The following radio reports are done in partnership with Public News Service. Please click on the headline to read the entire article or on the highlighted “HERE” to listen to the report. NM tribal communities benefit from EPA’s “Solar For All” program from Inflation Reduction Act funds Listen to the story HERE. April 29, 2024 New federal funding aims to revolutionize […]
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April 29, 2024
New federal funding aims to revolutionize solar energy access within New Mexico’s Native American communities and benefit the state overall.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s $7 billion “Solar for All” Inflation Reduction Act program is designed to create new or expanded low-income solar programs.
Talia Martin, co-executive director of the National Tribal Program for GRID Alternatives, said the funding will help bridge the clean energy gap in Native American communities. “In New Mexico, tangible impacts would be for household savings,” Martin explained. “Which means working directly with the tribes to ensure that the savings are going to individual households as well as to the community as a whole.”
Listen to the story HERE
By Suzanne Potter
April 25, 2024
Leaders concerned about pollution and climate change are raising awareness about a ballot measure this fall on whether the state should mandate buffer zones around new oil and gas wells.
Voters will be asked to uphold or revoke Senate Bill 1173, which would require a 3,200-foot setback around any new well near schools, neighborhoods and hospitals.
Meghan Sahli-Wells, former mayor of Culver City and a leader with the group Elected Officials to Protect America, fought to phase out the Inglewood oil field and said no community should be a sacrifice zone.
“A study from Harvard found that in California, 34,000 people died in 2018, prematurely, from fossil fuel air pollution,” Sahli-Wells pointed out. “These figures are three times higher than other studies.”
Listen to the story HERE.
April 25, 2024
New Mexico members of the group Elected Officials to Protect America are renewing their call for rules regulating how close fossil fuel companies can operate near schools and other public places after legislation failed to pass earlier this year.
Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe, said industrial oil and gas wells are operating just feet from homes, schools and hospitals, increasing community health risks from well-known toxins.
“Some here in New Mexico have been devastated because of types of energy incentives that have affected their land, their culture, their way of life and have taken away their lives,” Lujan asserted.
Listen to the story HERE
April 23, 2024
Virginia officials support the Environmental Protection Agency’s new emissions rule. The federal clean truck standards will reduce emissions by up to 60% in 2032 and prevent 1-billion metric tons of carbon pollution. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Virginia and nationwide.
Phillip Jones, Newport News Mayor, said the new rule helps end the city’s environmental disparities.
“We have a very large multiple coal company in downtown Newport News in the southeast part of our community,” he said. “That’s going to lead to higher rates of asthma for that community. There’s a lot of air-quality issues in downtown Newport News.”
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April 22, 2024
New York towns are reaping many benefits since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.
Along with funds for larger clean energy projects, the state was awarded $158 million for the IRA’s Home Energy Rebates program.
Smaller towns and villages use these grants to implement their climate action plans.
Brighton Town Councilmember Robin Wilt said an IRA grant they applied for will help upgrade the town’s HVAC system. “We will be implementing geothermal and then use a solar array to make the system close to net zero, not quite,” said Wilt. “I think we’ll get 55% of our energy back with the solar panels.”
Listen to the story HERE.
April 22, 2024
A new study raised red flags about respiratory health in Pennsylvania, particularly for those living near oil and gas activity. The study by GeoHealth said nationwide, oil and gas venting and flaring exacerbate asthma in 73,000 children, including nearly 12,000 in Pennsylvania.
Jackson Zeiler, public health analyst for the Environmental Health Project, said energy developers do flaring and venting on a regular basis to remove excess gas. He explained the study looked at the potential health risks associated with the practice.
“There’s adverse birth outcomes, there’s cancer outcomes,” Zeiler pointed out. “Volatile Organic Compounds are a big part of these emissions, which have a whole host of health effects, including respiratory health issues, different neurological effects like headaches and dizziness for people who are working in those facilities, and people who live really close by.”
