Air Pollution and Government - Environmental Professionals Connection

NEPA in the Supreme Court (Part II)

Legal Planet

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

One issue in the Seven Counties case is whether the impact statement should discuss air pollution caused by refining the oil shipped over the proposed rail line. The argument is that the Board shouldn’t have to consider that because EPA has authority to regulate air pollution, not the Board.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Pollution Control Law Regulations

Banking and Exchange Programs to Mitigate Vehicle Miles Traveled

Legal Planet

MARCH 7, 2025

Lets fast forward to today; more than half a century of government housing policy favoring sprawling, car-dependent development has spawned long commutes, increased exposure to air pollution, and segregated communities. But this American Dream has come at a steep cost. miles per day ).

Nitrogen Oxides

Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution Government 2013

As South Africa Clings to Coal, A Struggle for the Right to Breathe

Yale E360

NOVEMBER 24, 2020

But now residents of the nation’s most coal-intensive region are suing to force the government to clean up choking air pollution. Close ties between the ruling elite and the coal industry have helped perpetuate South Africa’s dependence on the dirtiest fossil fuel for electricity. Read more on E360 ?.

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels Air Pollution Electricity Government

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Smart Tech + Human Expertise = How to Modernize Manufacturing Without Losing Control

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Daily Grind Living Next To Oil & Gas Industry: Spills, Polluted Water Supplies, Smells Like Gas, Noise, Air Pollution, Explosions, Truck Traffic, Erosion, Radioactive Waste, Gas Flares, Dust, Lights, Road Dumping Waste, Abandoned Wells

PA Environment Daily

MARCH 27, 2025

Its a daily litany of spills, polluted water supplies, smell of natural gas in the air, noise, air pollution, explosions, landslides, truck traffic, radioactive waste, gas flares, erosion problems, dust, lights, road dumping waste, abandoned equipment and wells.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Waste Natural Gas 2023

California’s Proposition 30 Would Put the Transition to Clean Transportation in the Fast Lane

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 6, 2022

Switching from gasoline and diesel engines to electric motors is one of the most effective ways to reduce both global warming emissions and air pollution. Most of this money must be used to help households, businesses, and governments pay for part of the cost of new passenger ZEVs (such as electric cars, vans, and pick-up trucks).

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Electricity Climate Change 2030

Children’s Developing Brains Need Protection from Pollutants

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Children in communities of color and low-income communities were more highly exposed to air pollution. Interactions: Babies living in economically disinvested neighborhoods in their first year of life and exposed to air pollution were more likely to be diagnosed with autism.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Waste 2022 Government

Governors Present Bold Vision for Investing in a New Forest Economy

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 22, 2024

These fires, often deliberately set as part of land clearing efforts for cattle or agriculture, are becoming even more intense in the face of the climate crisis and exposing millions to dangerous air pollution. There is an even greater need for a rapid increase in investment in on-the-ground policies and actions across the tropics.

Deforestation

Deforestation Rainforest Government Air Pollution

Electric Vehicles Help Combat Climate Change, Here’s Why.

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 14, 2025

There is tremendous uncertainty about what policies the federal government will change that will affect electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing and sales in the US. And walking or using a traditional bike means avoiding air pollution and climate-changing emissions altogether.

Climate Change

Climate Change Electricity Carbon Dioxide Fossil Fuels

EPA Grant Program Helps to Accelerate Transition to Cleaner Ports

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 2, 2024

Air pollution from ports comes from many sources: ships, trains, tugboats, cargo equipment, and – quite importantly – the trucks that move cargo containers to and from ports. Because drayage trucks tend to be among the oldest tractor trucks on the road, they tend to pollute at greater rates than other tractors.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Nitrogen Oxides Electricity Climate Change

Campaigners troubled by WHO delay of tougher air pollution guidelines

New Scientist

JUNE 16, 2021

The World Health Organization has postponed the publication of new guidelines on lower limits for air pollution that are expected to influence how governments act on toxic air

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Government

EPA Strengthens Emissions Controls for Facilities Emitting Cancer-Causing Ethylene Oxide

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 18, 2024

For the first time, the government will regulate fugitive or “unintended” emissions and require permanent total enclosure of sterilization operations. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to review and revise standards for “hazardous air pollutants” (including ethylene oxide), every eight years.

