This fall, as millions of Californians went without power and wildfires claimed homes and livelihoods, the fragile state of California’s electricity grid came center-stage. Our deep reliance on it to power our homes, businesses, schools, healthcare and medical devices, and other critical services also became painfully clear. Understandably, the current focus is on the grid’s resilience to wildfires.

The unfortunate reality is that wildfire risk is just part of the story. Heat waves, droughts, and flooding affect the grid and will become even more frequent and severe — in California and across the nation – if heat-trapping emissions remain unchecked. Heatwaves can also co-occur with wildfires, increasing risks to the grid. This raises important questions about the electricity grid’s readiness for more extremes today and in the future.

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Schools are expected to provide safe and healthy environments for children to learn and grow. Yet many are ill-equipped to protect them from the heatwaves, floods, wildfires, and droughts that are happening in increasing number and severity across the nation. The repercussions can be huge, affecting school finances, students’ health and academic performance, and communities. The repercussions can be huge, affecting school finances, students’ health and academic performance, and communities. Read more >

Living in the San Joaquin Valley means living with heat, where historically July temperatures can regularly be 95-100°F. Over the next 30-70 years, it will get even hotter due to heat-trapping carbon emissions, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels. These higher temperatures will place additional pressure on the region’s critical infrastructure and vulnerable populations, like children, the elderly, and outdoor workers. Hotter days and nights can also stress the infrastructure that people rely on to keep cool when it is dangerously hot outside, like the electricity grid and buildings. Read more >