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291 results
SURGING POWER OUTAGES and Climate Change
Climate Central's analysis of U.S. power outage data from 2000-2021 reveals a significant increase in large-scale disruptions, with 83% of major outages attributed to weather-related events. The report highlights that the frequency of major outages rose by 64% between 2011-2021 compared to 2000-2010, driven by severe weather, winter storms, hurricanes, extreme heat, and wildfires. It emphasizes the vulnerability of aging infrastructure and the compounding effects of climate change, which simultaneously increases electricity demand for cooling while reducing the capacity of power plants due to water shortages. The report identifies the Southeast as the region with the highest number of outages and notes specific recent surges in Texas, California, and Michigan.
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Document type: Report
Regulatory Process Design for Decarbonization, Equity, and Innovation
The report argues that traditional US public utilities commission (PUC) processes are too slow and restrictive to meet urgent decarbonization and equity mandates. It recommends four primary reforms: setting clear proceeding objectives, expanding stakeholder roles in solution development, reducing information asymmetry by unlocking utility data, and initiating new inclusive processes such as regulatory sandboxes and updated benefit-cost analysis frameworks.
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Document type: Report
Where Have All the Houses Gone? Private Equity, Single Family Rentals, and Americas Neighborhoods
The document details the rise of the institutional single-family rental (SFR) industry following the 2008 financial crisis, highlighting how private equity firms like Blackstone, Pretium Partners, and Cerberus Capital Management have acquired hundreds of thousands of homes. It argues that these firms outcompete individual homebuyers with cash offers and impose high rents and fees on tenants. The report provides evidence of widespread eviction filings during the COVID-19 pandemic, often targeting majority-Black communities, and documents systemic failures in property maintenance. It also critiques the National Rental Home Council (NRHC) as a lobbying tool for the industry's largest players and recommends legislative protections including rent caps, 'Just Cause' eviction laws, and beneficial ownership disclosure.
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Document type: Statement
What makes for a good clean hydrogen hub?
The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) outlines four primary criteria for successful clean hydrogen hubs: minimizing greenhouse gas intensity across the production value chain, prioritizing hard-to-abate end-use sectors, committing to environmental justice and community engagement, and delivering immediate local environmental benefits. These recommendations are directed at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) following the authorization of $8 billion under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to establish at least four regional hubs.
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Document type: Policy brief
Vulnerability and Resilience of U.S. Coastal Wetlands to Sea Level Rise
The report analyzes the potential for U.S. coastal wetlands to either expand or almost entirely disappear by 2100 based on sea level rise rates, vertical accretion, and the conservation of land for horizontal migration. It identifies Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas as high-risk areas and emphasizes that conserving undeveloped dryland (refugia) is a decisive factor in preventing widespread wetland loss.
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Document type: Report
Vulnerabilidad y resiliencia al aumento del nivel del mar de los humedales costeros de los Estados Unidos
The report analyzes the future of US coastal wetlands under various sea-level rise and development scenarios. It finds that wetlands can either expand by 25% or decrease by 97% by 2100, depending on human decisions regarding land conservation for migration and the rate of vertical growth. Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas are identified as high-risk areas. The document emphasizes that preserving undeveloped land (refuges) is the most critical factor in preventing widespread wetland loss.
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Document type: Executive summary
Profit Over Safety: Private Equity’s Leveraged Bet on Packers Sanitation
The report examines Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI), a food sanitation company owned by the Blackstone Group, highlighting a pattern of severe workplace injuries and fatalities. It argues that private equity practices, specifically dividend recapitalizations that load companies with debt, create financial pressures that lead to safety shortcuts and the exploitation of vulnerable immigrant and formerly incarcerated workers.
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Document type: Report
How to Help Your Community Fund Electric School Buses in the US
The document outlines the financial landscape for electric school bus (ESB) adoption in the US, noting that while ESBs can cost up to three times more than diesel buses upfront, they offer significant lifetime operational savings. It details various funding mechanisms—including grants, rebates, vouchers, and loans—and identifies specific funding sources from the federal government (such as the IIJA), state programs (like California's HVIP), and local utilities or air quality districts. The guide also emphasizes the role of financing and 'stacking' multiple funding streams to make electrification viable for school districts.
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Document type: Guide
Creating Climate-Friendly Homes
Residential and commercial buildings contribute 13% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The document highlights that adopting cost-effective efficiency and electrification measures can reduce carbon emissions of single-family homes by 24%, with the most significant savings coming from replacing inefficient furnaces and air conditioners with high-efficiency heat pumps.
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Document type: Briefing
Statement for the Record October 21, 2021 Hearing of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs How Private Equity Landlords are Changing the Housing Market
The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) testifies that manufactured housing, which comprises 6.3% of the U.S. housing stock, is increasingly owned by private equity firms and institutional investors. These owners leverage the limited mobility of residents—who often cannot move or sell their homes without significant loss—to increase rents and fees. PESP highlights YES! Communities as a primary example of aggressive eviction practices, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The document calls for rent regulations, 'good cause' eviction laws, and paths toward resident or public ownership to preserve affordability and safety.
