The Brief

Some of the most jarring ways the United States will feel the impacts of climate change began to reveal themselves this year.

The U.S. saw a record-setting 25 billion-dollar natural disasters. Maui experienced the country’s deadliest wildfire in the last century. Phoenix suffered temperatures over 110 degrees Fahrenheit for 31 consecutive days. Vermont endured epic floods. Despite all this, the Biden administration reneged on its promise and approved the Willow oil project in Alaska.

But this year was also filled with news of encouraging, inspiring, and groundbreaking progress in the U.S., not least of which was its joining a global agreement to transition away from fossil fuels and pledging with its biggest rival, China, to accelerate renewables.

Reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 will require decarbonizing the nation’s energy production, transportation, homes and buildings, and industries. Here’s a look back at some of the progress the U.S. made in 2023, seen through the lens of the stories Grist told.

Shoring up clean energy

Electricity generation accounts for about one-quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Eliminating them means transitioning to renewable energy. The country made new commitments to do so this year: In addition to the COP28 agreement, the U.S. and China bilaterally agreed to accelerate renewable energy deployment this decade.

That will require speeding up the rate at which such projects are permitted. The Biden administration proposed a rule to streamline this process while requiring agencies to consider environmental justice in their reviews. For its part, the Bureau of Land Management approved 50 clean energy projects on federal lands in the last two years, including a 732-mile transmission line across the West. It also proposed lowering the fees for wind and solar development by 80 percent.

States, tribes, and U.S. territories are trying to accelerate progress too: New Yorkers voted to allow its public power authority to build renewable energy projects, and Michigan’s legislature passed a package of bills requiring the state to run off 100 percent clean energy by 2040. Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community approved the nation’s first solar canal project, and Puerto Rico is receiving half a billion dollars to bring rooftop solar to those who need it most.

Speaking of solar, a recycling industry is cropping up to take in old photovoltaic panels. Washington state even passed a law requiring companies take back and recycle them upon retirement.

Retiring fossil fuels

Ramping up renewable energy capacity makes it possible to retire fossil fuel energy. Coal-fired electricity capacity in the U.S. is down 42 percent from its peak in 2011, and 40 percent of what remains is expected to retire by 2030.

Still, ditching coal requires supporting communities whose economies have long depended on it. Southwestern Virginia has been mining coal since 1880, but the area is beginning to benefit from solar. The industry is gaining trust by creating local jobs and building arrays for schools, saving them money on their utility bills. Even the mines are getting a second chance — scientists are finding rare species like the green salamander returning to areas once stripped for extraction.

Looking beyond old coal sites, hundreds of thousands of abandoned oil wells dot the country, polluting the air and water. A federal cleanup program is directing more money than ever before toward capping these wells while creating jobs.

Still, the country broke its oil production records this year. But there are efforts to restrain that boom: New Mexico issued a moratorium on new oil and gas leases near schools and daycare centers, and the Interior Department banned them within a 10-mile radius of the state’s Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The Environmental Protection Agency introduced sweeping regulations that it says could reduce methane emissions from oil and gas by 80 percent.

Capturing carbon

Despite the nation’s best efforts to stop emissions, research shows that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will also require removing hundreds of gigatons of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Whether to do that with machines or through natural solutions is a matter of intense debate.

Opponents of technologies like direct-air capture warn the oil and gas industry could use them to justify prolonging fossil fuel use. But the Biden administration is supporting direct air capture by sending $1 billion to two planned facilities on the Gulf Coast each designed to initially capture up to 1 million metric tons of CO2 annually.

Meanwhile, we’re gaining a better understanding of how natural solutions can promote sequestration. Wetlands, for example, can serve as vast carbon sinks. Louisiana has begun a $3 billion project to restore them, hoping to bring back 21 square miles of land to the coast. Trees are also powerful carbon keepers, and restoring them can cool urban heat islands. As part of a tree-equity “collaborative,” Seattle pledged to plant 8,000 trees and 40,000 seedlings in an effort to cover one-third of the city in tree canopy by 2037.

