Tag Archive for: emissions

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Tell Gov. Shapiro: Appeal the RGGI Ruling


Message from Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel, Clean Air Council

The Commonwealth Court just dealt a blow to Pennsylvania’s plan of joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-invest program that would reduce climate pollution and invest in local communities. 

Given that Pennsylvania is the nation’s fourth largest emitter of carbon dioxide, joining RGGI would help reduce climate-warming emissions and support climate change initiatives. 

It’s imperative that Governor Shapiro act quickly and appeal this decision to the state Supreme Court. Send a message to the Governor to voice your support for RGGI and urge him to appeal the decision.

RGGI would require regulated fossil fuel power plants to purchase allowances for the carbon emissions they produce. These funds can then go towards projects like renewable energy development, clean energy job programs, and more energy efficient buildings. 

RGGI currently includes 11 participating states and has a proven track record of reducing emissions while jumpstarting climate change initiatives. Although Pennsylvania officially entered into RGGI in April 2022, multiple lawsuits and proposed anti-RGGI legislation have caused Pennsylvania to miss out on over 1.5 billion dollars in RGGI proceeds.

This recent Commonwealth Court ruling found RGGI allowances to be a tax, thereby making the implementation of RGGI unconstitutional unless it is done through the legislative process. Nevertheless, as the Governor’s RGGI Working Group memo concluded, RGGI still remains the best option for creating jobs, tackling climate change, and ensuring affordable energy. Governor Shapiro has 30 days to appeal to the state Supreme Court. 

Tell Governor Shapiro that Pennsylvanians want RGGI. The Governor must act now and continue supporting RGGI as the best way forward in reducing climate-warming emissions and investing in Pennsylvania.

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Air Pollution Kills 10 Million People a Year.

For every thousand people alive on earth, 973 are regularly inhaling toxins. Only 27 are not. Which means, almost certainly, you are too.

Last fall, the World Health Organization lowered its global air quality standard from 10 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter to five. Those terms and standards can feel abstract, which makes their meaning a bit hard to fathom.  Read more . . .

 

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Clean Air is Good for Birds too

Study: Air pollution laws aimed at human health also help birds

U.S. pollution regulations meant to protect people from dirty air are also saving North America’s birds, according to a new study. Improved air quality under a federal program to reduce ozone pollution may have averted the loss of 1.5 billion birds during the past 40 years, the study found. That’s nearly 20% of bird life in the United States today.  Read more.

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More than a dozen states unite to boost electric trucks

Washington Post, July 14, 2020. By Dino Grandino. More than a dozen states are teaming up to boost sales of pickup trucks, school buses and big rigs that run entirely on electricity and do not pump climate-warming pollution into the air. Leaders from Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and 10 other states, […]

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CAB files comments on DEP’s proposed methane rules

June 24, 2020 – The Clean Air Board testified at an Environmental Quality Board hearing on DEP’s proposed rules to reduce hydrocarbons and methane leaks from existing oil and gas operations. CAB asked that certain exemptions be removed from the proposed rules. Read CAB’s methane rule comments

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NASA Satellite Data Show 30 Percent Drop In Air Pollution Over Northeast U.S.

Over the past several weeks, NASA satellite measurements have revealed significant reductions in air pollution over the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast United States. Similar reductions have been observed in other regions of the world. These recent improvements in air quality have come at a high cost, as communities grapple with widespread lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders as a result of the spread of COVID-19. Read more …

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Air Pollution and Coronavirus Death Rates

The New York Times, April 7, 2020 by Lisa Friedman

WASHINGTON — Coronavirus patients in areas that had high levels of air pollution before the pandemic are more likely to die from the infection than patients in cleaner parts of the country, according to a new nationwide study that offers the first clear link between long-term exposure to pollution and Covid-19 death rates.

Read more from NY Times

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NY Times: Now Is the Time to Take Care of Your Lungs. If you are one of the millions of Americans breathing polluted air, you may be at a greater risk of catching the coronavirus and of having a more severe infection.

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Why Drive An Electric Car?

The Clean Air Board will be meeting on Feb. 1, 7 pm to discuss the future of electric vehicles.  Why drive an electric car?  We will discuss this question with Felix Edem, a representative from Brenner Nissan in Mechanicsburg, PA.

Electric vehicles will become commonplace in the near future.  CAB has been participating in the Drive Electric PA Coalition meetings with PennDOT, the PUC and PA DEP.  https://driveelectricpa.org/  At the last meeting of the coalition, Nissan manufacturer representatives talked a bit about the 2018 Nissan Leaf, a zero emissions vehicle that can travel 150 miles on a single charge.

2018 Nissan Leaf

Image from GreenCarsReports,com

CAB meets at the Second Presbyterian Church, 528 Garland Drive, Carlisle, PA.  For directions, click here