Categories
Homepage

Cancer Alley Residents Decry ‘Environmental Racism’ in Louisiana

Environmental groups and Louisiana residents of a rural, majority-black area on the Mississippi River filed a records request Monday seeking answers to why St. James Parish officials “basically changed the black district into the petrochemical district.”
Read more.

Categories
Homepage

A Clever New Map Shows Which Chicago Neighborhoods Are Most at Risk From Pollution

The NRDC hopes its new research into municipal pollution can help organizers push for sound, equitable policy.
Read more.

Categories
Water News

California’s unfulfilled promise on access to safe water

In 2012, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 685, making California the first state in the nation to legally recognize the human right to water. With climate change worsening an already inequitable water system, it’s important that Gov. Gavin Newsom support legislation to ensure California realizes the promise of clean water for all.
Read more.

Categories
Homepage

Would Dr. King have been concerned about climate change?

The answer is resoundingly “yes.” There are clues in his writing and speeches that suggest that would he have been very concerned. A common misperception about Dr. King is that he fought for a specific group of people. Dr. King, like most great humanitarians, fought for anyone facing injustice. He likely would have been an activist for the planet once he saw who was most vulnerable. Read more.

Categories
Homepage

Andrew Wheeler, at E.P.A. Confirmation Hearing, Walks a Fine Line on Climate Change

When Andrew Wheeler, president Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, testified before Senators on Wednesday at his confirmation hearing, he found himself walking a tightrope on the issue of climate change.
Read more.

Categories
Homepage

Immediate fossil fuel phaseout could arrest climate change – study

Scientists say it may still technically be possible to limit warming to 1.5C if drastic action is taken now.
Read more.

Categories
Water News

Advocates Raise U.S. Water Quality, Access and Pollution as a Civil Rights Issue with the UN

WASHINGTON – Food & Water Watch submitted a letter to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights outlining several troubling water issues in the United States as the U.S. government is up for review for its federally-mandated compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Read more.

Categories
Backyard Talk

Coal in the US is on the Decline…Even Despite Efforts to Revive the Industry

By: Katie Pfeifer
According to US Energy Information Administration (US EIA), more coal plants in the US were retired in President Trump’s first 2 years in office than the whole of Former President Barack Obama’s first term. This is despite lawmaker’s and Trump’s efforts to “revive” the industry, one of Trump’s key campaign promises during the election. Recently released data shows more than 23,400 MW of coal fired power plants were shuttered in 2017-2018 compared to 14,900 MW shut down between 2009-2012.
This shouldn’t be too much of a shock, since coal has been on the decline since 2011, when the industry hit its peak. Coal will continue to decline as inexpensive natural gas and renewables, as well as consumer demand for cleaner forms of energy generation. In 2017, Energy Secretary Rick Perry ordered a grid study to asses the stability and reliability of our nation’s grid, with a focus on renewables effecting the reliability of the grid. The results of the study pointed to cheap natural gas as the culprit for the retiring coal and nuclear plants. The study as concluded that closure of said plants does not affect the grid negatively, in fact, the grid is more diverse and reliable as ever.
Still after the release of the study, Trump ordered Perry to stop the shutdown of coal and nuclear plants by creating a plan to order grid operators to favor certain plants, in the name of national security. The plan would also exempt those plants from environmental regulations and laws. It would cost billions for the plan to work and would only cost more as time goes on. The health impacts of the plan would be harmful for people and the environment. Luckily, the plan was shot down after push back from utilities and lawmakers.
Coal is not only economically inefficient, it’s downright dangerous and detrimental to human health. Coal mines are known to be dangerous workplaces, in 2010 an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia killed 29 miners. In 2017, 15 coal miners were killed due to accidents in the workplace. The health of miners and surrounding mine communities is in decline along with the industry. According to research, mortality rates, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and birth defects are all increased in and around areas that mine coal. In 2014, Researchers made a link between the toxic dust from mountain top coal removal and growth of lung cancer cells in nearby communities. As the cost of renewables plummet, a bigger shift towards clean energy has started and will continue for generations to come.
 
 
 

Categories
Homepage Water News

First PFAS blood tests in, one 750 times national average

The industrial PFAS chemicals dumped by Wolverine Worldwide decades ago are now in the blood of Kent County people at significantly high levels.
Read more.

Categories
Homepage Superfund News

Federal work at Superfund sites suspended during shutdown

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The government shutdown has suspended federal cleanups at Superfund sites around the nation and forced the cancellation of public hearings, deepening the mistrust and resentment of surrounding residents who feel people in power long ago abandoned them to live among the toxic residue of the country’s factories and mines.
By  ELLEN KNICKMEYER and KIM CHANDLER
Read more.