By Alex Hargrave and Arianna Skibell

Presented by Chevron

A large fan helps cool Washington Elementary School in Monticello, Ill. | David Mercer/AP Photo

As summer vacation ends, hundreds of thousands of students will continue to suffer from stifling heat.

Students are heading back to the classroom this month during what has so far been the hottest summer on record.

In aging buildings with insufficient or no air conditioning, students of all ages are at risk of heat-related illnesses and substantial learning loss, writes Daniel Cusick.

It’s a problem that will likely persist in the coming years, as the planet continues to warm from burning fossil fuels.

While the federal government doesn’t keep an exact count of how many public school buildings lack the infrastructure to keep kids and teachers cool, a recent government report estimated that 41 percent of public school districts were due for heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades in 2020.

“If not this year, maybe next year or the year after that, many school districts will have to install air conditioning as a public health measure,” said Krista Egger with the Building Resilient Futures program at the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners.

Dilapidated school buildings across the country, in both rural and urban areas, are at risk of overheating this school year.

The Biden administration has allocated roughly $500 million to solve the problem, though it may not be nearly enough given how many districts need help. The Department of Energy received requests for $5.5 billion in funding through its Renew America’s Schools program and has allocated just $178 million in its first payout.

Still, the funding is beginning to help. For example, a public charter school in rural Oregon received nearly $900,000 in federal funding for new insulation and cooling and heating systems, among other improvements. Outside of Boston, an elementary school now has $2 million in its coffers to electrify the building, install a heat pump system and replace aging rooftop air conditioning units.

Joseph Allen with Harvard Healthy Buildings Program told Daniel that because the Climate crisis is happening now, schools that aren’t up to the task could soon find themselves in trouble.

“Without some kind of cooling, it’s going to be impossible to have kids and teachers in a classroom in June," he said.

It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected].

A message from Chevron:

Energy demand is projected to reach a record high in 2023 and will continue to rise in the future. Chevron is responding to the growing need by increasing our U.S. oil and gas production in ways that are affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner.

Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Ry Rivard breaks down how California's largest agricultural water district is making controversial plans to conserve water and invest in solar panels.

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Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden are seen at a meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House on Oct. 4, 2022, in Washington. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Vulnerable classified information
A contractor for the Department of Energy accessed security files for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, putting the officials' personally identifiable information at risk, writes Kevin Bogardus.

“The inappropriate access” comes as scrutiny over sensitive documents has increased dramatically. Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the White House again, was charged with holding onto classified papers after his time in office, including an undated document dealing with “nuclear weaponry.”

Meet DOE's new undersecretary
As CEO of the power provider NRG Energy, David Crane tried to dramatically boost clean energy in 2015. But NRG’s stock price was cratering, and the board of directors stepped in to oust him, writes Brian Dabbs.

Nearly eight years later, Crane is still part of the U.S. effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions as the Department of Energy’s undersecretary for infrastructure. But this time, he’s doing it at a much lower salary and with much more political blowback than he received in his role at NRG.

Defunding activities 'destroying' nature
The head of a top international environmental fund said that funding biodiversity efforts is not enough to curb the worst of climate change without also defunding oil and gas operations, writes Louise Guillot.

“The political challenge is not mobilizing resources, it’s something more complicated, [it's to] stop investing in those activities that destroy nature,” said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO of the Global Environment Facility, an international funding structure that assists countries in reaching global green goals.

Heat won't quit: A massive heat wave in the central United States is growing and could set hundreds of records.

Conspiracy theories: Wildfires and extreme weather, which climate change makes worse, are driving a surge of climate denialism online.

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A scene from a PragerU video produced for teenagers that casts doubt on climate science. | PragerU

Texas could be the latest state to adopt content in its schools that rejects the reality of global warming. The materials come from the conservative media company PragerU.

Republican presidential candidates are blaming high gasoline prices on Biden’s clean energy policies, even though the U.S. is churning out record amounts of oil.

Delaware has long been on the sidelines as the emerging offshore wind industry flocked to neighboring states, but a new law could transform the industry in the state — if it’s not too late.

That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.

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A message from Chevron:

Oil and gas remain critical components of the global energy system. As energy demand continues to increase, this country has the resources to meet that demand while strengthening its security and economy. In 2022, we increased oil and gas production in the Permian Basin by 16%, and we’re working to grow our supply even further to keep up with rising demand. And we’re also working to do it responsibly, like in the Gulf of Mexico, where our operations are some of the world’s lowest carbon intensity producing assets. Working to provide energy that’s affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner, that’s energy in progress.

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