The 411 on dialog exchange and tackling climate change

Who doesn’t enjoy a healthy exchange?! Well, I had one of those just the other day. It was over several days, actually. The topics of the cordial-while-respectful sharing of ideas were advocacy and activism. I never thought there would be so much to talk about having to do with this particular conversation subject matter. You’d … Read more

Permian Basin gas, oil subsidies boost air pollution, cost billions: NRDC report

WASHINGTON — Amid record industry profits and rising climate damages, a new NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) report documents 57 federal and state subsidies that the fossil fuel industry receives in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico that incentivize extraction, cost taxpayers billions, worsen climate change and increase harmful air pollution. The authors … Read more

A win for consumers: Final efficiency standard for stoves issued by DOE

Washington, DC – Today [Jan. 29, 2024], the Department of Energy (DOE) released a final energy efficiency standard for stoves. The new standards will take effect in 2028 and, according to DOE, are projected to save Americans approximately $1.6 billion on their utility bills over 30 years. DOE modeled the new standard off of an agreement between … Read more

U.S. LNG export expansion paused

WASHINGTON— The Biden administration announced today [Jan. 26, 2024] it would freeze approvals of new gas export projects, signaling a major pivot in how it considers climate and health harms from oil and gas projects. The White House is directing the Energy Department to expand its criteria for evaluating new gas exports and take a hard … Read more

U.S. automakers falling behind in clean-vehicle production: EPA report

WASHINGTON — Automakers continue to sell millions of gas guzzlers and a relative handful of electric and other clean vehicles, making little progress against pollution, according to the Automotive Trends Report released today [Dec. 20, 2023] by the Environmental Protection Agency. The 2022 new vehicle fleet emitted just 10 grams per mile less carbon pollution than … Read more

Expected rise in fossil fuel use this decade could offset action to meet set climate goals

Stockholm, 8 November 2023 – A major new report published today finds that governments plan to produce around 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, and 69% more than would be consistent with 2°C. This comes despite 151 national governments having pledged to achieve net-zero emissions and the latest forecasts which suggest global coal, … Read more

Biofuel megaproject operations halted by Bay Area court

MARTINEZ, Calif.— The Contra Costa County Superior Court today [Oct. 12, 2023] ordered Phillips 66 to halt its plan to operate a biofuel refinery in Rodeo, California. The court put the Bay Area megaproject on hold until the county fully complies with environmental review requirements that it violated when first approving the project. Communities for … Read more

Did climate change cause this?

I’ve been lately hearing through the grapevine that ground on which properties sit around Fresno, California – where I make my home – has been sinking. Though I could be pulling your leg here, this time, however, I’m not. It’s really going on. That ground is compacting, compressing or sinking throughout this and other parts … Read more

Half of California diesel fuel replaced by clean fuels for first time

SACRAMENTO— California hit an important milestone in its shift away from polluting fuel sources, with clean fuels replacing over 50% of the diesel used in the state in the first quarter of 2023. California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which requires fuel producers to reduce the carbon intensity of fuel sold in the state, is … Read more

Open-access railroading: Needed more right now than ever before!

Open-access railroading is not a figment of someone’s wild imagination: It really does exist. In fact, according to Robinson Foster in a Jan. 16, 2023 column at climaterailalliance.org, he says the concept has been successfully applied in Europe for nearly three decades. So, what is “open-access railroading”? “Open-access railroading” is a type of operational arrangement … Read more