Environmental Justice / Public News Service

The Climate Protection Program was adopted in Oregon in 2021 but invalidated in late 2023. (Cascadia Aerial/Adobe Stock)

Coalition forms to support restoration of OR Climate Protection Program

A diverse coalition of groups in Oregon is advocating for the restoration of the Climate Protection Program as the state works to reestablish it…

In 2022, Georgia had 70,400 registered electric vehicles, a 48% increase from the 47,600 EVs registered in 2021. (Adobe Stock)

Georgia lawmakers highlight EV benefits for health, environment

Georgia lawmakers with the group Elected Officials to Protect America are spotlighting the health and environmental benefits of electric vehicles…

Oso Outdoors offers winter and summer programs, including mountain biking, which aim to help bring more diversity to outdoor recreation in Summit County. (Adobe Stock)

Conservationists want free national park access for newest U.S. citizens

Conservation groups are asking federal agencies to give newly naturalized U.S. citizens a free America the Beautiful National Parks pass. Javier …

Oil companies have publicly championed tech-based carbon-capture solutions in part because it would allow them to continue selling fossil fuels. (Adobe Stock)

Tech-based carbon-capture projects making headway in local governments

By Ysabelle Kempe for SmartCitiesDive.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Pu…

Connecticut has seen an economywide 14% decline in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. Although emissions hit an all-time low in 2020, the data show the dip did not last. (Adobe Stock)

Advocates: Climate change must be addressed at CT special session

Connecticut environmental advocates want the General Assembly to address climate action in this week's special session, since lawmakers failed to act …

The top eight oil and gas corporations alone are set to burn 30% of the world's remaining global carbon budget, the total amount of climate pollution scientists said can be released during a transition to clean energy. (Adobe Stock)

Report: Big oil continues to resist, block fast transition to clean energy

Big oil is dropping the ball when it comes to meeting the companies' public pledges to help avert catastrophic climate change, according to a new …

The U.S. government recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Black Hills Forest Reserve was established in 1897 and transferred to the U.S. Forest Service in 1905. (R. Blauert, Wikimedia Commons)

Black Hills Visitor Center under new joint tribal, federal oversight

The Black Hills National Forest is one of the latest federal lands to enter a co-stewardship agreement with local tribal nations-a management model en…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reported power plant pollution exacerbates asthma, creates new asthma cases, causes heart attacks and is the largest airborne emission of mercury. (TomKonrad/Wikimedia Commons)

Danskammer Energy withdraws Newburgh power plant application

Danskammer Energy is no longer seeking an expansion of its Newburgh plant. The original plan called for expanding the company's "peaker plant" meant …

An oil spill from the pipeline in the Great Lakes would threaten the drinking water of 40 million people across the United States and Canada. (Jorge Moro/Adobe Stock)

MI environmental group hails Enbridge suit being ordered back to state court

A Michigan nonprofit dedicated to keeping oil out of the Great Lakes is celebrating a major victory. A federal Appellate Court has ruled that …

Environmental groups are working to attract more Latino families to enjoy the great outdoors on public lands such as the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area in southern Inyo County. (Louis Medina)

Latino environmental groups push for greater access to public lands

Conservation groups are circulating a petition asking the feds to give "America the Beautiful National Parks and Recreation Lands" passes to new citiz…

Many of the rules governing oil and gas operations on Montana public lands had not been updated in a century. (Adobe Stock)

MT groups fight to preserve new BLM oil and gas rule

Montana groups are working to save a new Bureau of Land Management rule about oil and gas leasing on public lands. They have hand-delivered a …

A zombie mine is shown in Clintwood, Kentucky. (Erin Savage)

Zombie mines continue to pose environmental, health threats to Appalachia

West Virginia and other Appalachian states are littered with hundreds of "zombie mines," abandoned mines neither producing coal nor undergoing reclama…

Of the nearly 2.5 million people living within the 78 coastal communities in Massachusetts, roughly 55% are in state-designated Environmental Justice Block Groups, communities of color and low-income populations dealing with the effects of climate change. (Adobe Stock)

Federal funds help build Boston’s climate-ready workforce

The City of Boston has been awarded nearly $10 million in federal funding to help build a Climate-Ready Workforce. More than 1,000 people will …

On Oct. 5, 1966, Fermi 1 suffered a partial fuel meltdown. Two of the 92 fuel assemblies were partially damaged. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, no abnormal radioactivity was released into the environment. (spiritofamerica/Adobe Stock)

Climate change reignites concerns over nuclear storage on MI shores

Summer temperatures are one more reason for concern by environmental groups about the nuclear waste stored along the Great Lakes. There are three …

A new Colorado law provides local and tribal governments with science-based resources for siting and permitting new renewable-energy projects, including maps identifying sensitive wildlife habitat. (Adobe Stock)

New resources available to site CO clean-energy projects, protect wildlife

To reach 100% clean energy by 2040 - a move seen as critical for averting the worst impacts of climate change - Colorado must generate five times more…

