clean air
Newsletter
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Pennsylvania trade unions push for clean energy jobs as the state transitions away from fossil fuels
A coalition of Pennsylvania unions has launched Union Energy to ensure that workers benefit from the state’s shift to clean energy while advocating for unionized jobs in emerging industries.
In short:
- Pennsylvania’s fossil fuel industry is shrinking, and clean energy jobs have yet to fully replace lost positions.
- Union Energy, led by the AFL-CIO, aims to secure good-quality union jobs in the clean energy sector.
- Training programs are also being created to help workers transition into new roles, such as cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells.
Key quote:
“We want clean air, we want clean water, we want to be able to see our children and grandchildren run atound the earth like we did as children.”
— Angela Ferritto, president of Pennsylvania's AFL-CIO
Why this matters:
As Pennsylvania transitions to clean energy, ensuring that jobs are unionized and well-paid is crucial for workers' economic security. Collaboration between unions and environmental groups could accelerate this shift.
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Newsletter
Clean air and water amendment delayed in California
A proposed amendment to California’s Constitution that would guarantee the right to clean air and water has been postponed for another year due to a lack of legislative progress.
In short:
- Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan authored ACA 16, the green amendment, to add clean air, water, and a healthy environment to California’s Constitution.
- The proposal failed to advance in the state Assembly and Senate before the deadline, prompting Bryan to delay it until next year.
- The amendment faced opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce, citing potential economic impacts on housing and infrastructure projects.
Key quote:
“We simply don’t have enough time this election cycle to craft the comprehensive and inspired amendment language California deserves. We will keep working and building for the climate justice our communities need.”
— Isaac G. Bryan, Assemblymember.
Why this matters:
California, often at the forefront of environmental policy, continues to grapple with significant air and water quality issues. Urban areas frequently contend with smog and particulate matter, while rural communities deal with contaminated water supplies, sometimes linked to agricultural runoff or industrial activity. Ensuring the right to clean air and water in California’s Constitution would strengthen environmental protections and hold polluters accountable.Keep reading...Show less
Pixabay
Cleaner air: Mission (im)possible for cities
Europe's battle over clean air is coming for its streets. As the EU looks to tighten the bloc’s air quality guidelines, city leaders are bracing for even more intense backlash to measures aimed at slashing pollution and meeting the new rules.
Image by Andreas Lischka from Pixabay
Oregon, Western companies settle with EPA for sale of equipment used to disable car pollution controls
A northeast Oregon company that manufactured parts used to disable pollution controls in cars will pay a six-figure fine to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Top Story
Photo by Michael Marais on Unsplash
Move to electric vehicles could save nearly 90,000 lives in US by 2050, study says
A new report from the American Lung Association that reveals that if gas-guzzling vehicles were replaced by zero-emissions vehicles like electric cars, trucks, and SUVs in the US by 2035, the nation could witness a significant reduction in premature deaths, reports Jen Christensen for CNN.
In a nutshell
The Driving to Clean Air: Health Benefits of Zero-Emission Cars and Electricity report states that by 2050, there could be 89,300 fewer premature deaths and 2.2 million fewer asthma attacks, resulting in 10.7 million fewer lost workdays. However, achieving these health benefits would also require a transition to clean noncombustion electricity sources such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and nuclear power.
Key quote
“This transition to zero-emission technologies is critical as a whole but especially critical in making sure that we’re targeting policies and investments and incentive programs so that all communities can take advantage of these health benefits and more healthier transportation choices,” report author William Barrett said.
Big picture
Transportation, identified as the leading source of air pollution and carbon emissions, poses a grave threat to public health, particularly impacting low-income communities and communities of color. The shift to zero-emission vehicles necessitates upfront investments, but the health benefits are expected to outweigh the costs. Efforts by the auto industry, the federal government, and Congress, including stricter emissions standards and incentives for electric vehicles, are crucial steps toward accelerating the transition.
Read the full story here.
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Newsletter
Photo by Nareeta Martin on Unsplash
EPA spurns Trump-era effort to drop clean-air protections for plastic waste recycling
Affirming long-standing incineration regulations, the Biden administration has withdrawn a plan to help ease the way for unchecked pyrolysis and gasification of plastic.
Puerto Rico's southern region fights for cleaner air, water
Shuttered windows are a permanent fixture in Salinas, an industrial town on Puerto Rico’s southeast coast that is considered one of the U.S. territory’s most contaminated regions.
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