Climate Adaptation

The Greening of a City Built on Oil

Hurricane Harvey was a deadly wake-up call to the perils of climate change.

Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston.

Photographer: Sharon Steinmann/Bloomberg
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Lara Cottingham was a few months into her tenure as Houston’s chief sustainability officer in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey hit.

The storm, responsible for over 100 deaths and more than $125 billion in damage, was the devastating wake-up call the city needed to amp up the push toward a future powered by renewable fuels.