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lowest common denominator
The report examines the CropLife-ECPA proposal for regulatory convergence under TTIP, asserting that the pesticide industry is attempting to use trade negotiations to compel the European Union to abandon its precautionary, hazard-based approach to pesticide regulation in favor of the less stringent risk-assessment model used in the United States. The author argues that this would lead to higher pesticide residues on food, the continued use of endocrine disruptors, and the failure to protect bee populations. Furthermore, the report claims the proposal would restrict public access to safety data and usurp the regulatory authority of US states and EU Member States to implement stronger local protections.
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Document type: Report
pops_bills_28feb2006-95846d82e9477a0d.pdf
The document examines the legislative hurdles preventing the United States from ratifying the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). It analyzes four proposed bills intended to amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), concluding that only the Solis TSCA bill (H.R. 4800) aligns with the treaty's health-based standards and supports state-level environmental protections.
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Document type: Report
stateagspopsletter-967e5ecbdb84bb51.pdf
A letter dated February 28, 2006, from several U.S. state Attorneys General to the House Committee on Energy & Commerce opposing specific provisions of HR 4591. The bill aims to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs Treaty), but the signees argue it contains overly broad preemption language and flawed EPA review procedures that would hinder state and federal environmental protections.
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Document type: Statement
Energy Communities under the Clean Energy Package Transposition Guidance
The document offers detailed guidance on defining, regulating, and supporting Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) under the EU's Clean Energy Package. It emphasizes the need for non-commercial purposes, democratic governance, and the removal of administrative barriers to empower citizens in the energy transition. The guide provides specific recommendations on legal forms, effective control, market access, and the design of support schemes, while drawing on examples from various EU Member States and the US to illustrate best practices for implementation.
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Document type: Guide
Policy Roadmap
The document argues that integrating public health and equity into climate policy can broaden political support and save lives, estimating that low-carbon policies could avoid 1 million American deaths annually. It proposes a roadmap of legislative and agency actions, including banning natural gas expansion, transitioning to regenerative agriculture, and electrifying public transit, to align the U.S. with the Paris Agreement's 1.5C target. The brief emphasizes that health co-benefits could offset 10% to 41% of U.S. mitigation costs.
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Document type: Policy brief
Toxic Tides: Public report DRAFT
The report identifies 5,500 hazardous facilities along U.S. coasts at risk of 100-year coastal flooding by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario. It highlights a significant environmental justice gap, finding that poorer and marginalized communities are 15-41% more likely to live near these at-risk sites. The analysis emphasizes the danger of 'NaTech' disasters, where natural events trigger technological failures, leading to toxic contamination of floodwaters.
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Document type: Report
Opportunities for a Green Bank in California
The fact sheet proposes a California Green Bank to bridge the financing gap for low-carbon technologies. It suggests using carbon emissions auction revenues to provide credit enhancements, loan guarantees, and project aggregation to help homeowners, small businesses, and innovators access affordable capital. The document highlights specific barriers in electric vehicle financing, energy efficiency upgrades, and grid-scale storage, while citing existing green bank models in New York, Connecticut, and Hawaii as precedents.
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Document type: Fact sheet
How Could a California Green Bank Help Accelerate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency?
The fact sheet proposes that a California green bank could overcome financing barriers for underserved homeowners, small businesses, and public entities. It suggests the bank act as a credit enhancer, direct lender, or project aggregator to lower costs and risks. Additionally, it argues that a green bank could support the state's energy storage mandate and bridge the gap between technology demonstration and commercial scale-up for clean energy innovations.
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Document type: Fact sheet
MEET GLOBAL WARMING'S SIX AMERICAS
The document provides an educator's guide to the 'Global Warming’s Six Americas' framework, which categorizes the American public into six distinct audiences based on their beliefs and actions regarding climate change: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive. It outlines educational goals, such as articulating differences in public perception and developing communication strategies, and suggests classroom activities like group presentations and creative projects to engage students in 6th-7th grade or those new to climate communication.
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Document type: Guide
QUESTION BANK STUDENT PAGE
The document is a student guide designed to facilitate classroom conversations, small group discussions, or writing prompts based on 90-second radio stories from Yale Climate Connections. It provides a structured set of questions divided into categories such as general impressions, making connections, finding and evaluating solutions, justice and equity, and climate communication in action. Additionally, it lists suggested radio stories categorized by topics including energy, health, policy and politics, and species and ecosystems, and offers extension activities for deeper research and analysis.
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Document type: Guide
NEW JERSEY COAL ASH GENERATION, CONTAMINATION AND REGULATORY GAPS
New Jersey electric utilities generate 642,300 tons of coal ash annually, ranking 37th in the U.S. While much of this waste is transported out of state, New Jersey residents face health and water quality threats from coal ash dumping in Pennsylvania and New York, including a 100-million-gallon spill into the Delaware River in 2005. The document argues that New Jersey's own regulations are insufficient because they do not mandate composite liners for all dump sites or universal groundwater monitoring at all coal ash ponds and landfills.
