A mostly empty 110 freeway toward downtown Los Angeles, California on April 28, 2020. Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The shelter in place orders that brought clean skies to some of the world's most polluted cities and saw greenhouse gas emissions plummet were just a temporary relief that provided an illusory benefit to the long-term consequences of the climate crisis. According to new research, the COVID-19 lockdowns will have a "neglible" impact on global warming, as Newshub in New Zealand reported.
<p>The severe measures that were taken on a global scale to stem the tide of the novel coronavirus pandemic did curb pollution in the atmosphere, but the researchers found the impact will cut global heating by just 0.01 degrees Celsius by 2030, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/07/covid-19-lockdown-will-have-negligible-impact-on-climate-crisis-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"The direct effect of the pandemic-driven [lockdown] will be negligible," said the researchers, whose analysis was led by Piers Forster at the University of Leeds in the UK, as The Guardian reported. "In contrast, with an economic recovery tilted towards green stimulus and reductions in fossil fuel investments, it is possible to avoid future warming of 0.3C by 2050."</p>
<p>The study was published in <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0883-0" target="_blank">Nature Climate Change</a></em>. To figure out the impact of the lockdowns, the researchers looked at mobility data from Google and Apple in 123 countries that covers 99 percent of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> emissions. The information gives real-time information on travel and work patterns, which allows researchers to use advanced computations to estimate emissions levels, according to The Guardian.</p><p>Professor Keith Shine, at the University of Reading and not part of the study team, told The Guardian: "It is deeply impressive to get such a near-real-time analysis of the climate impact [of the lockdowns]."</p><p>What they found was that emissions from people using transportation was at its lowest in April, with nitrogen oxide levels falling by 30 percent and carbon dioxide levels dropping by 25 percent, according to Newshub.</p>
<p>Professor Dave Reay, chair of carbon management at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study, told Newshub that the results are not surprising "given the long lifetime of carbon dioxide and the massive pool of fossil carbon already swilling around in our atmosphere."</p><p>The declines show that swift and decisive changes in how people behave have the potential to dramatically impact the environment in the short term. That was evident in the cleaner skies and the suddenly visible animals in Venice's canals and the streets of various cities. In Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, air quality improved so much that NASA satellite imagery showed the average density of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide – a toxic chemical that reduces immunity – dropped significantly below normal levels, as Newshub reported.</p>
<p>Of course, those lockdowns came with a steep economic price as people were put out of work and supply chains and distribution were severely disrupted. In other words, lockdowns of that scale are so damaging that they are impossible to maintain. Furthermore, once the lockdowns lifted, emissions levels started to rise again. That phenomenon means the world needs to transition to a zero-emissions economy by investing in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> and burying CO2, according to the researchers, as The Guardian reported.</p><p>"It is now make or break for the 1.5 Celsius target," said Forster, as The Guardian reported. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to really change the direction of society. We do not have to go back to where we were, because times of crisis are also the time to change."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Coronavirus Lockdown Linked to Falling Air Pollution Levels in Italy ... ›
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Set for Record Decline Due to ... ›
- Coronavirus Lockdowns Led to Record 17% Emissions Drop ... ›
- India's Air Pollution Plummets in COVID-19 Lockdown - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
The ubiquity of guns and bullets poses environmental risks. Contaminants in bullets include lead, copper, zinc, antimony and mercury. gorancakmazovic / iStock / Getty Images Plus
New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that she will attempt to dismantle the National Rifle Association (NRA), arguing that years of corruption and mismanagement warrant the dissolution of the activist organization, as CNN reported.
<p>The lawsuit specifically names the organization's top brass as corrupt and inept, accusing them of failing to follow numerous state and federal laws and mismanaging the organization so badly that it lost more than $64 million in just three years, according to a <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-files-lawsuit-dissolve-nra" target="_blank">press release</a> from James' office. James alleges that CEO Wayne LaPierre and his top lieutenants used the organization's coffers for personal gain, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nra-lapierre-ny-attorney-general/2020/08/06/8e389794-d794-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported.</p>
<p>The overwhelming influence the NRA has had on American politics has enabled gun violence to proliferate into a public health crisis, according to the <a href="https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/gun-violence#:~:text=Gun%20violence%20is%20a%20leading,this%20growing%20crisis%20is%20necessary." target="_blank">American Public Health Association</a>. Furthermore, the ubiquity of guns and bullets poses environmental risks. As the <a href="https://www.theregreview.org/2018/10/08/williamson-choosing-guns-environment/" target="_blank">University of Pennsylvania</a> notes, contaminants in bullets include <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lead">lead</a>, copper, zinc, antimony and even <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mercury">mercury</a>, all of which can sink into the soil and sometimes leach into groundwater and surface water. Exposure to these contaminants through the soil or water can lead to illness and possibly death for those who spend significant amounts of time in contaminated areas.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899712823/new-york-attorney-general-moves-to-dissolve-the-nra-after-fraud-investigation" target="_blank">NPR</a>, the maneuver to dissolve the NRA is the most aggressive sanction James could have sought against the organization, which she has jurisdiction over because has been registered as a 501(c) not-for-profit organization in New York asince 1871.</p><p>James has a wide range of authorities relating to nonprofits in the state, including the authority to force organizations to cease operations or dissolve.</p><p>"The NRA's influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets," James said in a <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-files-lawsuit-dissolve-nra" target="_blank">statement</a>. "The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law."</p>