Scientists are even finding that returning animals to their native ecosystems can help sequester carbon in the soil. The Biden administration is funding the restoration of American bison, which help grasslands retain carbon in the soil as they graze and stomp.

Reimagining mobility

Some of the most encouraging signs of progress this year came from electric vehicles. Transportation accounts for nearly one-third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and most of that pollution comes from cars and trucks. People in the U.S. bought more than 1 million EVs this year, and the country could have 30 million of them by 2030.

To manage this transition, the nation needs hundreds of thousands of public charging ports, and it is racing to build them. A $5 billion federal program is underway to install them along the nation’s highways. California hit 10,000 public EV fast chargers this year, and Walmart announced plans to build its own network. Tesla is opening its vast charging network to other automakers.

EVs won’t just change how we get around — their batteries can transform how we power our homes and even the grid. When those batteries retire, they could lead a productive second life as storage for clean energy before being recycled at one of the numerous recycling facilities being built all over the country.

While 95 percent of the critical materials in batteries are infinitely recyclable, we need to reduce our reliance on cars to minimize how much of these materials we extract from the earth. Electric buses or new passenger rail lines like the one that opened in Honolulu will help, as will micromobility programs like a nonprofit community-led bikeshare in New Orleans.

Building better

Heating, cooling, and powering homes and other buildings takes a lot of energy. Although emerging technologies can lower the impacts of doing so, the first place to start is improving the efficiency of those structures so they require less power in the first place.

People nationwide discovered efficiency hacks like insulated shades and exterior window awnings as they battled extreme heat. The Lower Sioux in Minnesota are creating sustainable home insulation using “hempcrete,” which they grow and process in their own facility.

But even the most efficient homes still need some heating and cooling. That’s why 20 governors went all-in on heat pumps, pledging to install 20 million of them by 2030. They can take lessons from Maine, which has the highest per-capita adoption in the country. In 2024, states will start administering Inflation Reduction Act rebates on electric appliances like heat pumps, making them more affordable. Of course, installing them will require training a whole lot of electricians. And while Berkeley, California’s ban on natural-gas in new buildings was struck down in court this April, other cities are finding workarounds to the ruling, like requiring apartment buildings to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Some researchers are looking at mobile homes as a climate solution, because prefabricated homes can come equipped with solar panels and heat pumps. An equity-driven program in Ithaca, New York, is installing them in already existing mobile homes.

Cleaning up dirty business 

As consumers make their own efforts toward decarbonization, it’s becoming easier for them to see what commitments businesses are making toward net-zero. Although a federal requirement that they disclose greenhouse gas emissions is still forthcoming, California passed its own climate disclosure laws requiring companies that make over $1 billion annually to reveal all of their greenhouse gas emissions and the content of the carbon offsets they buy.

Companies that rely on or produce plastics also experienced more pressure to improve their practices. New York State is suing PepsiCo for its role in polluting the Buffalo River watershed. Businesses that over utilize single-use packaging are getting competition from zero-waste entrepreneurs who offer customers better options for refilling containers like shampoo and detergent bottles.

There’s still a long way to go on decarbonizing some of the country’s most polluting industries, like steel and concrete. The race for green steel is on, as evidenced by big investments in ideas for removing coal from its production. Startups are also working on carbon-negative concrete and even formulas that store carbon inside the material.

Even the U.S. cattle industry could see disruption, since the USDA approved the sale of lab-grown meat. Perhaps an even bigger threat to Big Ag? Teenagers. A Los Angeles teen sued her school district and the USDA over their milk mandates.

Which leads us to perhaps the most encouraging solutions story of the year: The mobilization of young people who are fighting for their right to a safe, healthy, and promising future. Kids won big in Held v. Montana, which could bode well for the 14 youth in Hawaiʻi who are taking their state’s transportation department to court, and the 18 young Californians who just filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for discriminating against children by not protecting them from pollution. With kids like these leading the climate movement, next year could have much more to celebrate.

