Residents of Shiloh, Alabama, a majority-Black community, are seeking federal accountability for years of severe flooding linked to a highway expansion by the Alabama Department
A New EPA Plan Offers a Roadmap on Environmental Justice and Cumulative Impacts
Kristie Ellickson, a Kendall Fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists, discusses the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) updated 2023 Equity Action Plan, emphasizing its focus on incorporating equity, civil rights, and environmental justice into all aspects of its work. Ellickson highlights the EPA's commitment to addressing cumulative impacts, defined as the combined exposures to various stressors affecting health, well-being, and quality of life. The article traces the EPA's efforts, starting from the 2022 plan's commitment to developing a comprehensive framework for cumulative impacts to the current 2023 plan's strategies aimed at reducing cumulative environmental and health impacts in communities, particularly those with environmental justice concerns. The EPA's holistic approach, collaborative efforts with federal agencies, and a roadmap for incorporating cumulative impacts into environmental decision-making are emphasized as crucial steps toward achieving environmental justice.
President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s 2021 “Journey to Justice” tour aimed to address pollution and environmental racism in overburdened
The American Conservation Coalition (ACC), a conservative climate organization, aims to influence Donald Trump’s second term with an "America-first climate strategy" focused on nu
President Biden’s American Climate Corps, aimed at creating green jobs to combat climate change, is shutting down ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Launched in 2023 with a goa
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares for a second term, state-level climate initiatives are poised to counteract federal rollbacks. States like California, bolstered by the U.
The Center for Microgrid Research at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, not to be confused with the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, is expanding its efforts to
New York City has implemented congestion pricing, making it the first U.S. city to adopt this policy, which charges vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street. The plan aims to
Jimmy Carter’s presidency made energy a central political issue in the U.S., emphasizing reduced oil dependency and energy conservation. As president, Carter created the Departmen
Texas is experiencing a rapid increase in microgrid adoption as extreme weather events, such as Winter Storm Uri in 2021 and Hurricane Beryl in 2024, expose vulnerabilities in the
New research highlights the growing prevalence of "weather whiplash," rapid shifts between extreme rain and drought, as a hallmark of climate change. In Los Angeles, this phenomen
Florida faces a looming water crisis as climate change, rapid population growth, and overuse of groundwater threaten its freshwater supply. The state relies on aquifers for 90% of
New Clark City, a $2.5 billion project in the Philippines, is designed to be a climate-resilient urban hub with plans for green infrastructure, renewable energy, and flood-resista
President Biden’s new ban on offshore oil and gas drilling excludes the western Gulf of Mexico, the area responsible for 97% of U.S. offshore oil production. The ban protects the
UN Special Rapporteur Elisa Morgera has called for fundamental reforms to the global climate regime, criticizing the current system as ineffective and dominated by misinformation
Rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten to severely damage 13 major oil ports globally, including key facilities in Saudi Arabia, the US, China, and the Netherlands. A