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April 19, 2024
Balancing the needs of the many with those who have traditionally reaped benefits from public lands is behind a new rule issued Thursday by the Bureau of Land Management.
A quarter-million acres of public lands, including 13 million in New Mexico, now fall under the Public Lands Rule. The BLM is charged with managing multiple uses but has historically prioritized extraction, such as oil and gas drilling, along with cattle grazing, over conservation and outdoor recreation.
Jesse Duebel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, believes the new rule is more fair-minded. “I really feel like this new rule doesn’t minimize those other things,” Duebel asserted. “The other uses are still going to be allowed to continue but now, decisions are going to be made with conservation in the forefront. And of course, conservation by definition, is the ‘wise use’ of our natural resources.”
Listen to the story HERE.
April 18, 2024
A movement is underway to populate the city’s street corners and vacant lots with groves of trees. Tucson’s city government, which has pledged to plant 1 million trees by 2030, recently got $5 million from the Biden administration to spur the effort — a portion of the $1 billion that the U.S. Forest Service committed last fall to urban and small-scale forestry projects across the United States, aiming to make communities more resilient to climate change and extreme heat.
But in Tucson and many other cities, tree-planting initiatives can tackle a lot more than scorching temperatures. What if Tucson’s million new trees — and the rest of the country’s — didn’t just keep sidewalks cool? What if they helped feed people, too?
Brandon Merchant, who works at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, sees cultivating mesquite around the city and surrounding areas as an opportunity to ease both heat and hunger. The outcome could be a network of “food forests,” community spaces where volunteers tend fruit trees and other edible plants for neighbors to forage.
“Thinking about the root causes of hunger and the root causes of health issues, there are all these things that tie together: lack of green spaces, lack of biodiversity,” Merchant said. (The food bank received half a million dollars from the Biden administration through the Inflation Reduction Act.)
Listen to the story HERE
April 18, 2024
As state budget negotiations continue, groups fighting climate change are asking California lawmakers to cut subsidies for oil and gas companies rather than slash programs designed to slow global warming.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s current proposal would cut oil and gas tax breaks by $22 million this year and $17 million the following year.
Barry Vesser, COO for The Climate Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, would like to see all subsidies eliminated. “Oil and gas companies are one of the drivers of climate change, so we should not be making their profit margins bigger by providing public subsidies, and making it harder for renewables to compete against them,” Vesser argued.
Listen to the story HERE.
April 18, 2024
The New York HEAT Act might not make the final budget.
The bill reduces the state’s reliance on natural gas and cuts ratepayer costs by eliminating certain rules. It was in both legislative chambers’ one-house budgets, but last-minute scrambling could remove it.
New York League of Conservation Voters Policy Director Patrick McClellan said, aside from people’s preference for natural gas, other challenges have made the bill hard to pass. “I think that there has also been some irresponsible fear-mongering against this bill from some people who oppose it,” said McClellan, “basically telling people this means that their natural gas service is going to be taken away from them tomorrow, or it’s going to happen without warning, and that’s just not the case.”
Listen to the story HERE
April 8, 2024
Data from new satellite-based technology show that the amount of methane pollution impacting communities living near oil and gas facilities is far greater than previously estimated.
As Laurie Anderson, Colorado field organizer with the group Moms Clean Air Force explained – when methane is released into the air through venting, flaring, or leaks – toxic co-pollutants that have been linked to serious respiratory and other health impacts are also released.
“And these co-pollutants include particulate matter, they can include Volatile Organic Compounds which are carcinogenic,” said Anderson. “So, there are these health impacts that are absolutely impacting our children, our elderly and our most sensitive populations the most.”
Listen to the story HERE
April 9, 2024
Despite different outcomes – New York’s first offshore wind farm came online and New Jersey had one canceled – both states are benefiting from offshore wind. Job creation and economic growth are predicted, as New Jersey’s decarbonization efforts could create 20,000 jobs.
The New Jersey Wind Port being developed in Salem County is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs.
