October 30, 2020 By Ramona du Houx In late October a study, published in Cardiovascular Research, estimated that about 17 percent of deaths in North America from COVID-19 could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution. It is the first time a study has estimated the proportion of deaths from the coronavirus that could be attributed to the exacerbating effects of air pollution for every country in the world. The study estimated that about 15 percent of deaths worldwide from COVID-19 could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution. In Europe the proportion was about 19 percent, in North America it was 17 percent, and in East Asia about 27 percent. In their CVR paper, the researchers write that these proportions […]

Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced a pioneering pair of bills that aim to “protect the long-term health and well-being of the American people and their economy from the catastrophic effects of climate chaos” by preventing banks and international financial institutions from financing fossil fuels. “How we invest our money reflects our values today and will drive our future tomorrow,” the Oregon Democrat said in a statement about his new legislative proposals, citing a September report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission warning that the human-caused climate crisis endangers the U.S. financial system. “Fossil fuel investments play a key role in accelerating climate chaos, which continues to spiral further and further out of control and claim lives and livelihoods in the process,” Merkley added. “It’s time […]

07/14/2020 Sign Memorandum of Understanding – Pledge to Develop Action Plan to eradicate toxic diesel emissions by 2050 TRENTON – On July 14, 2020, 15 states and the District of Columbia announced a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU), committing to work collaboratively to advance and accelerate the market for electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including large pickup trucks and vans, delivery trucks, box trucks, school and transit buses, and long-haul delivery trucks (big-rigs). The goal is to ensure that 100 percent of all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales be zero emission vehicles by 2050 with an interim target of 30 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2030. States signing the MOU are: California, Connecticut, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, […]

  October 20,2020 According to Reuters, automakers are gearing up for tough new vehicle emissions rules and policies favoring electric vehicles if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the White House. Biden and U.S. President Donald Trump both need the votes of auto workers in Midwestern swing states such as Michigan and Ohio, and both say they want automakers to create more auto jobs in the United States, rather than Mexico or China. From there, Trump’s and Biden’s policies for autos and transportation diverge, presenting automakers with very different sets of risks and rewards. If elected, Biden is expected to quickly reinstate the legal basis for California’s zero-emission vehicle rules and begin the process of reversing the Trump administration’s decision […]

By Ramona du Houx October 16, 2020 The New York State Public Service Commission approved an expansion of the Clean Energy Standard to refocus New York’s existing regulatory and procurement structure on achieving the goals laid out in New York’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or CLCPA.  The CLCPA established a 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030 mandate, setting the State on an ambitious trajectory to a zero-emission power sector by 2040. The expanded Clean Energy Standard gives the state the authority to issue a Request for Proposals for the renewable power generation sources needed to implement this plan.  “We do not have time to waste in the fight against climate change and New York continues to lead by advancing the most aggressive policies in the nation […]

Last September, 540 local and state elected officials from all 50 states and the District of Columbia expressed their strong support for resettling refugees in their communities in a bipartisan letter sent to President Trump. The letter, supported by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), urges the President to raise refugee admissions for Fiscal Year 2021.  “We are honored to remain a place of safety and security for those fleeing persecution and violence. Refugees contribute to all sectors of our economy – as teachers, service members, doctors and more – while adding to our cultural landscape. They are an integral part of Washington’s past, present and future,” said […]

University of Utah Facilities Management has taken another important step forward as a leader in energy and sustainability by signing a 25-year solar energy contract with the Castle Solar Project near Huntington, Utah. The contract will deliver 20 MW of solar energy to campus over its lifespan, powering the university toward its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. A geothermal energy contract signed in 2018 made the U the first public college in the state to receive more than half of its electricity through renewable sources. The new solar contract will bring the university to 71 percent of all electrical energy coming from renewable sources. Upon delivery, this new contract would rank total renewables of the University of Utah at number five among […]

Oped by Monica Embrey September 29, 2020 Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to enact a just transition taskforce specifically focused on plugging and remediating non-productive oil wells in unincorporated parts of the County. This historic vote advances a just transition as a critical component to addressing the intersecting issues of climate justice, economic justice, and public health.  Idle oil and gas wells are wells that have not produced oil in over two years and have not yet been properly plugged and cleaned up. Idle wells pose a host of risks to our community. For example, harmful fluids and dangerous gases may migrate to the surface in idle wells, causing water and soil contamination and deadly explosions. The […]

September 29, 2020 Washington, D.C. –  It’s been 12 years since the candidates running for president and vice president have been asked about their views on the climate crisis by a moderator during a general election debate.  The last time a moderator directly asked about climate change was 2008 in the vice presidential debate between then Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. That question asked the two candidates to debate what is true and what is false in the ongoing discussion of the climate crisis (Thankfully that debate has been put to rest as climate change is now considered a fact). Bob Schieffer indirectly mentioned the crisis during an October 2008 debate between then Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain when asking about reducing the […]

By Ramona du Houx On September 17, 2020 Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the Future Generations Protection Act. This bill would help ensure a rapid shift to clean renewable energy by stopping further expansion of fracking and new fossil fuel infrastructure. Specifically, the Future Generations Protection Act would ban greenhouse gas emissions from all new power plants, stop hydraulic fracking, and ban crude oil and natural gas exports. It would also prohibit the Federal Energy Resources Commission from approving new liquified natural gas terminal siting or construction, unless doing so would […]

September 28, 2020 Energy New England (ENE) has completed a major clean energy transaction for 19 Massachusetts and Rhode Island municipal utilities that will add 50 MW of new solar energy to their portfolios in partnership with D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI). The Gravel Pit Solar III project is slated to begin operating in early 2023 and ENE’s customers have signed an agreement with the project with a 25-year term. Gravel Pit Solar III, a proposed portfolio of solar projects DESRI is planning for sites under consideration in western Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, would be an extension of the proposed Gravel Pit Solar project in East Windsor, Connecticut. Gravel Pit Solar III is expected to generate more than […]

From the British Science Journal September 24, 2020 In the Paris Agreement, nations agreed to limit global warming to “well below 2°C.” But University of Exeter scientists say governments are engaged in “climate hypocrisy” by publicly supporting the agreement while subsidising the fossil fuel industry, destroying forests and pursuing other harmful policies. Writing in the journal Global Sustainability, they highlight two other crises — ozone depletion and the COVID-19 pandemic — and call for similar action on the climate crisis. The call comes as world leaders including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson discuss climate action and a “sustainable recovery” from the pandemic at the UN General Assembly. “Restoring the ozone layer and minimising the COVID-19 pandemic both required governments to enact […]