Clean Air Act

Clean Air Act Air Pollution Regulations 2005

China, Climate, and Clean Energy

Legal Planet

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

This is not an accident: the government poured $22 billion into the EV industry starting in 2009. Chinese government support for manufacturing of clean technologies may be partly due to concern about climate change and urban air pollution. China now accounts for 58% of global EV production, with more than 1.5 auto sector.”

Clean Energy

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy 2009

PennEnvironment, Clean Air Council Win Record $42 Million Air Pollution Settlement Covering 3 US Steel Facilities In The Mon Valley, Pittsburgh

PA Environment Daily

JANUARY 26, 2024

District Court on Monday a proposed consent decree in settlement of their federal Clean Air Act lawsuit against United States Steel Corporation. Clean air is a right, not a privilege, for all Pittsburghers,” said David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment , the citizen-based non-profit and state group for Environment America.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Clean Air Act Pollution Control 2018

Climate impacts of the #IRA

Real Climate

AUGUST 17, 2022

As you can see there are tax credits and subsidies for electric vehicles, renewable energy, nuclear energy, transmission, hydrogen, air pollution reduction, energy infrastructure, climate resilience, rural development, residential buildings, etc. The biggest unknowns are the geopolitical implications.

Paris Agreement

Paris Agreement Air Pollution Renewable Energy 2030

Supreme Court Sidelines Science, Threatens Public Health: These Rules-in-Progress Show What’s at Stake

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 9, 2024

If governments bypass or undermine science and public comments in policy making, our health could be in jeopardy from increased pollution, cases of foodborne illnesses, politically-driven medicine approvals or disapprovals, and more. This is a major federal law that governs if a chemical will be regulated, limited, or even banned.

Toxic Substances Control Act

Toxic Substances Control Act Air Pollution Regulations Clean Air Act

Protecting Public Health Is Complicated. But Science Can Help, and the Time Is Now.

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

If we think about cumulative impacts as a series of components—for example, multiple chemicals, multiple sources of pollution and pathways of exposure (eating, drinking, breathing, e.g.), or inclusion of non-chemical stressors—nearly every one of these components is a legal consideration in at least one of the major US environmental laws.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Toxic Substances Control Act Environmental Protection Ozone

How to Prevent a Government Shutdown, Create Jobs and Protect Our Ocean

Ocean Conservancy

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Congress must pass a full year of funding bills or a continuing resolution to keep our government working for us. © The end of the federal government’s fiscal year falls on Thursday, September 30, 2021. We know that a government shutdown has disastrous consequences. Government services will shut down.

Ocean

Ocean Government Air Pollution Conservation

Ask a Scientist: Gas Plants Disproportionately Harm Marginalized Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

First, there’s air pollution. Gas plants and infrastructure emit nitrogen oxides (NOx) during combustion, which degrade local air quality. Exposure to NOx and other gas infrastructure air pollutants has been associated with respiratory illnesses and an increase in childhood asthma rates. VY: They do.

Clean Energy

Clean Energy Nitrogen Oxides Fossil Fuels Electricity

Now You’re in Law School. What Should You Take?

Legal Planet

AUGUST 25, 2022

If you do corporate work, you can focus on ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance). Or you can work for the government — for instance, as someone who prosecutes environmental crimes. Traditional land use law is tied in with urban sprawl, a big problem in terms of carbon emissions and urban air pollution.

Law

Law Endangered Species Act Carbon Emissions Clean Energy

Not Just About the Climate

Legal Planet

JULY 13, 2023

Simply put, they can’t afford to take the same precautions as the more affluent, whether in moving to higher ground or maxing out on air conditioning during heat waves. The disadvantaged bear the heaviest burden from air pollution today. So cleaning up the energy system is not only good for public health writ large.