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Document type: Statement
Cleaning Up Hazardous Coal Ash Can Create Jobs and Improve the Environment
The document examines the environmental and health risks of coal ash, one of the largest industrial waste streams in the US, and advocates for 'clean closure' (full remediation and excavation) over limited cleanup plans. Using case studies from the J. M. Stuart plant in Ohio and the Sebree Generating Station in Kentucky, the authors demonstrate that comprehensive cleanup generates significantly more jobs and economic output than utility-proposed plans. The report highlights that coal ash sites disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color, particularly in the Ohio River Valley, and recommends stronger EPA enforcement, polluter-pays funding, and the prioritization of dislocated workers in hiring.
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Document type: Executive summary
Repairing the Damage
The report examines the hazards of coal ash disposal, particularly in the Ohio River Valley, and advocates for 'clean closure' (excavation) over 'cap-in-place' methods. Through case studies of the Sebree Generating Station in Kentucky and the J. M. Stuart Station in Ohio, the authors demonstrate that comprehensive cleanup generates significantly more jobs and economic output than utility-proposed plans. The document highlights the disproportionate impact of coal ash pollution on low-income communities and people of color, and calls for stronger EPA enforcement and state-level regulations to ensure the safe removal of toxic waste.
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Document type: Report
HOW-TO GUIDE Legislative Language for Equitable Energy Storage
The Union of Concerned Scientists outlines how state legislation can leverage energy storage to advance equity, focusing on replacing fossil fuel peaker plants, increasing community resiliency, and expanding access to distributed energy resources for low-income and overburdened communities.
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Document type: Guide
Priorities for Resilient Agriculture in Budget Reconciliation
The Union of Concerned Scientists recommends strategic investments in USDA conservation programs, agricultural research, and debt relief for underserved producers to help the US reach its 2030 and 2050 climate goals. Key recommendations include $4 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and $9 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), both of which are currently oversubscribed. The brief also calls for $500 million each for SARE and AFRI to address research gaps in agroecology and systems science, $50 million for USDA Climate Hubs, and at least $200 million for Conservation Technical Assistance to support the adoption of climate-beneficial practices.
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Document type: Policy brief
The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US
As of March 2022, 12,275 electric school buses have been committed across 38 US states, with California leading in adoption. While a large portion of these commitments stem from a single 10,000-bus contract between Midwest Transit Equipment and SEA Electric, the report finds that adoption is trending toward historically underserved communities, particularly those with high PM2.5 pollution and high populations of non-white and/or Hispanic people.
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Document type: Report
Phosmet
Phosmet is a U.S. registered pesticide used in 40 states, primarily on orchards and grapes, and is currently under registration review. It is associated with serious health effects, including cancer, neurodevelopmental harm, and reproductive toxicity, with exposure occurring via food, drinking water, and occupational contact. The pesticide is applied to a significant percentage of several common crops, including peaches (55%) and nectarines (50%).
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Document type: Fact sheet
A CITIZEN’S GUIDE TO THE FEDERAL REGULATORY PROCESS
The document outlines the legal and procedural steps of federal rulemaking and place-specific environmental actions, such as permitting and Superfund cleanups. It provides strategic advice for citizens to submit effective comments, request meetings with officials, and use legal mechanisms like citizen suits to ensure agency accountability. A significant portion of the guide is dedicated to environmental justice, explaining how marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change and detailing resources and grants available to help these communities participate in decision-making.
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Document type: Guide
Presentacién de Amicus Curiae en relacién con la Revisién del Incidente de Suspensién atraida por la Facultad de Atraccién 647/2019
The document provides technical and legal arguments to support the suspension of the Granja Porcícola Homun, a large-scale swine operation in the Yucatan Peninsula. It asserts that such 'mega-farms' pose severe risks to water quality, air quality, and public health, specifically through the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The authors argue that under the precautionary principle and international law, the burden of proof should shift to the state and operator to prove the absence of danger, rather than requiring affected citizens—including indigenous Maya children—to prove certain harm before preventative measures are taken.
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Document type: Legal commentary
PETITION TO THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY To prohibit the use of certain exemptions to the premanufacture notice requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
The petition argues that PFAS, due to their toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation, cannot meet the legal standard of not presenting an 'unreasonable risk' required for PMN exemptions. It specifically targets the Byproducts, Low Volume (LVE), Low Release and Exposure (LoREX), and Polymer exemptions, asserting that these loopholes allow hazardous chemicals to enter the market without adequate safety review or public notification.
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Document type: Report
Electrifying the US School Bus Fleet: How to Put Children First in the Zero-emission Transition
The document advocates for replacing the approximately 480,000 diesel-powered school buses in the United States with zero-emission electric alternatives. It highlights that while electric buses have higher initial procurement costs—nearly triple those of diesel buses—they offer lower operational and maintenance costs, saving schools an estimated $2,000 in fuel and $4,400 in maintenance annually. The author supports the Clean Commute for Kids Act, which proposes $25 billion over 10 years, and the American Jobs Plan, which aims to electrify at least 20% of the fleet with a $20 billion investment. The transition is framed as a necessity for public health, as diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen and pollution levels inside buses can be 10 times ambient levels, negatively impacting children's lung development and cognitive performance. Furthermore, the document asserts that this shift would address racial and economic inequities, as communities of color in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions face 66% higher exposure to vehicle air pollution than white residents, and would stimulate domestic manufacturing jobs at companies like Blue Bird in Georgia and Thomas Built in North Carolina.
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Document type: Statement