<p>Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the NRA who received millions in salary, also used the organization's money to fund an extravagant lifestyle. The suit alleges that LaPierre used NRA money to pay a personal travel consultant $13.5 million, largely on no-bid contracts. Private flights were chartered for LaPierre's wife and his niece. He took frequent trips to the Bahamas on the NRA's dime, where he often stayed on a 108-foot yacht called "Illusions" that was owned by an NRA contractor and included a chef and four staterooms. He bought gifts from Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman from his inner circle, and once put his niece up at a Four Seasons hotel for eight nights at a cost of more than $12,000, according to the complaint, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/us/ny-nra-lawsuit-letitia-james.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=New%20York" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>"Given the breadth and depth of the corruption, the illegality and the brazen attempts to evade the law," said James, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-files-lawsuit-dissolve-nra-n1236009" target="_blank">NBC News</a>, it is necessary for the NRA to shut its doors to protect members and donors.</p><p>James said the suit would be forwarded to the IRS for investigation of potential violations of tax law, according to NBC News.</p><p>"If we uncover any criminal activity, we will refer it to the Manhattan district attorney," she said. "At this point in time, we're moving forward, again, with civil enforcement."</p>
<p>Also Thursday, District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine <a href="https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/NRA-Foundation-Complaint-Redacted.pdf" target="_blank">sued the NRA and the NRA Foundation</a>, its charitable arm, which is incorporated in Washington, DC, as NBC News reported. The lawsuit alleges that the NRA misused charitable funds "to support wasteful spending by the NRA and its executives," and seeks the return of money that it says was donated to the NRA Foundation but was improperly diverted to the NRA.</p><p>"Charitable organizations function as public trusts — and District law requires them to use their funds to benefit the public, not to support political campaigns, lobbying, or private interests," Racine said, as NPR reported. "With this lawsuit, we aim to recover donated funds that the NRA Foundation wasted. District nonprofits should be on notice that the Office of the Attorney General will file suit if we find evidence of illegal behavior."</p>
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
A campaign targeting SUV advertising is a project between the New Weather Institute and climate charity Possible. New Weather Institute
To meet its climate targets, the UK should ban advertisements for gas-guzzling SUVs, according to a report from a British think tank that wants to make SUVs the new smoking, as the BBC reported.
<p>The UK has set the ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2050, but that will be difficult to achieve if the public's appetite for large, private cars does not subside.</p><p>The <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ebd0080238e863d04911b51/t/5f1fe08099156872c6ca1e59/1595924618033/Smoking+Out+The+Climate+FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>, called <em>Upselling Smoke</em>, from New Weather Institute and climate charity Possible, says that SUV advertising should be compared to tobacco advertising, blaming the vehicles for creating a "more dangerous and toxic urban environment."</p><p>It says that if the UK is to meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050, drivers must be discouraged from buying large, heavily polluting vehicles, as the <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/lifestyle/cars/calls-ban-suv-advertising-meet-climate-targets-2931326" target="_blank">Edinburgh News</a> reported.</p>
<p>The New Weather Institute's <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y5dm3pwc" target="_blank">report</a> notes that the size, weight and drag of SUVs means they have a larger carbon footprint than your average car. Despite their enormous carbon footprint, car manufacturers spend millions to increase their share of the UK market. The marketing campaigns are working, too. Just last year, more than 150,000 new cars solved were over 4.8 meters long, which is too large to fit in a standard parking space, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/03/ban-suv-adverts-to-meet-uk-climate-goals-report-urges" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. That's a stark contrast to fully <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles">electric vehicles</a>, which were only 2 percent of new cars sold. Globally, SUVs account for 60 percent of the increase in the global car fleet since 2010, according to the report.</p><p>The New Weather Institute used the 4.8 meters length as its benchmark, arguing that a smoking-style ban should be in place for any vehicle longer than that, since those vehicles emit more than 160g/km of CO2, as the Edinburgh News reported.</p>
<p>"The UK Government's plan for reaching net zero emissions relies on British drivers quickly switching away from buying traditional petrol and diesel cars to cleaner electric vehicles instead," the report reads, according to the Edinburgh News.</p><p>"That is now starting to happen, but there's a problem: we've been switching to buying SUVs even faster, and as a result the average carbon emissions of a new car sold in the UK have been going up instead of down for the past four years."</p><p>Andrew Simms, co-director of the New Weather Institute, said, according to the BBC: "We ended tobacco advertising when we understood the threat from smoking to public health.</p><p>"Now that we know the human health and climate damage done by car pollution, it's time to stop adverts making the problem worse. In a pandemic-prone world, people need clean air and more space on town and city streets."</p><p>He added that advertisements that promote the biggest and worst emitting SUVs were in effect "upselling pollution."</p>
<p>The report noted that the car industry advertises SUVs as being safer because of their size, but in the long run their pollution creates a far more toxic and dangerous environment for both drivers and pedestrians that will harm public health.</p><p>Robbie Gillett, a campaigner at Possible, said, as The Guardian reported: "Whilst millions of us are trying to reduce our carbon footprints to tackle the climate crisis, we have a multibillion-pound car and advertising industry aggressively marketing highly polluting vehicles – many of which are literally too big for UK streets.</p><p>"Their misleading ads promise us freedom and escape – but the reality of urban road conditions is grinding traffic jams, toxic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">air pollution</a> and spiraling carbon emissions from road transport that will trash our climate goals. Let's create space to breathe and space to think – free from the advertising pressures of big polluters."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Mass-Market Electric Pickup Trucks and SUVs Are on the Way ... ›
- SUVs and Trucks Nullify Car Efficiency Gains - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
A mother waits for her son returning home from school near the Gavin Power Plant on Sept. 11, 2019 in Cheshire, Ohio. Stephanie Keith / Getty Images
States in the Northeastern U.S. have made a considerable effort to make their air cleaner by reducing toxic mercury, sulfur dioxide and greenhouse gases emitted by the region's power plants. New research has found that those efforts have had an ancillary benefit of improving the health of children in the area, preventing hundreds of childhood illnesses and saving an additional hundreds of millions of dollars, as WBUR in Boston reported.