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels Climate Change Air Pollution Natural Gas

Groups Call on Peel Council to Oppose Brampton Incinerator Expansion

Enviromental Defense

APRIL 10, 2025

Peel Public Health points out that this area of Peel already has significant air pollution and people living there are more likely to suffer from certain health conditions, including diabetes and COPD, points out Steve Papagiannis of the Brampton Environmental Alliance. The provincial government has not made a decision on the proposal.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Waste Government Recycling

The Supreme Court & Interstate Pollution

Legal Planet

JUNE 27, 2024

Months ago, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an “emergency” request to stay EPA’s new rule regulating interstate air pollution. A Supreme Court case called EME Homer upheld EPA’s general approach to regulating interstate air pollution. Circuit even had a chance to consider the merits of the challenges.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Regulations Ozone Government

November 4 - Weekly PA Environment Digest Now Available

PA Environment Daily

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

Shapiro Administration Launches New Discover State Grants Website To Streamline Access To Government Funding Opportunities DEP Holds Nov. Shapiro Administration Launches New Discover State Grants Website To Streamline Access To Government Funding Opportunities DEP Holds Nov. 26 to Nov.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Recycling Natural Gas Conservation

Memphis Facility Emitting Cancer-Causing Ethylene Oxide Gas to Close

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

In a major win for community members in South Memphis, Tennessee, a facility emitting a toxic air pollutant— ethylene oxide (EtO)—announced late last month that it will close its doors. We also estimated that EtO emissions contributed to more than 80 percent of the cancer risk attributable to toxic air pollution around the facility.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Clean Air Act Regulations 2024

PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - March 22

PA Environment Daily

MARCH 21, 2025

PA Bulletin, page 2380 ) -- Columbia Gas Trans LLC - Eagle Compressor Station: DEP issued an Air Quality Plan approval covering multiple sources of air pollution at the facility located in West Vincent Twp., Received Dec. 27, Issued Jan. Chester County. Received Feb. 21, Issued March 7. ( Washington County. Received Feb.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Natural Gas 2025 Recycling

Four Steps Federal Agencies Need to Take for Better Public Engagement

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 20, 2024

It offers a critical mechanism through which members of the public can have a direct say in the decisions our government is making. Four key steps Several studies suggest that trust in government is strongly associated with whether the public feels that government is responsive to their feedback.

Government

Government Air Pollution Regulations Climate Change

Environmentalism and the Supreme Court

Legal Planet

AUGUST 26, 2021

The Supreme Court interpreted the statute to place an absolute priority on preserving endangered species, regardless of the impact on the economy or other government goals. In an opinion by Justice Stevens, the Court held that the threat of sea level rise gave a state government standing to bring the suit. This case is a century older.

Clean Air Act

Clean Air Act Endangered Species Act Regulations Carbon Emissions

Climate Policy in India

Legal Planet

JUNE 13, 2022

Much of the shift may have been due to recognition that renewables would provide more energy independence and would help get India’s crippling urban air pollution under control. the national government isn’t the only presence in terms of climate policy. As in the U.S.,

2030

2030 Carbon Emissions Sea Level 2027

A Brutal Supreme Court Session Puts a Generation of Public Protections at Risk

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 8, 2024

In the Ohio v EPA case, states sued over an Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring them to consider the effect on other states of air pollution generated in their own state. It’s a huge expansion of the power of courts, at the expense of both Congress and mission-driven federal agencies.

Law

Law Air Pollution Climate Change Environmental Protection

California’s Secret Weapon: The Scoping Plan

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 26, 2022

The process requires the government to assess past progress, project future emissions, and come up with a strategy to meet its climate goals. b) The range of projected air pollution reductions that result from the measure. (c) The scoping process has been key to California’s success in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenhouse

Greenhouse 2012 Air Pollution Renewable Energy

Diesel is the Reason for the Sneezin’: Cleaner Holiday Deliveries are on the Horizon

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 21, 2023

Even when accounting for pollution from electricity generation, electric trucks can significantly reduce air pollution and get us on a better track to addressing climate change. Companies like Pepsi have successfully deployed electric tractor trucks carrying payloads up to 82,000 lbs. on routes between 250 and 450 miles.

Nitrogen Oxides

Nitrogen Oxides Electricity Fossil Fuels Air Pollution

Learning to Name Environmental Problems

Legal Planet

JANUARY 10, 2023

There are Supreme Court cases going back a century or more dealing with what we would now consider environmental issues such as preserving nature or air pollution. I began with a Westlaw search for the term “air pollution.” The earliest opinion I found was Huron Portland Cement Co. City of Detroit.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Clean Air Act Clean Water Act Law

Profs. William Boyd and Alex Wang Join Prof. Ted Parson in Emmett Institute Faculty Leadership

Legal Planet

JULY 29, 2021

They will be working alongside our faculty director (formerly faculty co-director) Ted Parson—an accomplished scholar of environmental governance—as well as me and my colleague Cara Horowitz, shaping the strategic direction of the Emmett Institute. Wang is a leading expert on environmental governance and the law and politics of China.

