In the aftermath of the disastrous wildfires in Los Angeles, city officials, Angelenos, and construction experts alike are discussing how to rebuild the parts of the city that burned down. Most importantly, stakeholders have identified that LA must be rebuilt using strategies that will allow its new structures to withstand future extreme weather events—or, with climate resilience in mind.

Climate resilience is a term used to describe preventive policies, business decisions, and technical advancements that help better prepare people, businesses, and physical structures for the damage potentially caused by the climate crisis. It can look like predictive climate data shared with local governments to help them set up hazard mitigation plans, companies decarbonizing to rely on renewable energy rather than dwindling fossil fuels, or fire retardant building materials being used in places like Los Angeles.

David Hart, a senior fellow for climate and energy at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Tech Brew that climate resiliency boils down to risk management.

“If you’re building power plants or you’re building cars, to the extent that the climate transition really takes hold, there’s a risk,” Hart said. “Resilience is about managing that risk.”

Keep reading here.—TC

February brought both headwinds and tailwinds to the electric-vehicle market.

US EV and hybrid sales continued to grow, plus a new study signaled that satisfaction levels for EV owners are improving, and battery-powered models’ price tags are increasingly on par with gas-powered ones. On the other hand, there’s been a deluge of policy changes that could pull the floor mat out from under the auto sector.

First things first: Cox Automotive reported that total new-vehicle sales in February were slated to come in at around 1.22 million units, slightly below its forecast.

“The daily chaos from Washington has been negatively impacting consumer sentiment and likely contributing to lackluster consumer spending in February,” Cox Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said. “The biggest worry I have for the spring continues to be the trend we’ve seen in interest rates, which moved higher in February.”

Cox noted the Trump administration’s vacillating moves to implement 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, which are closely tied to US auto production. Changes to trade policy have been top of mind for the auto industry, with auto executives warning of the potential for major upheaval.

“The economy, the auto market, and the American consumer are now motoring an uncharted road,” according to Cox. “How automakers and consumers will react is the great unknown.”

Keep reading here.—JG

In the renewable energy industry, there are two separate, yet equally important groups: Those who work in solar, and those who work in other renewables. These are their stories. [Insert Law & Order sound effect here.] Or, not their stories, exactly, but their responses to a survey from RatedPower about the fate of the renewable energy industry.

In the company’s 2025 Global Renewable Trends Report, RatedPower asked almost 150 renewable energy professionals what they feel are the biggest obstacles facing the industry.

The top three were “grid saturation and instability,” “permits and regulation,” and “lack of government incentives.”

Though grid health was the most common worry for those working in renewables, it’s actually perceived as less of an obstacle to the industry than it was last year. In 2024, 66.7% of respondents said grid health was a “critical challenge.” This year, that number is down to 60.1%. That may be due to the fact that there have been advancements to grid stability in the last year, or at least efforts to help it function.

Keep reading here.—TC

Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Look up: Reducing screen time is a goal for many kids and adults alike, but actually squashing the reflexive move to pop open your iPhone and tap the Instagram icon is harder than it seems. Vox has some tips on the most successful strategies for looking away from your phone and engaging in the world around you.

Ain’t broke, don’t fix it: Plenty of pitches cross our inboxes promising to level up everyday household items. But there are plenty of appliances, tools, and processes that, well, don’t really benefit from “upgrades” like internet connectivity. One of those things, per a Wired writeup, is the humble toaster.