Census Report is Unusually Informative About Rural

The Daily Yonder | READ STORY

The Census Bureau put the spotlight on rural America when it released the results of its latest American Community Survey, the data that gives us the closest look at changes in American demography, economics, work, and lifestyles. Meanwhile, the survey showed that the Census-defined rural population remained steady from last year. The press release that announced the new Census data focused on rural information, noting that rural Americans are more likely to own their own homes, live in the state where they were born, and to have served in the military. And the bureau dug beyond the standard data tables to report on subsets of rural counties.

Debunking 4 Myths About Sustainable Investing

World Resources Institute | READ STORY

Enthusiasm for sustainable investing is surging. Already, more than $8.7 trillion of investment capital is managed using environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in U.S. markets alone, an 184 percent increase since 2010. This pot of money increasingly includes investments in green infrastructure, renewable energy, affordable housing and more, as well as investments that more holistically integrate broad ESG factors.

America's Male Employment Crisis Is Both Urban and Rural
Brookings | READ STORY

To illustrate conditions and trends in work across the urban-rural continuum, U.S. Census data for cities and counties was examined according to a novel Brookings Metro classification system.

A Prescription for Action

NACo | READ STORY

It has been said that in every crisis lies the seed of opportunity, and the opioid crisis presents an invaluable opportunity for city and county officials. The Scale of the Crisis: In 2014, the latest year for which national data is available, nearly 30,000 individuals died from an opioid overdose in the U.S. This number increased steadily during the last two decades, from 6,242 deaths in 2000, to 12,991 in 2005, and 19,687 in 2010.

New Map Reveals Shattering Effect of Roads on Nature

The Guardian | READ STORY

Rampant road building has shattered the Earth’s land into 600,000 fragments, most of which are too tiny to support significant wildlife, a new study has revealed. The impact of roads extends far beyond the roads themselves, the scientists said, by enabling forest destruction, pollution, the splintering of animal populations and the introduction of deadly pests. New roads also pave the way to further exploitation by humans, such as poaching or mining, and new infrastructure. 

World Energy Hits a Turning Point: Solar That's Cheaper Than Wind

Bloomberg Technology | READ STORY

A transformation is happening in global energy markets that’s worth noting as 2016 comes to an end: Solar power, for the first time, is becoming the cheapest form of new electricity. This has happened in isolated projects in the past: an especially competitive auction in the Middle East, for example, resulting in record-cheap solar costs. But now unsubsidized solar is beginning to outcompete coal and natural gas on a larger scale, and notably, new solar projects in emerging markets are costing less to build than wind projects, according to fresh data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.