<p>The emissions program, known as the <a href="https://www.rggi.org/program-overview-and-design/elements" target="_blank" title="">Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative</a> (RGGI), was established in 2009 and sets a cap on planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions, offering power plants emissions allowances via permit auctions and allowing them to trade those allowances, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/climate/skating-hockey-climate-change.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>Past studies of the RGGI have looked at outcomes such as heart attacks, hospitalizations and lost days of work, though they also took infant mortality, children's acute bronchitis, and some other respiratory symptoms into account. A 2017 <a href="https://www.abtassociates.com/rggi" target="_blank">study</a> found that the health benefits of RGGI were worth somewhere between $3 and $8.3 billion. That includes health benefits to children estimated to be worth about $8.1 million, according to WBUR.</p>
<p>"We felt it was very important to include the outcomes that were associated with the pollutants that had been largely ignored," said Frederica Perera, who runs Columbia University's <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/research/columbia-center-childrens-environmental-health" target="_blank">Center for Children's Environmental Health</a>, to WBUR. "Because the long-term health benefits would be so great if we could prevent these very early damages from occurring."</p><p>Perera and her team found that the emissions reduction may have reduced the number of underweight births in the region and lowered the incidence of asthma and autism by hundreds of cases, offering enormous benefits to children and sparing them a lifelong need for excessive health care resources, according to the new research published in <em><a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP6706" target="_blank">Environmental Health Perspectives</a>.</em></p>
<p>"What makes this study particularly important is that it shows how we have so absurdly undervalued the welfare of our children in how we approach our public policies," said Aaron Bernstein, interim director of the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/" target="_blank">Center for Climate, Health and Global Environment</a> at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital, to WBUR. Bernstein was not involved with the study. "We really have a lot to gain by fully accounting for what air pollution and other forms of pollution do to children," he added.</p>
<p>The researchers quantified just how much RGGI has contributed to children's health. The main driver for the improved health was from the reduction of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Due to the restriction, the region avoided an estimated 537 cases of child asthma, 112 preterm births, 98 cases of autism spectrum disorder, and 56 cases of low birth weight from 2009 to 2014, which provided an economic savings of between $191 million to $350 million, according to <a href="https://www.ehn.org/climate-change-plan-air-pollution-children-health--2646819170.html" target="_blank">Environmental Health News</a>.</p><p>"Toxic air pollutants are released right along with [carbon dioxide]," said Perera to the Environmental Health News. "Because of biological vulnerability, developing fetuses and young [children] are disproportionately affected by air pollution and climate change."</p><p>As for the dollar amount, Perera believes they low-balled the number.</p><p>"The cost estimates are conservative," she said to WBUR. That's because severe diseases in children "play out over their entire lifetimes, and they affect not just the child, but the families."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Even Small Spikes in Air Pollution Can Threaten Children's Mental ... ›
- Mapping the US Counties Where Traffic Air Pollution Hurts Children ›
- Study Links Air Pollution and Teenage Psychotic Experiences ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
A Tesla electric car crosses the Golden Gate Bridge using autopilot on Sept. 29, 2018. Thomas Hawk / Flickr
A federal judge rejected a Trump administration lawsuit to put a stop to California's carbon cap and trade program, which regulates the state's transportation sector, as The Hill reported. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions as of 2018.