Caren Fitzpatrick, former Atlantic County Commissioner, said it’s time the area had a viable industry again. “They used to be known for growing asparagus and harvesting oysters. And due to blight and overfishing, those industries went away. They’re starting to come back now, but they’re not big enough to support the families that live in this area,” Fitzpatrick argued.
Listen to the story HERE
April 8, 2024
Indigenous community leaders will be in New York addressing the United Nations.
They’ll be speaking at the UN’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues – about the Line 5 oil pipeline running through the Great Lakes region and Ontario, Canada.
Since 1968, it’s had 33 spills leak more than one million gallons of oil. Ships’ anchors also struck it in 2018 and 2020.
Whitney Gravelle, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said the permanent forum has called for the U.S. and Canada to decommission the pipeline.
“The permanent forum also stated it jeopardizes the Great Lakes in the United States,” said Gravelle, “that the pipeline was a real and credible threat to the treaty-protected resources of indigenous peoples in both the United States and Canada.”
Listen to the story HERE
April 1, 2024
A new report shows the costs different regions of New York face from climate change.
It says taxpayers were on the hook for more than $2 billion – or $300 per household – in climate costs last year.
In 2023, New York City faced $309 million in climate change-related costs, the highest in the state. Long Island was second at $276 million and continues seeing impacts from intense storms.
Cate Rogers, deputy supervisor with the Town of East Hampton, said climate change is taking a toll on local industry.
“We have a rising water temperature that is increasing algal blooms,” said Rogers. “It has impacted greatly and decimated our Peconic Bay Scallop fishery, which was very important to year-round local families, generations of fishermen.”
Listen to the story HERE
March 26, 2024
A New York bill aims to regulate the fashion industry’s effects on climate change.
The Fashion Act would hold clothing and footwear companies accountable for their effects on the environment.
Fashion accounts for up to around 9% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, more than the aviation industry. The bill also creates a remediation fund for environmental, community or labor-related projects.
Rich Schrader, northeast government affairs director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, described how enforcement of the bill would work. “The bill will create an enforcement mechanism that the attorney general in New York State will be responsible for,” Schrader explained. “It’s given a monitoring investigative and enforcement set of authorities. That’s to ensure the companies are in compliance.”
He pointed out the attorney general could fine companies not in compliance with the guidelines.
Listen to the story HERE
March 25, 2024
Nevada state leaders held a workshop on clean energy home upgrades and discussed how people can leverage available tax credits on solar power, heat pump appliances, and weatherization projects.
State Sen. Dina Neal – D-Las Vegas – said while there are many beneficial federal investments coming to the Silver State that can help Nevadans save on utility bills, she wants to see more work being done to ensure communities of color and low-income households can tap into them. “Typically in our community we are under-banked, under-loaned,” said Neal, “so what are the chances of us getting it anyway? You have to be able to make it reachable for those communities that are already in that situation, meaning they don’t have access to capital, they don’t have a good credit score.”
A study found that majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the U.S. installed 69% and 30% fewer rooftop solar systems respectively, than majority white neighborhoods.
Listen to the story HERE.
March 21, 2024
A referendum on the ballot this fall gives California voters the chance to either uphold or reject a law which would require oil and gas wells to be set back 3,200 feet from sensitive areas such as schools and homes. An estimated 3 million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an oil or gas well.
Senate Bill 1137 never went into effect. It is on hold until the vote in November.
Meghan Sahli-Wells, former mayor of Culver City and the CA Director of Elected Officials to Protect America, noted the referendum is funded by the fossil-fuel industry. “Basically, they’re asking to continue to poison California communities, when California communities have fought so hard for these protections,” Sahli-Wells contended.
Listen to the story HERE
February 5, 2024
Despite challenges, offshore wind in New York is thriving.
In late 2023, the South Fork Wind Farm off Montauk’s coast began producing 130 megawatts of power for Long Islanders.