Law

Law Climate Change Carbon Dioxide Deforestation

Statement in Response to Private Member’s Bill to End Thermal Coal Exports

Enviromental Defense

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

This Private Member’s Bill is only necessary because the federal government has failed to keep its own promise. Back in 2021, the federal government committed to ending the export of thermal coal before 2030. Air pollutants from coal plants are linked to chronic heart and respiratory disease, and a host of acute ailments.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Carbon Dioxide Fossil Fuels Greenhouse

House Environmental Committee Reports Out Bill To Require DEP To Consider Cumulative Impacts Of Certain New Sources Of Pollution On Already Impacted Communities

PA Environment Daily

APRIL 7, 2025

The amendment would cover pollution from major oil and gas infrastructure and pipelines, power plants and many other facilities that emit these air pollutants. The amendment would cover pollution from major oil and gas infrastructure and pipelines, power plants and many other facilities that emit these air pollutants.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Nitrogen Oxides Carbon Monoxide Natural Resources

House Committee Holds June 5 Hearing On Bill Requiring Environmental Impact Reports On Certain Electric Generation, Waste, Major Air Pollution Sources Locating In Already Burdened Communities

PA Environment Daily

MAY 31, 2023

The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee is scheduled to hold a June 5 hearing on legislation requiring environmental impact reports on certain electric generation, waste management, sewage treatment and other facilities that are a major source of air pollution proposed in already burdened communities.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Waste Electricity Environmental Protection

1990: The Year the Courts Discovered Climate Change

Legal Planet

JANUARY 10, 2022

Wald also concluded that the government had failed to provide a rational justification for considering the impact on climate change insignificant. The court ruled that the local ordinance banning coal was preempted by state laws governing air pollution. The second of those cases was Gladfelter v. 91, 94 (Terr.

Climate Change

Climate Change Greenhouse Air Pollution Government

EPA Needs to Listen to the Public. Will New Public Participation Guidance Help?

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 7, 2024

The guidance also comes on the heels of efforts by the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which recently issued a report outlining how the federal government as a whole can better incorporate public participation in rulemaking processes. So, what does this mean in practice?

Environmental Protection

Environmental Protection 2003 Radiation Air Pollution

The Impacts of Explicitly Racist Land Use Practices Persist in California Communities. Is It Time for State Intervention?

Legal Planet

APRIL 19, 2023

The report provides recommendations for actions by the California Legislature to soften the impacts of past discrimination in how––and under what circumstances––local governments permit polluting land uses in overburdened communities. Wells Environmental Law Clinic set out to uncover how deep these injustices run.

Government

Government Clean Air Act Law Air Pollution

Despite Potential to Electrify 90 Percent of Routes, USPS Still Plans to Deliver Pollution with the Mail

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 24, 2023

A USPS fleet that maximizes electrification potential would not only help to reduce climate warming and air pollution but would help to make electric vehicles more commonplace in every community across the nation. Government Accountability Office’s suggestions to improve the credibility of its cost estimates, they cut it altogether.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Electricity 2026 2022

PJM Interconnection: Concerns Remain On Grid Reliability With Final EPA Rule Setting Tougher Air Pollution Standards On New Gas, Existing Coal-fired Power Plants

PA Environment Daily

MAY 8, 2024

Friel-Otten, Rep. Abney Introduce Gov.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Natural Gas Electricity Clean Air Act

Ask a Scientist: It’s Getting Easier for US Car Owners to Go Electric

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

This has been particularly true in your home state of California, which historically has set the clean car agenda for the rest of the country because of its waiver under the Clean Air Act to set its own air pollution standards. What is happening in California, and how quickly could that be replicated in other states?

Electricity

Electricity Air Pollution 2030 Clean Air Act

DEP Awards $2.3 Million To Schools, Businesses, Local Governments Switching To Zero- Or Low-Emission Vehicles; Now Accepting Applications

PA Environment Daily

JULY 30, 2024

AFIG aims to increase sustainable and renewable energy throughout Pennsylvania's transportation sector, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality for many communities," said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. "A Partners Host Aug.