Senate Bill 252 would require state pension funds to divest from oil and gas companies by 2031, with an extra four years of leeway if certain market conditions arise. (Dogora Sun/Adobestock)

CA climate-change groups press for fossil-fuel divestment

State lawmakers are considering a bill which would require two public pension systems to pull about $15 billion in combined investments from the fossi…

The group says the United States should work with partner countries willing and able to enforce strict terms or face sanctions. (Anastasiia/Adobe Stock)

Environmental groups want say in Critical Mineral Agreements

A group of environmental and civil society organizations is fighting for better working conditions for people in countries that supply critical minera…

About 60% of coal energy generation and 79% of all non-hydro clean energy were produced in rural America, according to a Rural Climate Partnership report. (Adobe Stock)

Report: Rural communities deal with emissions from industries that benefit cities

Nearly 70% of Wyomingites live in non metro areas, and a new report finds that a large portion of the state's greenhouse-gas emissions originate …

Rural households use 80% of the propane used across all U.S. households, according to a Rural Climate Partnership report. (Adobe Stock)

Report finds rural America's climate impact has been overlooked, calls for action

At least 10% of Arizona's population lives in rural areas, and a new report shows a significant portion of the state's greenhouse gas emissions …

Firsthand Foods collaborates with more than 20 farmers across 10 counties. (Adobe Stock)

Building a sustainable food system: Firsthand Foods' approach

Building a sustainable and fair food system benefiting people and the planet is becoming increasingly important and North Carolina businesses are answ…

Methane emissions for oil and gas wellheads have accounted for roughly 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times, and are proliferating faster than at any other time, according to a United Nations study. (Adobe Stock)

CO methane verification protocol seen as 'major breakthrough'

Environmental groups are calling Colorado's new rules to measure methane pollution a "major breakthrough" in curbing it. The Greenhouse Gas …

A soldier participates in the Norwegian Foot March at Fort Ord National Monument in Monterey County, Calif., in 2022. (Winifred Brown/U.S. Army)

Vets exposed to Agent Orange at Fort Ord denied VA compensation

By Hannah Norman and Patricia Kime for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the KFF Health Ne…

Some 170 community groups and nonprofits rallied in Sacramento on Wednesday in favor of a proposed bond measure to fund a variety of climate-related projects. (Community Water Center)

Coalition presses lawmakers to put climate bond on CA November ballot

A huge coalition of 170 groups rallied in Sacramento on Wednesday, pressing lawmakers to put a climate bond measure on California's November ballot…

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on Wednesday for the community's new Rural Minority Business Center. (Photo courtesy NMRMBC)

Rural NM community hit hard by 2022 wildfire opens new business center

A small New Mexico community working to get back on its feet following a devastating wildfire has opened a new rural business center. Two years ago…

Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is leading more than two dozen states in a lawsuit aimed at overturning the Environmental Protection Agency's recently released power plant regulations. (Adobe Stock)

Scorecard: How WV lawmakers vote on clean air, water

As West Virginia leads a group of states in a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency's new emissions rules for power plants, a recent …

The new Public Lands Rule is designed to protect places such as Joshua Tree National Park, which is bordered by vast swaths of Bureau of Land Management land. (Dmitry/Adobestock)

Conservation groups praise new rules governing oil and gas on public lands

Groups fighting for public lands and national parks are praising two recent Biden administration rules for managing federal land. The oil and gas …

The transportation sector in the United States is the main contributor to carbon emissions, with heavy-duty vehicles responsible for more than 20% of this pollution despite comprising only 10% of road vehicles. (Adobe Stock)

New regulations target transportation emissions in Georgia

New federal clean-truck standards in Georgia will improve air quality and public health. The Environmental Protection Agency aims to reduce …

The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument encompasses about 14,000 acres in east-central Oregon. (Zack Frank/Adobe Stock)

New BLM rules better protect national parks, supporters say

Conservation groups said two new federal rules aim to help better protect public lands, including national parks. The Bureau of Land Management's …

Industrial emissions of carcinogenic chemicals disproportionately occur in neighborhoods where African American, Hispanic, Latino residents, including many living in poverty. (Oleksii Fadieiev/Adobe Stock)

Environmental group takes on polluters in historic Louisiana neighborhood

An environmental justice organization in Wallace, Louisiana, says it won't back down in a fight for the health of its historic community. The …

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice because its prisons are not air conditioned. (Felix Pergande/Adobe Stock)

People in TX prisons claim heat-related health effects, demand air conditioning

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is facing a class action lawsuit calling for the agency to add central air conditioning to all its prisons…

According to the EPA, Georgia has warmed less than most of the nation in the last century but in the next few decades, the changing climate is likely to harm livestock and increase the number of unpleasantly hot days and heat-related illnesses. (Laura Ballard/Adobe Stock)