New York’s involvement in offshore wind goes beyond putting it in its waters. The Port of Albany has been working to help manufacture wind towers. It will produce, store, and deliver tower sections for the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal for staging.
Megan Daly, chief commerce officer for the Port of Albany, said it will benefit the state’s move to a climate-friendly future.
“Not only will this be contributing to solutions for climate change, frankly it is going to be reaching into the adjacent environmental justice communities that will also be able to participate in the labor force and generational careers here,” Daly explained.
Listen to the story HERE
February 23, 2024
Pro-Ukraine rallies are planned in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco as well as cities across the United States this weekend, marking the second anniversary of the Russian invasion. Advocates are pressing Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to relent and allow a vote on aid to Ukraine.
“It’s extremely unfortunate and self-serving of the Speaker and members to hold Ukraine’s international aid hostage as a political tool,” said Alex Cornell du Houx, a former Maine state representative and Marine combat veteran who co-founded and now is president of Elected Officials to Protect America, a nonprofit that fights climate change. “If they truly cared about democracy and protecting our climate, they would be passing aid for Ukraine.”
Listen to the story HERE
February 16, 2024
A New York bill would make polluters pay for climate change damage the state endured.
The Climate Change Superfund Act requires companies who’ve contributed to climate change to bear some costs of necessary infrastructure investments for New York to adapt to climate change. Data show over the last 40 years, the state has endured at least 85 “billion-dollar disasters.” The most substantial was Hurricane Sandy, costing the state around $43 billion.
Asm. Anna Kelles, D-Ithaca, a co-sponsor of the bill described how enforcement of the bill would work.
“From technology, we now know that we can directly assess the greenhouse gas emissions that were attributable to each of the major polluters,” Kelles pointed out. “We can measure that and we can assess a fee based on their relative contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions that we’re seeing. “
Listen to the story HERE
February 9, 2024
Wildlife advocates are calling on the Biden administration to tighten regulations protecting right whales in the North Atlantic following a series of injuries and deaths of the rare ocean mammals.
Defenders of Wildlife said since 2017, there have been 37 documented right whale deaths in U.S. and Canadian waters. The population has declined 20% since 2010.
Jane Davenport, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife, said her group supports the Biden administration’s proposal to impose seasonal speed limits on vessels 35 feet and longer to slow the boats down during the whales’ busiest times.
“In other words, if right whales are detected either visually or acoustically, then there would be drawn a dynamic speed zone around them in which vessels would have to slow to 10 nautical miles an hour or less while they’re going through that zone,” Davenport explained.
Listen to the story HERE.
February 8, 2024
Studies show the health of New Mexico children who ride school buses could improve if the buses were electric instead of diesel, and efforts are underway to initiate a change.
Research has shown breathing diesel exhaust from school buses can lead to asthma and other respiratory illnesses. This year, the “School Bus Modernization Act” was introduced at the Roundhouse to provide school districts with the option to swap aging diesel buses with electric.
Charles Goodmacher, founder of the consulting firm Do Good and an advocate for electric buses, said while some have argued it is not a good fit for such a rural state, he believes otherwise. “Ninety-one percent of New Mexico’s school bus routes are 70 miles or shorter in total length, out and back, and the bus ranges are up to 120 miles,” Goodmacher pointed out.
Listen to the story HERE.
February 1, 2024
The California Energy Commission has just released its strategic plan for offshore wind, and more than 200 elected officials across the state have signed a letter calling for an inclusive, equitable transition to clean energy.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is taking public comment now through Feb. 20 on how it should proceed with an environmental impact statement on five offshore projects planned near Morro Bay and Humboldt.
Heidi Harmon, former mayor of San Luis Obispo, applauded the effort to fast-track offshore wind. “California is laying the groundwork to power 25 million homes with 25 gigawatts of clean, floating turbine offshore wind electricity by 2045,” Harmon pointed out. “It’s critical that we process offshore wind in a way that ensures that our workers and communities receive the benefits from this new industry.”