Raul Malo, the leader of the country band The Mavericks and one of the most recognizable voices in roots music, died Monday night, according to a representative of the band. The guitarist and singer had been battling cancer.

He was hospitalized last week, forcing him to miss tribute shows staged in his honor at the Ryman Auditorium over the weekend. He was 60 years old.

"No one embodied life and love, joy and passion, family, friends, music and adventure the way our beloved Raul did," read a statement released by his family.

Malo's group, The Mavericks, mourned the loss of their leader in a social post.

"Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul's orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy," the statement read. "Over a career of more than three decades entertaining millions around the globe, his towering creative contributions and unrivaled, generational talent created the kind of multicultural American music reaching far beyond America itself."

Over a career that lasted four decades, The Mavericks lived up to the band's name, challenging expectations and following a roadmap crafted by Malo's expansive musical upbringing as the son of Cuban immigrants in Miami.

"I grew up in a very musical household. There was all kinds of music around always," he told WHYY's Fresh Air in 1995. "We listened to everything from Hank Williams to Celia Cruz to Sam Cooke to Bobby Darin. It didn't matter."

In 1992, Malo told NPR that his widespread influences weren't always understood or appreciated in his South Florida hometown, but he said that his struggle to fit in taught him to trust his instincts. Malo had become the guitarist and lead singer for The Mavericks in 1989, alongside co-founders Robert Reynolds and Paul Deakin, and his roaring, sentimental voice defined the band's sound and remained its constant as the group's catalog moved from slow, tender ballads to full-throttle rock songs. In 1995, the band released its biggest hit with "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down," a swinging country song featuring an assist from Tex-Mex accordion legend Flaco Jimenez.

As the band grew in members and devoted listeners, The Mavericks continued to push the boundaries of American music, weaving a richly layered tapestry of textures and stories. With more than a dozen studio albums, The Mavericks collected praise and recognition from the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association and the Recording Academy. Although they took a hiatus for several years, Malo never stopped making music — and returned to his bandmates with renewed inspiration.

Following its 30th anniversary, the group released its first full-length Spanish album in 2020, aptly titled En Español. The record reimagined Latin standards and folklore-tinged popular tunes; it also made an implicit political statement about Latin music's contributions to American culture.

"In our own little way, if we could get somebody that perhaps is on the fence on issues and hears us singing in Spanish and perhaps reminds them of the beautiful cultures that make up what this country is trying to be and what it should be, so be it," Malo told NPR at the time. "Yeah, I'm OK with that."

The following year, the Americana Music Association recognized The Mavericks with the Trailblazer Award. In 2024, the band released its last studio album, Moon & Stars. The release coincided with news of Malo's cancer diagnosis, which he discussed openly with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe.

Before being hospitalized last week, Malo had been scheduled to perform with The Mavericks at a pair of tribute concerts held this past weekend at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Over 30 artists, including Patty Griffin, Jim Lauderdale and Steve Earle, still gathered to pay tribute to Malo, with some of the proceeds of the night going to the cancer prevention organization Stand Up To Cancer.

According to his spokesperson, though Malo was too ill to attend, the concert was streamed to his hospital room Friday night.

Copyright 2025 NPR

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has mostly blocked efforts to investigate misconduct within its ranks, according to the county inspector general, who announced his retirement Tuesday after 12 years on the job.

In an open letter, Max Huntsman cited examples of how the county has thwarted his efforts to watchdog the department, which in the past has been plagued with accusations that deputies use excessive force and lie on the job.

Huntsman said one example is former Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s misuse of criminal enforcement powers to discredit critics, such as opening an investigation into former County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.

Villanueva was sheriff from 2018 to 2022.

“My requests for investigation were rejected,” Huntsman’s letter reads. “Even after receiving an official subpoena, the Sheriff’s Department has failed to turn over records regarding the improper surveillance.”