Scientists call on moms to help fight climate change

Mothers from a nonpartisan climate science group are gearing up for summer, getting the word out to Georgia families on how more frequent and extreme …

Revenues from oil and gas extraction in New Mexico are higher than ever, having grown by about 10% over the past year. (Adwo/AdobeStock)

NM agency considers new rule on fracked wastewater

What the extraction industry calls "produced water" is the subject of hearings this week in New Mexico. The term applies to water coming out of the …

About 400 companies will be involved in building the new Highmark Stadium in Buffalo through bids for new construction and demolition of the old stadium. (Quintin Soloviev/Wikimedia Commons)

Sustainable steel makes new Buffalo Bills stadium greener

The new Buffalo Bills stadium may not be the best environmentally but it has some green qualities. The steel for the stadium is being made locally …

Union workers spent Wednesday lobbying California lawmakers to pass bills to protect labor during the transition away from fossil fuels. (Brooke Anderson)<br />

Union coalition calls for CA worker climate bill of rights

Dozens of union members rallied Wednesday in Sacramento, calling on lawmakers to pass a set of bills called the California Worker Climate Bill of …

North Carolina is the sixth-largest producer of cotton in the United States. (Adobe Stock)

'Planet and people first': NC businesses see benefits of 'ESG'

Businesses large and small are doubling down on their commitment to more sustainable practices, even as lawmakers in North Carolina and other states …

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 9.2 million lead pipes are currently used across the nation. (Adobe Stock)

New maps show progress on NY lead service line replacement

New maps show the extent of New York State's lead pipe replacement program. They demonstrate progress in replacing lead service lines, although the …

There are more than 31,000 orphaned oil and gas wells within 30 miles of National Parks nationwide. (Adobe Stock)

Wyoming leaders push back on new BLM rules

New rules on how the Bureau of Land Management oversees more than 18 million acres of public lands in Wyoming have drawn criticism from Gov. Mark …

Stalactites cling to the roof of what's called the

NM's Chaco, Carlsbad parks gain protection from new BLM rule

New Mexico's diverse national parks located adjacent to extraction sites will enjoy greater protections under a new federal rule. Changes to how the …

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized clean air standards affecting heavy-duty trucks starting with the 2027 model year. (Adobe Stock)

Communities close to big box warehouses face health fallouts

A recent study by the Environmental Defense Fund showed communities near mega warehouses are exposed to more polluted air. More than 2 million …

According to the American Lung Association, nearly four in 10 people in America live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution. (Pcess609/AdobeStock)

PA groups monitoring soot pollution pleased by new EPA standards

The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized stronger air quality standards for soot pollution and one regional organization said it is a step in…

The Public Lands Rule helps ensure BLM management decisions will continue to be guided by science and data. (Adobe Stock)

Utah opposes BLM's new Public Lands Rule

The Bureau of Land Management recently released its final Public Lands Rule, which is set to put conservation on equal footing with other multiple …

Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed modern-day coal miners are at greater risk of respiratory disease than their predecessors, likely driven by inhalation of silica coal mine dust. (AI-generated Adobe Stock)

Advocates: New silica dust rule 'missed opportunities' to curb black lung

After the Biden administration released a new rule setting standards to limit exposure to silica dust, advocates in Kentucky and around Appalachia …

A flooded site at the Austin Master Services toxic-waste storage facility in Martin's Ferry, Ohio. (Jill Hunkler)

Court issues restraining order against fracking waste-storage facility

Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary …

Protests in May 2023 called for cleaner air at the ports. State data show ships idling at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in 2021 during the pandemic emitted as much diesel particulate matter pollution as 100,000 big rig trucks per day. (Pacific Environment)

Clean-air activists to hold 'die-in' Friday at LA City Hall

A coalition of climate groups seeking cleaner air at the rail yards and ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will hold a "die-in" rally tomorrow at Los…

Currently, more than 2.7 million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an operational oil well. (MSPhotographic/Adobe Stock)

CA climate leaders fight to keep setbacks around oil and gas wells

Leaders concerned about pollution and climate change are raising awareness about a ballot measure this fall on whether the state should mandate buffer…

Although heavy-duty trucks make up 10% of vehicles on the road, they create more than 25% of total pollution. (Adobe Stock)

VA officials support new EPA clean truck standards

Virginia officials support the Environmental Protection Agency's new emissions rule. The federal clean truck standards will reduce emissions by up to …

Despite a multiyear dredging effort, studies showed forever chemicals are still present in the Hudson River. (Adobe Stock)

NY takes action to remove PFAS from water, products

The state of New York is removing forever chemicals from various places, just as the Environmental Protection Agency issued limits on PFAS in …

The 17,371 acre Dolly Sods Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, according to the U.S. Forest Service. (Adobe Stock)<br />

After Alaskan mining decision, other states may step up conservation efforts

The Biden administration has denied approval for a project to build more than 200 miles of road in the Alaskan wilderness. On this Earth Day…

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