Media Releases

Clean air

New report: Trouble in the Air: Chicago metro area experienced 84 days of polluted air in 2020

Chicago metro area, home to 9.4 million people people, suffered through 84 days of elevated air pollution in 2020, according to a new report from Environment Illinois Research & Education Center, Frontier Group and Illinois PIRG Education Fund. Metro East, the state’s second largest population area, experienced 75 days of elevated air pollution. Air pollution increases the risk of premature death, asthma attacks, cancer and other adverse health impacts.

Media Releases ●  October 5, 2021

Wildlife & wild places

New report outlines key ways to reconnect nature through wildlife corridors

“For too long a labyrinth of roads, fences and sprawl has penned animals into smaller and smaller habitats,” said Wendy Wendlandt, president of Environment America Research & Policy Center.  “The key now is to connect these small habitat ‘islands’ through corridors. Doing so can give wildlife the space they need to hunt, mate and migrate.”

Media Releases ●  September 2, 2021

Clean energy

New report: Illinois and nation are on the verge of a renewable future

Both Illinois and the nation have the capacity to build an energy system around clean, renewable resources, according to a new report released on Thursday by Environment Illinois Research & Education Center. The study, We Have the Power: Reaching America's potential for clean, renewable energy, comes as an energy bill to continue funding Illinois’ renewable energy programs is expected to pass the Illinois legislature in the coming weeks.

Media Releases ●  June 3, 2021

Beyond plastic

Lawmakers and public push Whole Foods to put “Planet Over Plastic” at upcoming annual meeting

AUSTIN, Texas --  Environment America Research & Policy Center, U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Student PIRG sent 59,000 petitions and a letter signed by more than 40 state lawmakers Thursday to Whole Foods urging them to put planet over plastic.

Media Releases ●  May 6, 2021

Fossil fuel pollution

Report: Pricing carbon key to taking on climate change

BOSTON -- Last month, President Joe Biden released a massive infrastructure spending plan designed to build a cleaner and healthier America. This week, on Earth Day, the president is hosting world leaders for a global climate summit, and is discussing ways in which the U.S. will meet its goals under the Paris climate accords. According to a new report, putting a price on carbon can be key to the success of both. In Carbon Pricing 101: Strategies for putting a price on global warming pollution, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group recommend that the federal government and U.S. states pursue carbon pricing programs, along with other policies, to cut pollution, as the best way to achieve the emissions reductions necessary to stave off the worst of global warming.

Media Releases ●  April 21, 2021

New report shows Illinois leadership in decade of U.S. renewable energy progress

Illinois ranks 2nd in the nation for growth in battery storage since 2010, according to a new report released today by Environment Illinois Research & Policy Center. The project, Renewables on the Rise 2020, documents and compares the growth of five key clean energy technologies in each state over the past decade: solar power, wind power, battery storage, energy efficiency and electric vehicles. Illinois now has 132.7 MW of utility-scale battery storage capacity, second only to California. Illinois also ranked in the top 10 in regards to wind energy, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles.

Media Releases ●  October 21, 2020

New report provides roadmap to achieve carbon-free transportation

Transportation is the largest source of global warming pollution in the U.S., making it climate enemy number one. But a new report from Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group describes how we can build a zero-carbon transportation future - all while cleaning our air and creating safer, healthier communities.

Media Releases ●  February 25, 2020

New report: 108 million Americans live in areas that experienced at least 100 days of polluted air in 2018

One-third of all Americans live in areas that suffered through at least 100 days of poor air quality due to air pollution in 2018, according to a new report by Environment America Research & Policy Center, Frontier Group and U.S. PIRG Education Fund.

Media Releases ●  January 28, 2020

Clean water

New Dirty Water Rule puts America’s drinking water and rivers at risk

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule that leaves half the nation’s wetlands and thousands of streams -- which help provide millions of Americans with drinking water -- without the federal protection of the Clean Water Act.

Media Releases ●  January 23, 2020

102 groups urge EPA to rein in meat and poultry processing plant pollution

Environment America Research & Policy Center is submitting comments on behalf of 102 organizations today, urging the Environmental Protection Agency to dramatically reduce the massive levels of pollution dumped by agribusiness facilities into America’s waterways. The comments are in response to the agency’s decision not to update permit standards for meat and poultry plants -- despite the Clean Water Act’s requirement to do so.

Media Releases ●  November 25, 2019