<p>The market-based program is designed to reduce carbon emissions by making companies pay for the excess carbon they use. Since its signing in 2006 by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, it has forced companies to spend billions on carbon credits, according to <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article244312482.html" target="_blank">The Sacramento Bee</a>.</p><p>The California legislation enters the state into a marketplace with the Canadian province Quebec. The administration challenged the program, arguing that California had no authority to deal directly with the government of another nation and that the program usurps the federal government's primacy in foreign affairs, as <a href="https://www.ourdailyplanet.com/story/federal-judge-dismisses-trump-administration-lawsuit-over-ca-canada-cap-and-trade/" target="_blank">Our Daily Planet</a> reported.</p>
<p>The alliance between California and Quebec allows companies in both states to sell carbon credits to each other and, California officials say, broadens the market for credits and strengthens the overall program. The White House argued that the trade deal was equivalent to California signing a treaty with a foreign nation, which it is prohibited from doing under the constitution.</p><p>"California's Governors have defied this clear constitutional structure," federal officials argued in court papers, according to The Sacramento Bee. "They have positioned the State in open opposition to the foreign policy of the United States on greenhouse gas emissions."</p>
<p>However, the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb, said California hasn't exceeded its legal limits or intruded on Trump's "foreign affairs power."</p><p>The federal government has shown no "concrete evidence that the President's power to speak and bargain effectively with other countries has actually been diminished," the judge wrote, as The Sacramento Bee reported.</p><p>In a tweet, Gov. Gavin Newsom called Shubb's decision a "huge victory in an unwarranted and vindictive lawsuit against California."</p>
<p>Justice Department spokesperson Danielle Nichols told The Hill in an email that the department is "considering our next steps."</p><p>A spokesperson for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra referred The Hill to a past statement in which the lawyer said "California's Cap-and-Trade Program has existed since 2012 and was only strengthened from our collaboration with Quebec."</p><p>"California has long been a leader in fighting <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a> for the sake of protecting public health, our natural resources, our economy, and indeed our planet," the spokesperson added.</p><p>The cap and trade program revolves around a series of carbon-credit auctions held every three months by the California Resources Board, the state's air pollution agency. Each credit enables the business buying it to emit one ton of carbon pollution. The number of available credits ratchets down every auction, which forces businesses to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint or buy extra credits on the open market. The market-based approach is designed to give individual businesses flexibility while simultaneously reducing the overall volume of carbon emissions, according to The Sacramento Bee.</p><p>In a sign that pollution is dropping, only one-third of carbon credits were sold in the latest auction, suggesting that the coronavirus pandemic is drastically reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the transportation sector.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- 'This Is Political Retribution:' Trump Admin Attacks California's ... ›
- California Passes World's First Clean Trucks Rule - EcoWatch ›
- How California's Cap-And-Trade Program Offers Hope For ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
"Emissions from pyrotechnic displays are composed of numerous organic compounds as well as metals," a new study reports. Nodar Chernishev / EyeEm / Getty Images
Fireworks have taken a lot of heat recently. In South Dakota, fire experts have said President Trump's plan to hold a fireworks show is dangerous and public health experts have criticized the lack of plans to enforce mask wearing or social distancing. Now, a new study shows that shooting off fireworks at home may expose you and your family to dangerous levels of lead, copper and other toxins.
<p>The study, published Wednesday in the journal <em><a href="https://particleandfibretoxicology.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12989-020-00360-4" target="_blank">Particle and Fibre Technology</a></em>, analyzed 12 different retail fireworks and found that once set off, five of them released particle emissions that could damage human cells and animal lungs, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/01/health/fireworks-toxic-air-safety-wellness/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>The metals are used to give the fireworks their vibrant colors when they explode. However, those same metals are hazardous to humans and animals. The study said that blue fireworks can be made of copper and red fireworks can contain strontium, which gives a brilliant red light.</p>
<p>"While many are careful to protect themselves from injury from explosions, our results suggest that inhaling firework smoke may cause longer-term damage, a risk that has been largely ignored," said Terry Gordon, environmental medicine professor at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine, as the <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-fireworks-produce-high-level-lead-toxins-study-20200702-rs26g27afzag3nhlrjbp2yj5fu-story.html" target="_blank">New York Daily News</a> reported</p><p>The study acknowledged that people are typically exposed to these emissions a few times a year, usually around July 4th and New Year's Eve. And yet, even that exposure means people are inhaling much more harmful toxins than what people breathe in normally.</p>
<p>The researchers looked at 14 years of air quality samples taken at dozens of locations across the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency throughout the years. The researchers noticed that levels of toxic metals tended to peak in samples taken near Independence Day and New Year's Eve celebrations. The concentration of airborne toxic metals was much higher during those years than at any other time.</p><p>"Although people are only exposed to these substances for a short time each year, they are much more toxic than the pollutants we breathe every day," said Dr. Gordon in an <a href="https://nyulangone.org/news/common-fireworks-release-lead-copper-other-toxic-metals-air" target="_blank">NYU press release</a>.</p><p>"I could hypothesize that people could have, especially susceptible people like asthmatics, increased episodes," Gordon said to CNN.</p>
<p>To conduct the study, the scientists detonated fireworks in a laboratory chamber. They tested roughly a dozen types of fireworks commonly sold in the U.S., including the Black Cuckoo, the Color-Changing Wheel and the Blue Storm firecracker. They then tested mice and human lung cells with the captured particles.</p><p>The Black Cuckoo, a fountain-style firework, registered the most toxic of the group, at 10 times more damaging to human cells than a nontoxic saline solution, according to the findings, as NYU said in a <a href="https://nyulangone.org/news/common-fireworks-release-lead-copper-other-toxic-metals-air" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>Gordon said that the firework emitted lead particles at 40,000 parts per million, which is exceedingly high. Normally, lead should not be emitted at all, he said, as CNN reported.</p>
<p>Families looking to set off fireworks this weekend should be particularly mindful of children's developing lungs and brains. Parents should make sure their kids are far away from the fireworks smoke and any potential lead exposure.</p><p>"Allow the adults to be the ones to set off the fireworks and stay upwind from it so that the smoke is blowing in the breeze," said Kristin Van Hook, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics section on pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine.</p><p>She told CNN she has seen cases where children who have asthma breathed in fumes from fireworks and ended up in the emergency room.</p><p>Gordon also said that families should be aware what their children are exposed to and that everyone should try to stay downwind from fireworks. He added that the fireworks industry must increase its safety regulations.</p><p>"Given what we've found, I propose that ... they make sure they are importing safer fireworks and that that's what the consumers use," Gordon said to CNN.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- No Social Distancing or Mask Requirement at Trump's Mt ... ›
- Trump's Fireworks Show at Mt. Rushmore Is a Dangerous Idea, Fire ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
A US Hybrid Corporation electric hybrid heavy duty truck moves freight at the Long Beach Port in California on July 31, 2017. Dennis Schroeder / National Renewable Energy Lab
The state of California made history Thursday when it passed a clean truck rule that E&E News reported was the first of its kind in the world.
