Climate Week webinar: ‘Uniting States for 100% Renewable Energy’
Experts, state officials celebrated increased adoption of clean energy in states, discussed what’s next
Media Releases
Report: Damaging methane gas pipeline leaks happen every 40 hours in the U.S.
On Thursday, OSPIRG Foundation, Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group released a new report that finds from 2010 through nearly the end of 2021, almost 2,600 gas pipeline incidents occurred in the United States that were serious enough to require reporting to the federal government. That’s the equivalent to one every 40 hours.
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.
RESOURCE: The 10 most polluting power plants in Oregon
Ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision on West Virginia vs Environmental Protection Agency, a case that will determine the EPA’s authority to regulate climate pollution, Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center and OSPIRG Foundation are releasing a new factsheet ranking Oregon's dirtiest power plants.
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.
Portland featured in new analysis of solar power progress across the country
Portland ranked 27th for solar energy capacity in the latest edition of the Environment Oregon Research and Policy Center’s report Shining Cities: The Top U.S. Cities for Solar Energy.
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.