The week in climate progress

June 14, 2024

Image: Citizen of the Planet / UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The American Climate Corps is sworn in; how a brutal hurricane season may help save lives; and a landback victory in Minnesota.

The American Climate Corps officially kicks off

The first class of the American Climate Corps was sworn in Tuesday, and will set out on climate projects Their pledge: to work "on behalf of our nation and planet, its people, and all its species, for the better future we hold within our sight."

Courtesy of AmeriCorps

How this summer’s brutal hurricanes might one day save lives

Cyclones aren’t just made of wind and rain — they’re full of data. Scientists are preparing new tools and algorithms to use this year's hurricane season to fuel better future predictions, even as climate change makes hurricanes less predictable.

NASA

The Mille Lacs Band will see the return of 18 acres of state trust land

After decades of advocacy by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, the Minnesota legislature passed a bill to formally return state trust lands within their reservation. Indigenous self-determination is increasingly recognized as a climate solution.

Dennis Anderson / Star Tribune via Getty Images

Chicago teachers demand climate solutions in their next contract

Arguably one of the most powerful unions for teachers in the nation, the Chicago Teachers Union is fighting for solar panels, electric buses, and heat pumps as just some of the climate provisions they want to see in their next contract.

Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco / Grist

The cautionary tale of the Mississippi River

A new book looks at the tragedy of the Mississippi River, and the lessons it teaches us about our efforts to control nature. Namely, the importance of Indigenous traditions of living with the river, rather than against it.

Grist / Daniel Pierre-Louis / W.W. Norton & Company