Biden marks Earth Day with $7 billion solar grants

The Environmental Protection Agency announced 60 recipients of a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant totaling $7 billion. Selectees are expected to deliver solar projects to more than 900,000 low-income households nationwide, the Biden administration’s EPA said. The projects are expected to save American households $350 million annually on electricity and create an estimated 200,000 jobs across the country. The administration also launched an application to join the American Climate Corps, a job training program accepting 20,000 applicants who will focus on providing clean energy solutions and climate resiliency in the workforce. Climate change is the existential crisis of our time that brings staggering costs, Biden said in his 2024 Earth Day proclamation.

How are other officials celebrating? The State Department marked the 50th anniversary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs in a release from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He also highlighted the department's global End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative, which spurs partnerships and innovations to reduce plastic pollution.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an additional $1.5 billion in the state’s 2024 budget on Monday to support Everglades restoration and improvements to water quality. According to the governor's office, the new funding will raise the state’s total Everglades investment under DeSantis to a record high of $6.5 billion.

Dig deeper: Read Emma Freire’s report in WORLD Magazine on local opposition to Biden’s offshore wind farms.