<p>The <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/advanced-clean-trucks-fact-sheet" target="_blank">Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Regulation</a>, passed unanimously by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), will require more than half of trucks sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035 and 100 percent by 2045, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/climate/zero-emissions-trucks-california.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>"California is once again leading the nation in the fight to make our air cleaner," Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement reported by <a href="https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN23W31N#referrer=https://www.google.com" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p>
<div id="0e389" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c7a1aa4fb96029d99de0cce8cd1f74c2"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276292655962402817" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">California takes bold step to reduce diesel truck pollution. A first of its kind requirement for #zeroemission truc… https://t.co/uNxDgJWvXL</div> — CARB (@CARB)<a href="https://twitter.com/AirResources/statuses/1276292655962402817">1593126856.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The rule aims to end diesel pollution from trucks by requiring manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emissions trucks beginning in 2024. It applies to medium duty and large trucks, as light trucks are already covered by the state's clean car requirements.</p><p>The rule will help California achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2035 and 80 percent by 2050, according to CARB. In addition to its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a> benefits, the rule will help tackle toxic diesel pollution that disproportionately impacts low-income communities of color at a time of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/amp/protestors-publich-health-coronavirus-covid-19-testing-2646141562" target="_self">national protests</a> over racial injustice and a pandemic possibly made <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-air-pollution-fatality-2645656760.html" target="_self">more deadly</a> by exposure to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="_self">air pollution</a>.</p>
<p>Transportation overall accounts for more than 95 percent of California's diesel particulate matter emissions, around 80 percent of its smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions and around 50 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions if fuel production is accounted for, according to CARB. Heavy duty trucks alone are responsible for a third of the state's nitrogen oxide emissions and a fifth of its greenhouse gas emissions, E&E News reported.</p><p>Heavy duty trucks are especially a hazard for the largely low-income or minority communities who live in the state's "diesel death zones," areas passed by thousands of trucks every day.</p><p>"We have some of the worst air quality in the nation, and that's because of the ozone pollution that largely comes from diesel trucks," Anthony Victoria-Midence, a resident of San Bernardino and a spokesman for the <a href="https://www.ccaej.org/" target="_blank">Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice</a> told E&E News in a phone interview. "It's leading to generations of families suffering from all kinds of illnesses, like asthma and cancer. That's why these things need to be addressed now, and the best way to do that is by moving forward a strong Advanced Clean Trucks rule."</p>
<div id="d2e11" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b6e76566a93c97ca381da97066fe8124"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276294522306088960" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: @AirResources votes to pass historic #ElectricTrucksRule, the first of its kind in the nation!
