A Q&A With Jacksonville’s First-Ever Chief Resilience Officer

Trees do all sorts of amazing things — trap and store carbon, protect us from floods, absorb pollutants and increase property values. Jacksonville’s Urban Forestry Manager Richard Leon looks at them as critical urban infrastructure and plans to plant as many as possible in the nation’s biggest city.

In 2019, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis appointed the state’s first-ever chief resilience officer. In the midst of her initial meetings with local officials, Julia Nesheiwat shares the lessons she brings to the position from her time in the military and academia — and the time she created a federal bure…

Scientists say the most important thing individuals can do to help fight climate change is to talk about it. But 64% of Americans say they rarely or never do. Lauren Watkins is trying to fix that. She teaches people how to have productive, non-polarizing conversations about environmental issues. Sh…

LEED certification, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was created to encourage builders to be more sustainable. But last year, the entire city of Atlantic Beach undertook the process. City Manager Shane Corbin says the data gathering it required has given planners a roadmap for impr…