Nitrogen Oxides

Nitrogen Oxides Government Air Pollution Electricity

EPA Files $4.2 Million Settlement Of Air Pollution Violations For 2019 Philadelphia Refinery Explosion, Fire; Public Comments Invited

PA Environment Daily

OCTOBER 8, 2024

Environmental Protection Agency announced the federal government has settled its final federal Clean Air Act (CAA) claim against Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining and Marketing, LLC pertaining to the June 21, 2019 fire and explosion at its former South Philadelphia refinery. On October 8, the U.S.

2019

2019 Air Pollution Clean Air Act Environmental Responsibility

NEPA in the Supreme Court (Part II)

Banking and Exchange Programs to Mitigate Vehicle Miles Traveled

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Trending Sources

As South Africa Clings to Coal, A Struggle for the Right to Breathe

Webinars

Daily Grind Living Next To Oil & Gas Industry: Spills, Polluted Water Supplies, Smells Like Gas, Noise, Air Pollution, Explosions, Truck Traffic, Erosion, Radioactive Waste, Gas Flares, Dust, Lights, Road Dumping Waste, Abandoned Wells

California’s Proposition 30 Would Put the Transition to Clean Transportation in the Fast Lane

Children’s Developing Brains Need Protection from Pollutants

Governors Present Bold Vision for Investing in a New Forest Economy

Electric Vehicles Help Combat Climate Change, Here’s Why.

EPA Grant Program Helps to Accelerate Transition to Cleaner Ports

Campaigners troubled by WHO delay of tougher air pollution guidelines

EPA Strengthens Emissions Controls for Facilities Emitting Cancer-Causing Ethylene Oxide

China, Climate, and Clean Energy

PennEnvironment, Clean Air Council Win Record $42 Million Air Pollution Settlement Covering 3 US Steel Facilities In The Mon Valley, Pittsburgh

Climate impacts of the #IRA

Supreme Court Sidelines Science, Threatens Public Health: These Rules-in-Progress Show What’s at Stake

Protecting Public Health Is Complicated. But Science Can Help, and the Time Is Now.

How to Prevent a Government Shutdown, Create Jobs and Protect Our Ocean

Ask a Scientist: Gas Plants Disproportionately Harm Marginalized Communities

Now You’re in Law School. What Should You Take?

Not Just About the Climate

Groups Call on Peel Council to Oppose Brampton Incinerator Expansion

The Supreme Court & Interstate Pollution

November 4 - Weekly PA Environment Digest Now Available

Memphis Facility Emitting Cancer-Causing Ethylene Oxide Gas to Close

PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - March 22

Four Steps Federal Agencies Need to Take for Better Public Engagement

Environmentalism and the Supreme Court

Climate Policy in India

A Brutal Supreme Court Session Puts a Generation of Public Protections at Risk

California’s Secret Weapon: The Scoping Plan

Diesel is the Reason for the Sneezin’: Cleaner Holiday Deliveries are on the Horizon

Learning to Name Environmental Problems

Profs. William Boyd and Alex Wang Join Prof. Ted Parson in Emmett Institute Faculty Leadership

Statement in Response to Private Member’s Bill to End Thermal Coal Exports

House Environmental Committee Reports Out Bill To Require DEP To Consider Cumulative Impacts Of Certain New Sources Of Pollution On Already Impacted Communities

House Committee Holds June 5 Hearing On Bill Requiring Environmental Impact Reports On Certain Electric Generation, Waste, Major Air Pollution Sources Locating In Already Burdened Communities

1990: The Year the Courts Discovered Climate Change

EPA Needs to Listen to the Public. Will New Public Participation Guidance Help?

The Impacts of Explicitly Racist Land Use Practices Persist in California Communities. Is It Time for State Intervention?

Despite Potential to Electrify 90 Percent of Routes, USPS Still Plans to Deliver Pollution with the Mail

PJM Interconnection: Concerns Remain On Grid Reliability With Final EPA Rule Setting Tougher Air Pollution Standards On New Gas, Existing Coal-fired Power Plants

Ask a Scientist: It’s Getting Easier for US Car Owners to Go Electric

DEP Awards $2.3 Million To Schools, Businesses, Local Governments Switching To Zero- Or Low-Emission Vehicles; Now Accepting Applications

EPA Files $4.2 Million Settlement Of Air Pollution Violations For 2019 Philadelphia Refinery Explosion, Fire; Public Comments Invited

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