Now let’… https://t.co/D7oD9gtSve</div> — CCAEJ (@CCAEJ)<a href="https://twitter.com/CCAEJ/statuses/1276294522306088960">1593127301.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The rule was opposed by oil companies, farmers and industry groups and truck makers, The New York Times reported. Vehicle and engine manufacturers argued in March that the rule should be delayed because of the economic impacts of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic.</p><p>"This is not a business-as-usual situation, and it should not be a regulation-as-usual situation, either," the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association said in a letter to regulators in March.</p><p>But CARB chairwoman Mary Nichols disagreed.</p><p>"This is exactly the right time for this rule," Nichols told The New York Times. "We certainly know that the economy is in a rough shape right now, and there aren't a lot of new vehicle sales of any kind. But when they are able to buy vehicles again, we think it's important that they be investing in the cleanest kinds of vehicles."</p>
<p>The rule could face another powerful opponent: the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a>. Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/amp/trump-california-emissions-standards-2640413062" target="_self">revoked</a> California's waiver under the Clean Air Act to set its own emissions standards over its clean car rules, and environmental groups fear it may do the same for trucks.</p><p>"I'm sure the Trump administration, if they are still in the White House next year, would try to throw something in the way of this. But I think they would be very hard-pressed to justify it," <a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a> staff attorney Paul Cort told E&E News. "This really is a big rule, and I'm very excited to get this one in the books and move on."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Justice Department Drops Investigation Against Four Automakers ... ›
- Trump Admin Goes After States for Protecting the Environment ... ›
- EPA Says It Will Limit Truck Pollution - EcoWatch ›
- 23 Governors Join California in Opposing Trump's Fuel Efficiency ... ›
- Judge Dismisses Trump Admin Lawsuit Against California's Cap and Trade Program - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
'Black Moms Matter': Increased Heat and Pollution Raise Pregnancy Risks, Especially for Racial Minorities
19 June
Health + Wellness
New research adds to the growing evidence that African American communities are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. electravk / Moment / Getty Images
The evidence is in and it's bleak. More than a decade of research and a robust review of studies found that as air pollution and heat increases so do adverse outcomes in pregnancy, according to a new investigation, as The Guardian reported.
<p>The <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.8243?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=061820" target="_blank">research</a> published on Thursday in the<em> Journal of the American Medical Association</em> looked at 32 million births across 68 studies in the U.S. It found that women who were exposed to air pollution or higher temperatures were more likely to have children who are premature, underweight or stillborn. Like with many health-related outcomes, African Americans were hit disproportionately hard by the increases in air pollution and heat.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/climate/climate-change-pregnancy-study.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> noted, the research adds to the growing evidence that racial minority communities are bearing the brunt of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a> since they are much more likely to be hotter and closer to polluting industries.</p><p>Nathaniel DeNicola, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University's School of Medicine and Health Science and an author on the paper, told <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/503441-research-links-climate-change-to-premature-underweight-or-stillborn" target="_blank">The Hill</a> that while much of the current media coverage is focusing on Black men and police brutality, this paper highlights the systemic disparities for Black women, too.</p><p>"Black moms matter," he said.</p>
<p>"When you talk about climate, people think about severe weather, big storms or huge fires … but we wanted to talk about the impacts that are common and widespread and ongoing and also are rarely attributed to the climate crisis," said Bruce Bekkar, a co-author of the study and a retired obstetrician, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/18/climate-change-air-pollution-investigation-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"We are already having generations weakened from birth. There's just no way we can allow that to happen, and I would like to see not just mothers and their husbands and kids show up at council meetings, but I'd like to see many more health professionals involved in calling for legislation that reduces the ongoing and really pretty scary health burdens of the climate crisis."</p>
<p>The exposures to the climate crisis are exacerbating the problems that African American women already face. According to a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6835a3.htm?s_cid=mm6835a3_w" target="_blank">2019 report</a> from CDC researchers, Black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related issues, while Black infants are more than twice as likely to die as white infants, as I<a href="https://www.instyle.com/beauty/health-fitness/climate-change-pregnancy-risks" target="_blank">nStyle</a> reported.</p><p>Catherine Garcia Flowers, a field organizer in Houston for Moms Clean Air Force, an advocacy group, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/climate/climate-change-pregnancy-study.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> the paper was evidence that the federal government needed to increase air pollution regulations. "This is a moment of reckoning for racial injustice and health disparities," she said. "Doing nothing about air pollution, which so clearly has a greater impact on Black Americans, is racism in action."</p>
<p>These new findings are particularly worrying as the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump</a> administration has rolled back regulations on car and power plant emissions, tried to prop up the coal industry, and relaxed oversight on industries. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has made traditional summer cooling spots like public pools, movie theaters and shopping malls off-limits due to social distancing guidelines, as <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/08/climate-change-emerging-threat-pregnancy-health" target="_blank">Human Rights Watch</a> noted.</p><p>The review found that as heat increased, so did instances of premature birth and low birth weight, both of which can lead to cognitive deficits and physical problems through childhood and later in life.</p>
<p>In addition to looking at pregnancy outcomes as the planet heats up, the researchers zeroed in on two pollutants, smog and fine particulate matter — both are increasing as the climate crisis intensifies. The bulk of the studies reviewed showed that ozone and PM 2.5 are associated with preterm births, low birth weights and stillbirths. One study found that high exposure to air pollution during the final trimester of pregnancy was linked to a 42 percent increase in the risk of stillbirth, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/climate/climate-change-pregnancy-study.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>"Reducing air pollution and fighting climate change is a matter of their children's survival and health," said Bekkar, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/18/climate-change-air-pollution-investigation-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Air Pollution Reaches the Placenta During Pregnancy, New Study ... ›
- Heat Waves May Lead to Birth Defects, Low Birth Weight Babies ... ›
- Climate Crisis Causes Deaths, Stunting and Malnutrition and It's ... ›
- Rising Temperatures to Be More Deadly Than Infectious Diseases, New Study Says - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Trending
U.S. Ranks 24th in New Environmental Performance Index, Near Bottom of Developed Countries
04 June
Politics
A coke storage area is seen as steam rises from the quench towers at the US Steel Clairton Works on Jan. 21, 2020, in Clairton, Pennsylvania. White plumes of smoke billow above western Pennsylvania's rolling hills as scorching ovens bake coal, which rolls in by the trainload along the Monongahela River. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
President Trump's claim that the U.S. has the cleanest air and water in the world has been widely refuted by statistics showing harmful levels of pollution. Now, a new biannual ranking released by researchers at Yale and Columbia finds that the U.S. is nowhere near the top in environmental performance, according to The Guardian.
