The account comes from six people with knowledge of the events that took place...

CNN Climate 8 months ago

The account comes from six people with knowledge of the events that took place as President Donald Trump falsely claimed the LA fires were a result of the state's water policies, and demanded more water be sent south. The people who spoke with CNN were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the events. They also feared retaliation from the Trump administration. The new details serve as a peek into the inner workings of the chaotic second Trump administration in its first weeks as it sparred with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the response to the Los Angeles fires. A power outage — and the fact that at least one of the DOGE representatives was not yet an employee of the federal government and therefore was not allowed near the pump controls — ultimately threw a wrench in the plan to engage the pumps in late January. But a few days later, in a show of authority that superseded California's own water policy, Trump ordered the US Army Corps to open two dams in central California, which ultimately flooded farmland in the San Joaquin Valley with 2.2 billion gallons of fresh water. State water experts previously told CNN it was a regrettable waste as farmers look anxiously toward the state's dry season. Water experts told CNN after the incident the water release was wasteful and put farmers at risk of running out of water this summer and fall. The water flowed into the dry Tulare lakebed and soaked into the ground. The Interior Department and Bureau of Reclamation declined to comment for this story. A spokesperson for DOGE and the two DOGE representatives involved did not respond to CNN's requests for comment. Tap the link in @cnnpolitics's bio for more. 📷: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images; Eric Thayer/AP; DOGE/X; Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data/Getty Images

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 7 hours ago



The construction sector is entering a decisive stage in its push toward sustainable building design, shaped by new policy advocacy, improved regulation, and demonstrable industry commitments. The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) has formally supported the Architects Climate Action Network’s Circular Economy Policy Campaign, a move signalling broader acceptance of circular economy principles as central to environmental sustainability in construction. The focus on reuse, adaptability, and end‑of‑life reuse in construction reflects a maturing understanding that the carbon footprint of construction extends across a building’s entire lifespan. Introducing whole life carbon assessment as part of standard design processes is becoming a practical necessity for both cost management and long‑term resilience.

Equans UK & Ireland’s status as a Building a Safer Future (BSF) Champion highlights how sustainable design and accountability increasingly overlap with safety and social responsibility. The company’s recognition shows that decarbonising the built environment demands organisation‑wide transparency backed by measurable sustainability targets. Integrating lifecycle assessment across the supply chain ensures that embodied carbon in materials and operations is quantified and reduced. This shift towards low carbon design complements broader frameworks such as BREEAM and the forthcoming BREEAM v7 updates, both reinforcing the importance of life cycle thinking in construction.

Regulators are beginning to respond to industry calls for a streamlined approach that maintains ecological rigour while reducing unnecessary bureaucracy. The proposed reforms to environmental permits illustrate that practical compliance can coexist with high environmental performance when founded on evidence‑based life cycle cost analysis. Clear guidance on sustainable material specification and environmental product declarations (EPDs) can support consistent measurement of carbon footprint reduction across projects. This regulatory evolution encourages wider adoption of resource efficiency in construction, particularly as governments commit to net zero carbon and carbon neutral construction targets.

Recent research into circular economy in construction, inspired by modular telecoms infrastructure, demonstrates tangible potential for embodied carbon reduction. Applying circular construction strategies to wider sectors could significantly improve building lifecycle performance and deliver major financial and environmental savings. Modular, renewable building materials and low embodied carbon materials extend the service life of assets and underpin the shift to low‑impact construction models. As net zero whole life carbon frameworks become embedded, reuse and refurbishment will play equal roles alongside green building products and renewable design innovation.

The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to fall, driven in part by energy‑efficient buildings, low carbon construction materials, and a stronger focus on whole life carbon metrics. Challenges remain in housing retrofits, supply chain emissions, and verifiable reporting, but sustainable building practices are advancing rapidly. The convergence of eco‑design for buildings, sustainable architecture, and green infrastructure shows that sustainability is no longer a niche aspiration but a defining measure of quality. Genuine progress depends on integrating evaluation tools, transparent data, and consistent application of sustainable construction principles so that every low carbon building actively contributes to the net zero carbon future the sector now strives to achieve.

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Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry—both in the UK and internationally. We track the latest publications, debates, and events related to whole life guidance and sustainability. If you have any enquiries or opinions to share, please do get in touch.