January 20, 2023
Impact
Impact
The Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry unanimously granted tax credits totaling millions of dollars for two huge industrial projects in Plaquemines and Caldwell parishes.
A new EPA proposal is reigniting a debate about what counts as ‘renewable’
Summary
The EPA has suggested increasing the federal Renewable Fuel Standard's mandated requirements. The 2005 program regulates how much renewable fuels including corn-based ethanol, manure-based biogas, and wood pellets are used to decrease petroleum-based transportation fuel, heating oil, and jet fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The latest EPA plan would raise renewable fuels by approximately 2 billion gallons by 2025, or 9%. Advanced biofuel comes from agricultural, animal, food, and yard waste, including biogas made from animal and human waste. The EPA's latest plan calls for a 14% rise in these fuels from 2023 to 2024 and a 12% increase in 2025. Industry producers and the federal government support these new renewable fuel rules, while environmental organizations view growing investment in ethanol, biomass, and biogas as exacerbating dirty energy. Opponents believe that increasing corn production for ethanol would prolong damaging agricultural techniques that erode soil and pour large quantities of chemicals on corn farms, causing water contamination and toxic dead zones throughout the country and the Gulf of Mexico. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported earlier this year that when corn demand rises due to RFS blending rules, prices rise and farmers apply more fossil fuel-based fertilizer to crops. The EPA's own analysis shows that the federal mandate's blending requirements will raise greenhouse gas emissions over the next three years.
January 25, 2023
Health
Health
Dr. Earthea Nance, Regional Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency for Region 6, visited with communities 29 times in FY2022.
January 25, 2023
Health
Health
SOURCE Global, a public benefit organization, is collaborating with Texas politicians and charities to provide safe drinking water.
January 25, 2023
Social Justice
Social Justice
More than a third of Harris County's acreage is in a FEMA-designated flood plain, a statistic that is anticipated to rise significantly when FEMA issues revised flood maps.
January 26, 2023
Impact
Impact
Every day, the process of processing crude oil into petroleum creates millions of gallons of wastewater containing hazardous chemicals and heavy metals.
January 26, 2023
Environmental Racism
Environmental Racism
The Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma.
January 26, 2023
Carbon Emissions
Carbon Emissions
According to a Texas Tribune review of state statistics dating back to 1999, heat-related mortality in Texas set a new high for the century last year.
January 27, 2023
Health
Health
According to official statistics, the typical inhabitant in the northeast Houston neighborhood of Settegast can expect to live for 66 years.
January 27, 2023
Climate Change
Climate Change
This year's Open Forum, a Davos 2023 side event, highlighted views from communities who are underrepresented in global business and government.
January 27, 2023
Environmental Racism
Environmental Racism
South Africa has identified more than 60 billion rand ($3.5 billion) in investments needed to assist communities in the coal-mining province of Mpumalanga.
January 16, 2023
Impact
Impact
Community solar projects include the building of huge photovoltaic (PV) systems, the net outputs of which are subsequently allocated to consumers in other areas.
January 16, 2023
Climate Change
Climate Change
A newly released special research issue pulls participants and contributions from four continents and contains articles that explore global or transnational viewpoints.
January 16, 2023
Social Justice
Social Justice
Municipalities are pushing green climate-adaptive infrastructure projects to mitigate climate hazards and maximize socio-environmental advantages.
January 18, 2023
Environmental Racism
Environmental Racism
Researchers investigated the challenges that stakeholders (government, community, and consultants) face while implementing a new California legislation (Senate Bill 1000) requirin
January 19, 2023
COP27
COP27
The Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition led the development of a real-time unit to monitor, expose, and resist anti-climate campaigns in the run-up to the 2022.