<p>Not only is the U.S. not in the top 10, it's not in the top 20. It ranks 24th in the 2020 <a href="https://epi.yale.edu/2020-epi" target="_blank">Environmental Performance Index</a> (EPI), which was released on Thursday. The top ranked country, Denmark, has made commitments to a carbon-free future, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. By contrast, the U.S., during the Trump administration, has worked at breakneck speed to rollback environmental regulations, expand <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> development, and ditch international treaties protecting the environment. He has even questioned climate science and ridiculed its findings.</p><p>"If you look at Denmark, they're doing great but they're a tiny fraction of overall carbon emissions or greenhouse gas emissions broadly," said Zach Wenderling, lead researcher on the index, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. "The U.S. is one of the top five players in every greenhouse gas, so we need to do better than just OK if we're going to generate the best practices."</p>
<p>Many signatories to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a> have ramped up their commitments to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, especially in Europe. European countries performed the best in the new index. After Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom rounded out the top four, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>Researchers at Yale and Columbia universities produce the global report, which is released every two years. It ranks 180 of the world's nations on 24 key indicators in 10 categories related to environmental health and ecosystem vitality.</p><p>The data-driven and empirical approach to environmental protection makes it easier to spot problems, track trends, highlight policy successes and failures, identify best practices, and optimize the benefits of investing in environmental protection, said Daniel Esty, a professor of environmental law and policy at Yale, in a university <a href="https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/dan-esty-on-the-2020-environmental-performance-index" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>"[T]he EPI provides a clear and compelling way to see which countries are leading issue by issue, who is lagging, and what the best policy practices look like across a range of critical environmental challenges," said Esty, in the university <a href="https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/dan-esty-on-the-2020-environmental-performance-index" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
<p>Since the EPI was created in the year 2000, the U.S has never reached the top of the rankings.</p><p>"Countries that make an effort do better than those that don't don't and the U.S. right now is not making an effort. That shows up in a stagnation in the rankings where others are really seeing some significant improvements," said Esty, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>The U.S., which is the second largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions after China, is near the bottom of the rankings for advanced industrial countries. China, which suffers from poor air quality, has made significant investments in solar energy and reducing its dependence on coal, and climbed the rankings to 120th place. China is still a big polluter but has made "much more dramatic progress than other countries," Esty said, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>China's ranking as the world's worst contributor to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> is only recent. Over time, the U.S. has put more heat trapping gases into the air than any other country. India, which also sees its cities choking under polluted air quality, ranked 168th.</p>
<p><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
- Trump's 2020 Budget Would Cut EPA Funding by 31% - EcoWatch ›
- Trump's Budget Plan: A Push for Even Greater Environmental ... ›
- 4 Former EPA Chiefs Speak Out Against Trump Administration ... ›
- The World's Happiest and Greenest Countries - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
The sun shines over the Southern Ocean in Antarctica. Rebecca Yale / Moment / Getty Images Plus
Atmospheric researchers have pinpointed the spot on Earth with the cleanest air. It's not in the midst of a remote jungle, nor on a deserted tropical island. Instead, the cleanest air in the world is in the air above the frigid Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, as CNN reported.
