WILMINGTON, N.C. -- A group of military and government leaders has endorsed an initiative to protect the one million acres of salt marsh that stretches from North Carolina down to northeast Florida.

Salt marshes are sinewy channels of coastal grasslands known for their ability to protect coasts from flooding and storm surge. About a dozen military bases and training grounds are located along or close to the Southeast coastline.

John Nicholson, chief deputy secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, said healthy salt marshes can significantly improve coastal ecosystem and community resilience.

"Through the protection of property, infrastructure and installations overall from storm surge and flooding during heavy rain events and hurricanes," Nicholson outlined.

The decision came from the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability which includes members of the Department of Defense and other federal agencies, along with state environmental and natural-resource officials from across the Southeast. A draft conservation plan is expected for 2022.

Nicholson added the state's Climate Risk and Resiliency plan calls for living shoreline designs that include salt marshes and other strategies to boost resilience to natural disasters.

"Along with salt marsh, we've been working on sub-aquatic vegetation and what that means to habitat and water quality," Nicholson explained. "And I do believe that our folks that live down on the coast understand and appreciate what this means."

According to NOAA, salt marshes soak up excess floodwaters and wave energy during storms, and can mitigate property damage by up to 20%.

Lora Clarke, East Coast marine conservation officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said salt marshes face many ongoing threats.

"Rising seas, polluted runoff and poorly planned development," Clarke listed. "So this is an opportunity to bring all the partners together now to develop solutions and protect this habitat while we still have it."

Two dozen groups of fishermen, hunters, conservationists and others have also declared their support for developing a salt-marsh plan.

The U.S. has approximately 3.8 million acres of salt marshes, and three-quarters of them are in the Southeast.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

A new interactive map reveals how recent federal investments from the Inflation Reduction Act are driving clean-energy and climate-resiliency projects in Pennsylvania.

The tool highlights renewable-energy upgrades and sustainability efforts made possible by more than $3 billion in federal funding.

Flora Cardoni - deputy director of the PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center - said the new map, called "Renewable Energy Success Stories in the Keystone State," reveals federally funded clean-energy projects across Pennsylvania - from nonprofits such as worship centers to farmers taking advantage of direct payments to plant trees, go solar, and improve energy efficiency.

"The Tulpa Canal Farm, which is a dairy farm in Berks County, they received a Clean Energy grant to install about 400 solar panels, which is great," said Cardoni. "It's expected to save the farm about $15,000 in energy costs each year."

Cardoni said efforts by the Trump administration and some members of Congress to repeal the tax incentives could jeopardize these investments.

However, she added that nonprofits, businesses and homeowners can still get 30% back in federal tax credits for installing solar panels.

She said those incentives could be repealed soon, with a possible vote in Congress by next Monday, May 12.

Incentives have enabled Pennsylvanians to reduce energy costs, protect their health and environment, and move toward greater energy independence.

Cardoni said the map highlights clean-energy projects across Pennsylvania, including another business that's saving about $15,000 a year through improved energy efficiency.

"Hall industries in Lawrence County, which is a machining and fabrication company in Ellwood City," said Cardoni, "and they are using federal Clean Energy funding to install energy-efficient LED lighting, which should lower their energy use by about 14%."

She pointed out that Harley-Davidson is expanding and upgrading its York County facility to build more energy-efficient electric motorcycles and cut waste from the painting process.

The project is part of an $89 million grant.




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The unmistakable smell of hamburgers or steak on outdoor grills will soon be making its way through Minnesota neighborhoods and with the weather warming up, people are reminded to avoid using harmful products to keep grills clean.

Environmental experts said using chemical sprays to get rid of grease and grime can create harmful emissions when the grill is fired up again, by releasing harmful gases into the air.

John O'Brien, owner of Green Maids Cleaning, suggested a different approach involving baking soda and vinegar. To get started, he said to remove food debris using a brush which does not contain microplastics. Then, get together a healthy mix in a spray bottle.

"Do equal parts white vinegar, equal parts water, and just kind of spray it down and let it soak," O'Brien recommended.

Lastly, sprinkle on some baking soda to make the scrubbing part easier. Not only does this protect natural resources, health officials said it also prevents chemicals from getting into the food you prepare.

If the vinegar and baking soda mix does not sound appealing, O'Brien noted you can explore other cleaning options.

"There are a few plant-based degreasers on the market or soaps that you could use," O'Brien suggested.

As for getting a fire started in charcoal grills, experts said there is no such thing as totally eco-friendly briquettes but they cited better options, including those made from invasive tree species or environmentally certified wood.

Researchers said the small actions help because the Midwest leads the U.S. in greenhouse gas emissions due to the region's transportation sector lagging behind in switching to electric or hybrid vehicles.


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A pair of new reports shows Ohio communities are quietly leading the way on clean energy, from urban centers to small towns, with solar power playing an increasingly central role.

Advocates said the findings reflect an economic opportunity for the state and a potential bipartisan path forward on climate action.

The new annual report from the nonprofit Power A Clean Future Ohio highlighted sustainability wins in communities across the state.

Joe Flarida, executive director of the group, said local action has often outpaced state-level efforts, and emphasized energy and climate work is happening across the political spectrum.

"We've seen this local movement building in Ohio, and it's not just building in big cities, it's building in small villages, suburban, rural, across the board," Flarida explained. "They make up all types of political backgrounds, demographics, economic traits and characteristics of these communities."

In 2023, Ohio lawmakers passed House Bill 201, blocking cities from restricting natural gas use, a move clean energy advocates said has undercut local sustainability efforts even as community projects expand statewide.

Another new report from the crisis management firm UNPREDICTABLEcity found residential solar installations are booming statewide, including in rural and traditionally conservative areas.

Jon-Paul D'Aversa, principal at UNPREDICTABLEcity and the report's lead author, said solar is becoming increasingly normalized among homeowners and comes down to basic economics.

"Electricity in particular has risen 30% since 2019," D'Aversa pointed out. "There's a lot of pressure right now on folks to have that addressed. One of the ways that we see a lot of people addressing this (is) by just purely economics, for a lot of folks."

He added his company's report attributes the growth to falling solar costs and new local policies making installation easier. Analysts said Ohio's solar expansion is a promising sign for the state's energy independence and future economic competitiveness.