not only will the park protect more than 12,000 koalas, it will also put an immediate moratorium on logging within its boundaries.
The decision comes after months of pressure from local environment advocates who had been frustrated with ongoing logging and long-time government promises to establish the national park.
Why is this good news?The protected area includes old-growth forests that are critical biodiversity hotspots for the entire world. They're home to 100 threatened species, including koalas and greater gliders. When critical ecosystems thrive thanks to protection and conservation, it helps the planet, wildlife, and humans, too.
Eliminating income requirements, New Mexico will officially become the first U.S. state to guarantee free, universal child care
New Mexico's governor just announced that the state is eliminating income eligibility requirements of its current child care assistance program — making it available to everyone.
The current program waives copayments for families with incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty line, allowing them to pay little to no costs. Starting in November, that will apply to all families, regardless of income, making it the first universal free child care program in the United States.
The state estimates it will save families an average of $12,000 per child.
Even better: The state is already anticipating the rise in demand that will follow, and is investing millions of dollars to construct, expand, and renovate child care facilities to meet it. It's also increasing reimbursement rates for facilities, and committing to pay entry-level staff a minimum of $18 per hour.
After a landlord in Wisconsin passed away, he donated all of his rental properties to homeless people in need of housing
On July 31, the Wisconsin-based housing nonprofit Pillars received its largest property donation ever. It came in the name of Richard "Dick" Reetz, a landlord of over 50 years who died in June at the age of 97.
He donated his entire rental estate, including 20 units across 10 properties, which increased the organization's property portfolio by 26%.
Pillars is an organization that works to relieve bottlenecks in the housing crisis by keeping people out of shelters and in stable housing. Right now, the organization manages a number of affordable housing properties near Appleton — where Reetz was a lifelong resident — and operates two crisis housing centers that serve approximately 140 people at any given time. Now, it will serve even more.
It really is pretty incredible that scientists figured out how to make a direct connection between fossil fuel companies and polluters and extreme heat events.
Do you think we'll see more accountability?
Reply and tell me what you think!
— Megan
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