He added: “Sometimes members of the public wonder if frightening new surveillance techniques will be used for improper purposes under the guise of criminal investigation. Sadly, the answer is yes.”

Before becoming inspector general in 2013, Huntsman, 60, was a deputy district attorney who specialized in public corruption. He told LAist on Tuesday that the inspector general job wasn’t something he wanted initially.

“I didn’t want to go work for politicians,” he said. “But the need to provide some kind of independent reporting and analysis was significant.”

The Sheriff’s Department issued a statement saying it valued the Office of the Inspector General and all county oversight bodies and that it wished Huntsman and his family well in his retirement.

The department said it “continues to make great strides in advancing the department in a transparent manner.”

LAist also reached out to the county CEO and county counsel for comment, but they declined.

After George Floyd

In the letter, Huntsman says the state of California has come a long way in strengthening the power of local law enforcement oversight bodies, in part because of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

After widespread protests — and lobbying by Huntsman — the state provided authority to inspectors general to enforce subpoenas requiring law enforcement agencies to hand over documents and authorized external investigation of police misconduct, including deputy gang conduct.

The Sheriff’s Department — backed by county lawyers — has resisted.

“Los Angeles County may not follow those laws, but it will not be able to avoid them forever,” Huntsman wrote. “The county refuses to require the photographing of suspected gang tattoos in secretive groups that the undersheriff has identified as violating state law.”

“Just a few weeks ago, we requested some information regarding an investigation, and a pair of commanders refused to give it to us,” Huntsman said in an interview with LAist.

Origin of the office 

The Inspector General’s Office was created by the county Board of Supervisors in 2013 in response to a scandal that included former Sheriff Lee Baca covering up the abuses of jail inmates.

Baca went to federal prison.

Since then, the office has issued dozens of reports with recommendations for improving living conditions inside jails that some have described as “filthy,” stopping abuses of juveniles inside juvenile halls and providing shower privacy for inmates as part of the requirements under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

“All of these abuses were reported by the Office of Inspector General and recommendations were ignored,” Huntsman wrote. Often, it took court orders to enact change.

“When we first blew the whistle on the torturous chaining of mentally ill prisoners to benches for 36 hours at a time, it was only a court order that ended the practice,” he wrote. “Time and time again, this pattern repeated itself.”

Huntsman wrote the county has permitted the Sheriff’s Department to block oversight and defunded the Office of Inspector General by removing a third of its staff.

“It's not surprising the county has driven out two successive chairs of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission,” he wrote.

“Government always claims to value transparency and accountability, but shooting the messenger is still the most common response to criticism,” Huntsman wrote.

Despite setbacks, Huntsman values work 

Huntsman told LAist on Tuesday that he was proud of his career as a public servant.

“I’ve really enjoyed the work and I’m sad to have it end,” he said.

It’s a sentiment he echoed in his letter, adding that despite the setbacks and roadblocks, he was proud of the people with whom he shared the office.

“It has been my honor to work with a talented, brave and tireless group of public servants to ensure that the public knows what its government is doing,” he wrote.

He noted the inspector general’s reports are fact-checked by the office and public.

“When government abuses occur, they are sometimes kept secret, but that is no longer the case for much of what is happening in Los Angeles County,” Huntsman wrote. “What you do about it is up to you.,”

Huntsman’s last day is Friday.

Topline:

The backstory: Last month, the council's Transportation Committee voted to bring a proposal forward to implement a policy change that allows the city to impound and immediately destroy abandoned or inoperable RVs worth less than $4,000. The change is inspired by new state law AB 630, which was created to prevent previously impounded RVs from ending back up on the street.

The motion, authored by Councilmember Traci Park, reports that abandoned RVs pose as public and safety hazards.

What's next: Councilmember Nithya Raman requested that an implementation plan be presented to the council's public safety and housing and homelessness committees.

Go deeper: L.A. pushes policy to make it easier to remove RVs from city streets.