New dashboard finds US wind, solar tripled over past decade
In 2021, America produced three times as much renewable electricity from the sun and the wind as in 2012.
Media Releases
Report: Polluters dumped ~200 million lbs. of toxics into waterways
Call to cut down water pollution as Supreme Court case, 50th anniversary of Clean Water Act, near
Logging mature and old trees threatens U.S. climate goals
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday signed a memorandum to clarify the U.S. Forest Service’s direction on climate policy. The memo, "Climate Resilience and Carbon Stewardship of America's National Forests and Grasslands," follows a recent White House executive order highlighting the importance of conserving mature and old-growth forests on federal lands as a climate solution. The memo, which lays out “actions to restore forests, improve resilience, and address the climate crisis”, falls short in meeting the ambition outlined in President Joe Biden’s order on old forests and trees. Secretary Vilsack acknowledges the role that older trees play in absorbing and storing carbon and supporting biodiversity. But he fails to outline a plan for his agency to protect mature and old-growth forests and trees from commercial logging.
In a victory for marine life, climate, Biden administration cancels three oil leases in ocean waters
WASHINGTON – Taking action to protect ocean wildlife and U.S. coasts, the Biden administration on Wednesday ditched plans for three offshore oil and gas lease sales.
Florida Gov. DeSantis’s veto saves rooftop solar in Sunshine State
Exercising his first veto of the 2022 legislative session, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday vetoed HB 741, a bill that would have gutted net metering in Florida. Net metering is the policy which compensates solar owners for the excess electricity they generate and then sell back to the grid.
University of Massachusetts Amherst commits to 100 percent renewable energy
The University of Massachusetts added to the Earth Day festivities Friday when Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy announced that the state’s flagship public university will power its campus entirely with renewable energy by 2032.
Raleigh featured in new analysis of solar power progress across the country
Raleigh lagged behind other major U.S. cities in solar power installations over the last two years according to the eighth edition of Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center’s report Shining Cities: The Top U.S. Cities for Solar Energy. The city ranked 42nd nationwide for total installed solar energy capacity (per capita).
Interactive map shows widespread lead contamination in schools drinking water
BOSTON -- Lead contamination of school drinking water is more pervasive than previously thought, according to testing data from across the nation published on Thursday by Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund on a new interactive map. The groups urged public officials to take swift action to “get the lead out” of schools’ drinking water.
Thousands call on EPA to get the lead out of drinking water
Nearly 15,000 people are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to not only set a 10-year deadline for removing lead pipes but also take decisive action to ensure safe drinking water at schools and child care centers. Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund submitted comments Wednesday from these individuals on the EPA’s Draft Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities.
Groups tell Biden Administration: Let Older Trees Grow
Environment North Carolina, SELC, and dozens of other conservation groups launched an effort Tuesday to focus on protecting mature trees and forests on federal lands that are most critical in the fight against climate change. The Climate Forests campaign is calling on the Biden administration to kick off a new era of climate and forest policy in which trees and forests are valued as key pieces of the climate solution.