August 24, 2021  Today’s Vote Charts Pathway to Pass the Build Back Better Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06) helped take the first step toward passing a once-in-a-generation investment for the American people and communities. Crow voted to pass H.Res. 601, which is a procedural motion to begin the process to pass the $3.5 trillion Budget Reconciliation package (the “Build Back Better Plan”) and the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (H.R. 3684) later this fall. The Aug, 24th resolution will get the ball rolling for 13 House and 12 Senate committees to begin designing the Budget Reconciliation Package. That $3.5 trillion package is set to deliver transformative change for American families including: child care, home health […]

Letter to the editor By Chuck Griffin, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey June 28, 2021 Recently I’ve been hearing negative comments about the offshore wind energy project. People are saying they “heard” that the windmills will kill migratory birds and will have a negative impact on commercial and recreational fishing. None of this is true. First, I’d like to say that if you research these items, all the statistics gathered from wind energy farms in other countries show evidence to the contrary. Second, the wind farms will be 10 to 15 miles off the shore. They will be barely visible, if at all. The main thing I want to say is that job opportunities are becoming available because of offshore wind. […]

June 20, 2021 By, Ben Santer is an atmospheric scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California.  Dear Editor,  My cousin, Leah Pressman who lives in Culver City recently told me about the efforts of local activists and the City Council to shut down a portion of the Inglewood Oil Field. She reached out to me for a statement of support knowing of my life-long commitment to the study of climate change and the efforts I have made to alert the world to the acute and present danger we face due to climate change. I am happy to provide my thoughts about why this bold move by local government is so important. I am a MacArthur Fellow and […]

CalGEM misses crucial deadline to protect communities from neighborhood oil and gas drilling By Ramona du Houx On June 21, 2021, the California Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) missed yet another deadline to draft public health regulation on neighborhood oil and gas drilling despite months of waiting and assurances that a draft rule would be released by Spring 2021. “How much longer are our communities supposed to wait? This delay is just another in a long line that reinforces California’s legacy of environmental racism and injustice. VISIÓN will keep fighting for setbacks and to protect all residents from the possibility of Big Oil setting up shop across the street to pollute our homes and schools” said Kobi Naseck, Coalition Coordinator, Voices […]

By Ramona du Houx June 14, 2021 NEW YORK — The eleven participating states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s first market-based regulatory program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, today announced on June 4, 2021 the results of their 52nd auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances. 22,987,719 CO2 allowances were sold at the auction at a clearing price of $7.97. Bids for the CO2 allowances ranged from $2.38 to $12.51 per allowance. The auction generated $183,212,120 for states to reinvest in strategic programs, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, direct bill assistance, and GHG abatement programs. “We applaud the completion this week of another successful RGGI auction,” said Martin Suuberg, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental […]

May 2021 By Ramona du Houx The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) began soliciting proposals for the Maine Clean Energy Innovation Challenge that was announced by Governor Janet Mills on Earth Day. In collaboration with the Governor’s Energy Office, MTI developed the challenge to catalyze the deployment of innovative clean energy technology solutions in Maine. During the Baldacci administration grants for innovative technologies came from MTI, funded by bonds the people of Maine voted on. The program successfully helped many businesses advance the clean energy economy. The University of Maine’s VolturnUS offshore wind scale model prototype was helped by a MTI bond backed grant, then federal grants followed. Today the project is America’s leading offshore floating wind technology. Now, MTI has […]

May 21, 2021 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that this Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than usual, according to a statement released on Thursday. While NOAA does not expect this hurricane season to reach the historic levels of 2020, which saw a record-breaking 30 named storms, forecasters predict between 13 and 20 named storms with up to five major hurricanes. Hurricane season begins on June 1 and peaks in the fall, so NOAA will update its forecast in August, 2021. The warming climate has increased ocean temperatures thereby creating more opportunities for deadly hurricanes.