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Document type: Fact sheet
NEW YORK COAL ASH DISPOSAL IN PONDS AND LANDFILLS
New York generates 2.8 million tons of coal ash annually, ranking 15th in the US. The document identifies six coal ash ponds and numerous landfills, noting that five specific sites have contaminated groundwater or surface water with toxins such as arsenic, lead, and selenium. It argues that New York state law is deficient because it allows the Department of Environmental Conservation to exempt coal ash monofills from certain permitting requirements and does not mandate groundwater monitoring or composite liners for all facilities.
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Document type: Fact sheet
2021-11-17_act_comments_final-59d11bb27e5813e9.pdf
The document argues that adopting the ACT rule is essential for New York to meet its climate goals under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and to address severe public health disparities caused by diesel emissions. It highlights that medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) are a primary source of greenhouse gases and toxic air pollutants, particularly in communities of color. The authors assert that zero-emission MHDVs are technically viable and cost-effective, projecting that the rule would add over 228,000 zero-emission vehicles by 2050 and generate $1.9 billion in net societal benefits. The statement recommends strengthening the rule by limiting early crediting to one year and lowering the fleet reporting threshold to five vehicles to better identify pollution hot spots and address labor misclassification.
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Document type: Statement
RESPONSE OF TWENTY-FIVE ORGANIZATIONS TO THE PETITION OF INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS OF NEW YORK, INC., NEW YORK STATE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL AND NEW YORK STATE AFL-CIO FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SO-CALLED “ZERO” EMISSIONS ENERGY SYSTEMS PROGRAM UNDER THE CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD
A coalition of twenty-five environmental and justice organizations argues that the IPPNY petition would improperly subsidize fossil fuel-based technologies that are not truly zero-emissions. The commenters contend that the proposed definition of "zero emissions" contradicts the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), threatens disadvantaged communities with continued pollution, and ignores the recommendations of the Power Generation Advisory Panel. They urge the Commission to focus instead on energy storage and the phase-down of fossil fuel generation.
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Document type: Report
ag_forestry_chapter_nys_cac_comments-82373801e75aa412.pdf
The document argues that New York's Draft Scoping Plan (DSP) relies too heavily on industry-biased accounting and voluntary measures. It recommends prioritizing forest preservation over harvesting, eliminating forest-based carbon offsets, implementing mandatory methane regulations for large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), and adopting specific statewide targets for soil health practices.
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Document type: Statement
OIKOS RED AMBIENTAL C/ GOBIERNO DE LA PROVINCIA DE MENDOZA P/ ACCIÓN INCONSTITUCIONALIDAD E INCONVENCIONALIDAD
Earthjustice argues that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) poses grave and irreversible risks to human health and the environment, citing extensive evidence from the United States. The organization contends that the Government of Mendoza's Decree No. 248/18 was issued without sufficient technical research or baseline data, violating the precautionary principle. Earthjustice requests the court to nullify the decree and suspend fracking activities until comprehensive scientific studies on air pollution, water contamination, radioactive waste, and induced seismicity are conducted.
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Document type: Statement
Coal Ash
The report details how coal ash, the second-largest industrial waste stream in the U.S., contains toxic heavy metals that leach into groundwater and surface water or become airborne as fugitive dust. It highlights the inadequacy of current state-level regulations and the failure of unlined disposal ponds, citing numerous 'damage cases' where communities have suffered from contaminated drinking water and ecological collapse. The authors advocate for a transition away from wet storage and unencapsulated reuse, calling for federal standards to protect susceptible populations, particularly children and low-income communities.
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Document type: Report
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT RAIL SAFETY AND OIL
The document presents a series of testimonials and official statements highlighting the systemic risks associated with using DOT-111 tank cars for crude oil transport. Key authorities, including the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the U.S. Department of Transportation, describe these cars as prone to breaching during derailments, creating an "unacceptable public risk." The compiled evidence emphasizes that voluntary industry action is insufficient, calling for mandatory bans and updated safety standards to prevent catastrophic accidents in densely populated areas and environmentally sensitive regions.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Fact Sheet U.S. Climate Jobs
In 2024, the United States had more than 4,085,300 climate jobs, with clean energy job creation outpacing fossil fuel job creation. Energy efficiency was the largest sector, supporting nearly 2.4 million jobs, while renewable energy supported 596,100 jobs, dominated by solar and wind. Clean energy storage and grid modernization supported 160,300 jobs. Clean vehicle employment fell by 3% between 2023 and 2024, though renewable fuels remained steady. The adaptation and resilience industry grew by 18% to $4.8 billion in 2024, despite a lack of formal tracking by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Federal legislation including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) significantly drove investment, although some incentives were weakened or eliminated in 2025.
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Document type: Fact sheet
RECOVERY ACT HIGH SPEED RAIL AWARDS
The document details the distribution of Recovery Act funds for high-speed rail awards across the West, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast regions of the United States. The West region received the highest allocation at $2,942,000,000, followed by the Midwest at $2,599,600,000, the Southeast at $1,870,000,000, and the Northeast at $485,000,000. Key projects include the California High-Speed Rail, the Tampa-Orlando Phase 1 HSR, and various track, signal, and station upgrades across multiple state corridors to increase train speeds and reliability.
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Document type: Fact sheet