The coronavirus pandemic is slowing the growth of renewable energy for now, but long-term prospects are still very strong. This Nova Scotia wind farm produces enough energy for more than 10,000 Canadian homes. Photo courtesy Dennis Jarvis / CC BY-SA / Flickr. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, renewable energy was growing steadily—but still not fast enough to meet the Paris Agreement’s carbon reduction goals, let alone to make the further strides needed to keep climate change from spiraling out of control. Now, the virus-induced economic shock is likely to slow the expansion of wind, solar, and other clean power sources,…

The coronavirus has exposed the ills of continued automobile-centric urban planning practices that adversely impact equity, health, and the climate. Those of us who are working from home, own an automobile, and can conveniently make grocery runs may overlook the fact that many in this country are not so lucky. Many households rely on public transit systems that are struggling to provide service, or they may bear high transportation costs that are exacerbated by a lack of access to the most critical of needs. There is no technological solution that will solve the systemic problems with our urban land use…

If you haven’t been following the Sweet Sixteen this year it’s probably because you thought basketball games were all cancelled due to the global pandemic. You’d be right about that, but you’d also be missing out on the fantastic educational opportunity afforded you by the architects, builders, designers, and tradesmen who submitted their wall sections for comparison in the #WallAssemblySweet16 competition on Instagram, and here on GBA. Beginning in April, our BS* + Beer discussion group in Kansas City hosted a tournament of sixteen wall assemblies in head-to-head competition for the sake of fun and education. On April 28th Christine…