skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump has dubbed April 2 'Liberation Day' for his tariffs; Report: Arkansas labor costs attract companies hoping to reshore operations; Indiana loses millions as health funding dries up; Discrimination shields some Black farmers from USDA funding freezes.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Elon Musk takes center stage in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race. Some observers say WI voters are deciding between democracy, and Donald Trump and Florida GOP candidates face a maelstrom from Trump's executive orders and poor campaign strategies in a special election.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Air and water pollution is a greater risk for rural folks due to EPA cutbacks, Montana's media landscape gets a deep dive, and policymakers are putting wheels on the road to expand rural health.

So Cal air quality regulators meet to consider big rule changes

play audio
Play

Friday, June 7, 2024   

California air-quality regulators today are expected to adopt new fees for big polluters and rules to encourage large buildings to switch equipment from gas to zero-emission electric models.

Fifteen clean-air advocacy groups are rallying in front of the Southern California Air Quality Management Board in Diamond Bar today, urging passage of the new rules.

Kimberly Orbe, senior conservation program manager for the Sierra Club's Angeles chapter, said the transition would cover gas-fired water heaters, boilers and process heaters.

"Fossil fuel appliances are responsible for 10% of the emissions from stationary sources in our region," she said, "so that's really huge."

Opponents of the change include SoCalGas and industry groups representing dry cleaners and restauranteurs.

When burned, natural gas emits harmful smog-forming air pollution and greenhouse gases that fuel climate change. The So Cal Air Quality Management District's new pollution fee program would require large industrial polluters to pay to support regional clean-air efforts. The Sierra Club estimates this could raise about $25 million a year.

According to the American Lung Association, the Los Angeles/Long Beach area has the most high-ozone days of any metropolitan area in the country. Orbe said that's why advocacy groups have been pressing for stronger air-quality standards for years.

"Our region is burdened by an overwhelming amount of pollution - from oil drilling, from refineries, from the ports, from the warehouses, freeways," she said. "So, we want to make sure that we're passing strong rules to ensure that we continue to clean up our air, year after year."

The board is also expected to set a hearing date to consider new rules requiring zero-emissions technologies in the rail yards to combat diesel pollution from trains.

Disclosure: Sierra Club contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Thousands of datasets from federal agency websites have been scrubbed since the new administration took office. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

As U.S. government website purges continue, one nonprofit is racing to track and save as much data as possible. The Open Environmental Data Project …


Environment

play sound

President Donald Trump is set to impose sweeping global tariffs this week, a move expected to spark retaliation against a range of American products …

Health and Wellness

play sound

About 1.3 million Missourians are currently enrolled in Medicaid and nonprofits around the state have warned proposed federal cuts would be devastatin…


In 2024, according to American Clean Power, the renewable-energy industry in South Dakota had a workforce of 2,700 people. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota's new governor is making an active pitch regarding economic opportunities for the state. The renewable-energy sector said it continues …

Social Issues

play sound

The Jackson-based group Native American Jump Start has been providing grants to Native students, interns and young workers for decades and this year…

Social Issues

play sound

More jobs could be coming to Arkansas as companies interested in bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. consider the Natural State, according …

play sound

Minnesota officials have launched a new portal, asking parents, students and others to share how they are affected by the Trump administration's …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021