The federal government is gathering public feedback on proposed revisions to air-quality standards for soot, and environmental voices in Wisconsin and elsewhere said they show promise but need to be stronger.

For the first time in a decade, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed updating the standard for soot, the fine particulate matter linked to asthma, heart disease and even early death. The proposal brings the annual standard down from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to a level between nine and 10.

Jadine Sonoda, campaign coordinator for the Sierra Club-Wisconsin, said it is a step in the right direction, but still inefficient in addressing the effects of the pollutant.

"I think it's a huge, missed opportunity," Sonoda contended. "There are so many folks who don't have to be impacted by this that we could help protect."

The agency said the plan reflects the latest health data and scientific evidence, but it is accepting feedback based on other suggestions as well. Opponents of updating the standard in the manufacturing industry said they are already leading the way to improve air quality and do not need additional rules. The agency is holding public hearings this week and accepting public comment until March 28.

An independent scientific advisory committee for the EPA had recommended a standard between eight and 10 micrograms per cubic meter.

Patrick Drupp, director of climate policy for the Sierra Club, said that's what the agency should be going with, noting soot pollution is a big issue across the country.

"Over 63 million Americans live with unhealthy particle pollution spikes, and 20 million live with dangerous levels of particle pollution year-round," Drupp reported. "It's not a small amount of people who are impacted by this."

Sonoda noted with Wisconsin still home to several coal-fired power plants, there is greater concern about the communities surrounding the facilities, having to deal with issues such as coal dust.

"Any of these industrial sites emitting pollution such as this, there'll be local impacts and folks who are bearing the brunt of the negative outcomes," Sonoda pointed out.

The group added the industrial sites are often located near marginalized communities, perpetuating environmental injustice.

A new federal jobs program aims to mobilize tens of thousands of young Americans to address the growing threats of climate change.

The American Climate Corps is modeled after public works programs created during the Great Depression, with a new focus on building green energy and climate resilience.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey - D-MA - called it ambitious, just and pro-union.

"The tens of thousands of American Climate Corps members will not just help us save the world from climate threats," said Markey, "they will help us build a world worth saving."

President Joe Biden created the program through an executive order after the effort was thwarted by Republicans in Congress, who questioned its cost.

American Climate Corps members can sign up online for paid training opportunities in land and water restoration, energy-efficiency technologies and more.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez - D-NY - said the program is an important part of the Green New Deal, a legislative proposal backed by climate activists.

"We are starting to turn the green dream into a green reality," said Ocasio Cortez. "You all are changing the world."

Ocasio-Cortez said the American Climate Corps will focus on equity and environmental justice, prioritizing communities that have been disproportionately affected by climate change.

Lawmakers credited young environmental activists for pressuring the White House to create the jobs training program. College student John Paul Mejia - an organizer with the Sunrise Movement - thanked President Biden for listening.

"Thousands of young people were out on the streets asking for more," said Mejia. "You got young people's attention. You decide what you do with it."

They're now circulating a petition, calling on the president to declare climate change a national emergency.

And five states also announced the creation of their own Climate Corps, bringing the total number of state-level programs to ten.




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In rural Alabama, where hurricanes and tornadoes are a constant threat, communities often struggle with damage and limited resources for extended periods.

The nonprofit Hometown Organizing Project is stepping in to help. Through their Climate Protection Canvass initiative, they are forming teams to support communities during severe storms.

Messiah William-Cole, mayor of Camp Hill, said rural communities rely on outside funding for storm recovery help. The support is crucial in his own community, which is still recovering from unprecedented flooding and damage caused by a hailstorm six months ago.

"All homes in our municipality's jurisdiction took damage, roofs were damaged," William-Cole recounted. "When we did a damage assessment 76 % of our towns cars were damaged. "

The Climate Protection Canvass will help communities in Colbert, Coosa, Dallas, Tallapoosa, and Walker counties. Organizers said it is a long-term, four-phase project, which will take place over two to three years. It includes story sharing, a community road tour, political education training, and the development of community protection teams.

Environmental Protection Agency data project Alabama will see warmer weather and more severe flooding and drought.

Michaela Lovegood, executive director of the Political Healers Project, will work with the Hometown Organizing Project on the canvass. She said weather pattern changes are a global problem, and stressed the need for long-term commitment to mobilize communities to take the lead in climate protection.

"The importance that we are putting here is that we are trying to create climate protection where local communities have the training development and the support in order to be able to create the kind of response, recovery work and plan they need," Lovegood outlined.

NOAA has recorded 15 weather-related disasters in 2023, each causing at least $1 billion in damage.


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Researchers at the University of Maine are working to develop a more resilient electric power grid to withstand the growing number of climate change-related weather events.

The goal is to help communities disproportionately impacted by such events build locally controlled microgrids fueled by renewable energy.

Sharon Klein, associate professor of economics at the University of Maine, said rural and remote communities identified as socially vulnerable often face the greatest effects when power lines go down.

"A lot of our northern communities are on that list," Klein pointed out. "Also a lot of the coastal communities who are going to be susceptible to a lot of the sea-level rise and flooding."

Klein noted researchers will also work with communities in Alaska, South Dakota and Puerto Rico to study how local microgrids could better ensure the lights stay on when extreme weather strikes.

Researchers said the key to developing microgrids is to first build strong relationships with communities to ensure their individual needs are met. Klein explained she is working with all of Maine's tribal communities, who have shared the effects they have already faced from climate change, as well as their vision for a more sustainable power grid.

"It's important to me personally that the communities that have not been part of the conversation as much, that they're accessing directly those benefits to transitioning to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels," Klein emphasized.

Klein added researchers and community members express a sense of urgency in ensuring America's aging power grids can withstand climate change. The bulk of America's transmission lines and transformers are at least a quarter-century old and were not designed to withstand the types of extreme weather conditions the U.S. is experiencing today.


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