KENSINGTON, Tenn. - Not long after the 10-year anniversary of the largest coal-ash spill in U.S. history, parents across Tennessee are among those asking elected leaders to think hard about whether to confirm Andrew Wheeler as the nation's top environmental steward.

Kelle Pressley-Perkins joined the watchdog group Moms Clean Air Force after the death of a daughter, whose health she believes was affected by water pollution. Pressley-Perkins has kept a close eye on Wheeler's confirmation hearings, and said she isn't convinced of his commitment to protect the environment.

"From my end," she said, "I want to know, is he the best fit for that position, environmental protection? Is it for us - the people, the kids, our future - or is it for business, or any other influence? That's basically what my interest and concern is."

During his Senate confirmation hearing last week, Wheeler said protecting human health and the environment are his most important responsibilities. December marked 10 years since the largest accidental release of coal ash in the United States, with more than 1 billion gallons of slurry spilled into tributaries of the Tennessee River.

Wheeler said the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard passed in 2011 is too expensive, and can't be justified as "appropriate and necessary" to make coal plants comply. However, Dominique Browning, co-founder and senior director of Moms Clean Air Force, said the standard already has reduced emissions and put many plants in compliance with the rule.

"The coal industry put these scrubbers on their plants," she said, "and they realized that, in fact, it didn't cost anywhere near as much as they thought it was going to cost to put on these protections."

As a mom, a certified occupational health nurse and a volunteer for Moms Clean Air Force, Peggy Berry said Wheeler's past as a coal-industry lobbyist is especially troubling with his plans to roll back the mercury-emissions standard and recalculate its potential health effects.

"For him to look at what they can do to decrease or remove that health benefit from the standard just makes me really concerned about him being administrator," she said. "I'm afraid we've gone from oil and gas to coal."

Despite these concerns and others, there's a strong likelihood that Wheeler will become the new EPA chief. He already has been the acting administrator since his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, resigned in July amid ethics scandals.


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State officials in Maine are preparing the next generation for climate change-related activism and careers.

A new state-run website helps young Mainers find ways to use their own talents and interests to counter any climate anxiety and work to build the state's climate resilience.

Abigail Hayne is Maine's youth climate engagement coordinator.

"Whether it's taking action just in your community or in your life, or exploring different climate jobs that are specific to Maine," said Hayne, "the youths can just kind of poke around and find something that makes sense to them."

Hayne said the website offers practical, localized ways young people can get active with their town or school as well as Maine's Climate Council, which currently includes a dozen youth representatives.

Maine faces simultaneous challenges. The state is warming faster than the global average and coping with an increase in extreme weather events.

It also has one of the oldest populations in the nation.

Hayne said towns statewide are developing plans to strengthen infrastructure, and the state has a responsibility to make sure young people are well-informed about these climate-related jobs.

"Soon enough, we're going to start seeing younger generations really on the front lines of climate change and community resilience," said Hayne, "and we need to make sure that they are fully prepared when they enter those roles."

More than 170 communities are utilizing state grants to identify the roads, buildings and energy infrastructure that is susceptible to climate change and begin needed upgrades.

Construction, engineering and electrical workers will be in high demand.

Hayne said the website can connect young Mainers with these new work opportunities as well as each other.






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School buses are getting cleaner in Washington state after this year's legislative session.

Lawmakers in Olympia passed House Bill 1368, which will fund the purchase of zero emission school buses.

Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, said the program is getting off the ground quickly.

"As we work towards that long-term goal of all new school buses being zero emission, we're kick-starting this year with $40 million in grants to school districts in overburdened communities," Senn explained.

Going forward, Senn noted school districts will have to purchase zero-emission vehicles once the total cost of ownership is equal to or lower than the cost of diesel vehicles. The state is leveraging the state's Climate Commitment Act resources to fund the transition of its 10,000 school buses.

Devin Denney, director of transportation for Highline Public Schools in King County, which already has electric school buses in its fleet, said he has driven the electric buses and talked about some of their benefits from a driver's perspective.

"You're not competing against that engine noise, the kids aren't competing against the engine noise," Denney observed. "It's a much quieter bus all the way around. The major advantage, of course, is that there's no tailpipe emissions with an electric bus, so our kids' health is better protected."

Senn emphasized health studies have shown there are negative health effects from diesel vehicles for kids, and it is easy to understand why.

"If you think about kids waiting to get on their bus in front of an elementary school and you have this line of buses idling, letting out diesel fumes right at the height of a little child, it becomes obvious that this is probably not the most healthy thing for our children," Senn added.


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Today, in honor of Earth Day, climate advocates are asking California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to rally around a plan to put a $15 billion bond measure on the November ballot.

If passed, the bond measure would fund a range of climate resiliency measures.

Sam Hodder, president and CEO of the Save the Redwoods League, said March was the tenth month in a row to break monthly heat records.

"I think Earth Day is a terrific opportunity for the broader public to recognize how nature is critical for resilience, for our quality of life, for our mental and physical health, and for our communities more broadly," Hodder outlined.

Two similar bills to put a bond measure on the ballot are under consideration in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 1567 and Senate Bill 867, but they have been stalled since last summer. The bond would finance many programs, including some to restore wetlands that guard against sea-level rise, and to remove dead wood in forests to guard against mega-fires, which Hodder noted have killed 20% of the giant sequoias in recent years.

Opponents pointed out the state already faces a budget deficit and cannot afford to take on more debt. But only 5% of California's old-growth coastal redwoods remain, mostly due to aggressive logging many decades ago.

Hodder argued the giant trees can be critical ingredients in the fight against climate change because they trap so much carbon.

"Redwood forests sequester more carbon per acre than any other forest system in the world," Hodder emphasized. "We have the opportunity to transition the redwood forest from something that is vulnerable to climate change to something that is helping to solve and address the climate crisis."

Experts blame climate change for California's wild weather over the past few years, which has been marked by extreme drought, devastating fires and flooding rain.