<p>Air pollution is a global public health problem that claims 7 million lives every year, stunts the growth of children, and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and pulmonary disorders. So, if you're seeking the cleanest air in the world, you will need to pack a very warm coat.</p><p>The Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica has the air that shows the smallest concentration of particles caused by human pollution. The first of its kind study of the bioaerosol composition of the Southern Ocean was conducted by researchers from Colorado State University, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/world/cleanest-air-intl-scli-scn-climate/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p>
<p>The study, which described the air as "truly pristine," was published Monday in the journal of the <em><a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/05/28/2000134117" target="_blank">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a></em>.</p><p>The researchers noted that the air that forms the lower clouds in the area was free from any particles produced by man-made activity or dust from other continents.</p>
<p>The study sampling of the air was taken from a research ship that sailed from Tasmania to within 24 miles of the Antarctic ice edge to conduct "bacterial profiling" from air filter samples. The scientists were surprised to find that the air was so clear there was barely any bacterial DNA to profile, according to <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/antarctica-scientists-reveal-location-of-worlds-cleanest-air-11999692#:~:text=Experts%20say%20Antarctica%20appears%20isolated,other%20continents%20to%20the%20north.&text=The%20world's%20cleanest%20air%20is,pristine%22%20and%20unaffected%20by%20pollution." target="_blank">Sky News</a>.</p><p>"We were able to use the bacteria in the air over the Southern Ocean (SO) as a diagnostic tool to infer key properties of the lower atmosphere," said Thomas Hill, a researcher in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Colorado State University and a coauthor on the study, in a university <a href="https://engr.source.colostate.edu/csu-atmospheric-scientists-identify-cleanest-air-on-earth-in-first-of-its-kind-study/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>Hill went on to explain how the airborne bacteria is a diagnostic tool to infer the properties of the lower atmosphere.</p><p>"For example, that the aerosols controlling the properties of SO clouds are strongly linked to ocean biological processes, and that Antarctica appears to be isolated from southward dispersal of microorganisms and nutrient deposition from southern continents. Overall, it suggests that the SO is one of very few places on Earth that has been minimally affected by anthropogenic activities," he added.</p>
<p>The scientists analyzed the structure of the airborne microbes, which are dispersed by the wind and travel thousands of miles. The researchers looked at the microbes' DNA, tracked their sources, and analyzed wind trajectories to see where they came from. The microbes they analyzed around Antarctica were from the ocean as opposed to from an airborne pollutant like coal emissions, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/world/cleanest-air-intl-scli-scn-climate/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p><p>According to the university <a href="https://engr.source.colostate.edu/csu-atmospheric-scientists-identify-cleanest-air-on-earth-in-first-of-its-kind-study/" target="_blank">statement</a>, the bacterial composition of the microbes also was differentiated into broad latitudinal zones, which suggested that aerosols from distant land masses and human activities, such as pollution or soil emissions driven by land use change, were not traveling south into Antarctic air.</p>
<p><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Set for Record Decline Due to ... ›
- Coronavirus Shutdowns Causing Huge Drops in Traffic, Air Pollution ... ›
- Blowing the Cover off the 'Cleanest Air' Illusion of the Trump ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
The office of Rover.com sits empty with employees working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 12 in Seattle, Washington. John Moore / Getty Images
The office may never look the same again. And the investment it will take to protect employees may force many companies to go completely remote. That's after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new recommendations for how workers can return to the office safely.
<p>If companies choose to follow the guidelines, it would lead to a dramatic change in the corporate work experience, and likely increase pollution. One of the most striking features of the recommendations is that they upend years of environmental activism that urged people to take public transportation or car-pool. The new recommendations suggest avoiding public transportation and driving to work alone, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>The CDC's new recommendations suggest making this cost-effective. "Offer employees incentives to use forms of transportation that minimize close contact with others, such as offering reimbursement for parking for commuting to work alone or single-occupancy rides," the guidelines say.</p><p>However, the guidelines did not address the environmental impact of such policies or the health impacts from increasing traffic congestion.</p>
<p>Besides making the commute a lonelier and less environmentally friendly, the guidelines also make the office environment lonelier. The CDC recommends placing workers six feet apart. If that's not possible, then companies should erect plastic shields around desks, remove seats in common areas, and avoid perks like coffee machines and snack bins that encourage communal activities and many people touching them, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>In another environmentally damaging recommendation, the CDC does leave room for replacing those items with pre-packaged single-serve coffee and snacks.</p><p>"Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots, water coolers, and bulk snacks, with alternatives such as prepackaged, single-serving items," the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/office-buildings.html" target="_blank">guidelines</a> say.</p>
<p>The guidelines also address the technical aspects of the office. The CDC recommends employers ensure that building ventilation systems are operating properly. It also encourages allowing as much fresh air as possible by opening windows and doors, when feasible, to "increase circulation of outdoor air as much as possible," as <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/health/amid-coronavirus-cdc-offers-guidelines-on-office-reopenings" target="_blank">Fox News</a> reported.</p><p>The guidelines also eliminate many office norms and pleasantries that were once common place. The guidelines tell employers to "[p]rohibit handshaking, hugs, and fist bumps." It also recommends that employees wear a cloth face mask "in all areas of the business," as <a href="https://www.axios.com/cdc-guidelines-coronavirus-office-business-jobs-ab19791a-357e-412a-9a5d-516f78610b4c.html" target="_blank">Axios</a> reported.</p><p>The guidelines encourage daily health checks, including temperature screenings before employees enter the workplace, and to send home sick workers. Then the office should go through enhanced cleaning and disinfection, as <a href="https://www.axios.com/cdc-guidelines-coronavirus-office-business-jobs-ab19791a-357e-412a-9a5d-516f78610b4c.html" target="_blank">Axios</a> reported.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> noted that many white-collar offices have successfully transitioned to a fully distributed workforce and are finding that their office environment is able to continue through video conferencing and Slack channels. With that in mind, companies might find the cost of putting protective measures in place too steep, or they might find that isolation in the office makes it difficult to recruit and retain talent. Businesses may decide to allow their workers to stay home.</p><p>Already companies like Twitter and Square have decided that their employees never need to come back to the office.</p><p>"Companies, surprisingly, don't want to go back to work," said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit think tank, to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "You will not see the drum beat and hue and cry and rush to get back to the office."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Trump Admin Rejects CDC Reopening Guidelines - EcoWatch ›
- Trump Labor Department Encourages States to Report Workers ... ›
- White House Ordered Coronavirus Meetings Be Classified - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less