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The document asserts that the United States can save billions of dollars annually by implementing the National Climate Action Plan, noting that the costs of climate inaction—such as extreme weather damages—are already significant. It highlights four key areas for emissions reductions: power plants, energy efficiency, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and methane, arguing that the resulting public health and economic gains exceed regulatory costs. The text further claims that EPA regulations often cost less than projected and can stimulate industry investment by providing a clear regulatory framework.

The US experienced a nearly four-fold increase in electricity from wind and solar between 2007 and 2012, with nine states already generating 10 percent or more of their power from these sources. The document asserts that current grid tools can handle higher percentages of variable renewable energy and that a combination of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower could supply 80 percent of US electricity by 2050, with wind and solar alone contributing 50 percent.

The Union of Concerned Scientists proposes a transition from industrial agriculture to 'healthy farms' based on agro-ecological principles. The brief identifies four key strategies: adopting a landscape approach to biodiversity, increasing crop rotation diversity, reintegrating livestock and crops, and expanding the use of cover crops. It argues that these methods can maintain high yields and profits while reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, mitigating pollution, and enhancing soil fertility. The document concludes that this transition requires systemic policy changes, including increased financial incentives, expanded technical assistance, and more publicly funded research into sustainable practices.

The report tracks the stability and shifts of the 'Six Americas' segments, noting a decrease in the 'Disengaged' and an increase in the 'Cautious'. It details varying levels of belief in global warming's impact on US weather, trust in political figures, and support for a revenue-neutral tax swap on fossil fuels across these groups.

The brief highlights the role of the 2008 Farm Bill in stimulating the U.S. biofuels industry and reducing oil dependence. It details specific programs like the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) and the Biorefinery Assistance Program, noting that while initial investments of less than $2 billion have shown promise, significant further investment is required to meet Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets for 2022. The author emphasizes that shifting to biofuels can improve energy security, support rural economic development, and mitigate climate change.

The report finds that while a vast majority of Americans experienced extreme weather in the past year and many link high-profile events to global warming, household disaster preparedness remains low, with only about 36-37% having emergency plans or kits.

A 2012 survey of 1,008 American adults found that 82% personally experienced an extreme weather event in the previous year, and a majority believe U.S. weather is worsening. While many link high-profile disasters to global warming, only about a third of respondents have both an emergency plan and a supply kit. The report also highlights a public interest in hearing weathercasters discuss global warming, despite infrequent occurrences of such discussions in forecasts.

A November 2011 survey of 1,000 US adults found that 63% believe global warming is happening and 50% attribute it mostly to human activities. A majority (57%) rejected the idea that economic conditions prevent the US from reducing global warming, and 65% believe global warming is affecting US weather, specifically linking it to record temperatures, droughts in Texas and Oklahoma, Mississippi River floods, record snowfalls, and Hurricane Irene.

The report examines the growth of local and regional food systems in the U.S., highlighting their potential to create tens of thousands of jobs and improve public health and environmental sustainability. It identifies barriers to scaling these systems, such as inadequate infrastructure and safety nets, and recommends increased federal funding and research to support small-scale farmers and low-income consumers.

The report documents the presence of hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen, in leachate from coal ash disposal sites and groundwater across the United States. It highlights a discrepancy between the EPA's recognition of the chemical's toxicity in drinking water and its failure to account for ingestion risks in its coal ash risk assessments. The document provides evidence from EPA, DOE, and EPRI studies showing that chromium leaching from coal ash is nearly 100% hexavalent and often exceeds safety standards by thousands of times. It concludes that the EPA must designate coal ash as a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to protect public health.

The document analyzes the challenges facing the U.S. advanced biofuels industry, including the 'valley of death' between pilot projects and commercialization, volatile petroleum prices, and regulatory uncertainties. It argues that while the federal government provides essential broad-scale support, state governments are uniquely positioned to guide the industry by leveraging local geography and resources. The report proposes ten specific policy options for states, ranging from resource inventorying and sustainable feedstock guidelines to the implementation of low carbon fuel standards and interagency cooperation, highlighting examples from states like California, Oregon, and Tennessee.

The document outlines the job creation potential of the clean energy economy, citing that renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) industries created over nine million jobs in the U.S. in 2007. It provides specific employment projections for various technologies, including wind, solar, bioenergy, and geothermal, across U.S. states and international markets such as Germany, Brazil, and India. The text also compares these figures to employment trends in the fossil fuel and nuclear sectors and details U.S. legislative efforts, such as the Green Jobs Act of 2007 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to support workforce training and clean energy deployment.

The report identifies a warming and potentially drier trend for the Great Lakes region, predicting significant temperature increases and shifts in precipitation patterns by the end of the 21st century. These changes are expected to disrupt aquatic ecosystems, reduce forest diversity, and create economic risks for agriculture and shipping. The document advocates for a three-pronged approach: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing local environmental pressures, and planning for climate adaptation.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) has launched the Climate Equity and the Clean Energy Transition Project to address the historical trend of placing clean energy infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, which often exacerbates existing injustices. The project aims to move from adversarial relationships to cooperative engagement between environmental justice communities, the energy sector, and climate advocates. Key activities include on-site community research, analyzing best practices for clean energy siting to protect public health, and developing a roadmap to modernize federal government programs and budgets to make them more accessible to underserved populations. Additionally, CATF is piloting an online capacity-building tool for community engagement and hosting workshops with environmental justice organizations to redefine decision-making processes and address air quality health impacts. The project focuses on various U.S. rural, tribal, and urban locations, including the Navajo Nation and the Ironbound Community, to produce recommendations for equitable project development and federal program implementation.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) used US EPA COBRA modeling to estimate that retiring four Illinois nuclear plants (Byron, Dresden, Braidwood, and LaSalle) would lead to significant increases in PM2.5 pollution. Over a ten-year period, this shift is projected to cause between 1,200 and 2,700 premature deaths and $10 to $24 billion in monetized damages. While the pollution sources are spread across ten states, the most severe health impacts are concentrated in the Midwest.

Louisiana is the largest U.S. ecosystem for hydrogen, ranking first nationally in dedicated hydrogen production and serving as a major hub for petroleum refining, ammonia, and methanol production.

Oklahoma electric utilities generate 1.5 million tons of coal ash annually, ranking 28th in the US. The state's disposal infrastructure consists of five ponds and two landfills, with EPA inspections identifying all four ponds at the Hugo Power Station as being in "poor" condition. Significant groundwater contamination is reported at the Northeastern Station, where selenium, arsenic, lead, and barium exceed federal drinking water standards. Additionally, residents in Bokoshe report high rates of asthma and cancer linked to fugitive dust from a local landfill. The document argues that Oklahoma's regulatory framework is insufficient, as it does not mandate groundwater monitoring or composite liners for all coal ash disposal sites.

An analysis of four Oklahoma coal ash dump sites reveals groundwater contamination at all locations, with toxic chemicals exceeding federal health standards. The report identifies specific pollutants—including arsenic, boron, cobalt, lithium, molybdenum, radium, selenium, and sulfate—and documents systemic noncompliance with federal monitoring and stability requirements across these facilities, noting a lack of state enforcement.

The document provides a detailed schedule of federal coal lease readjustment dates from 2021 to 2025, identifying the specific lease numbers, the states where the leases are located, and the companies holding those leases. The list covers operations across several Western U.S. states, including Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, Washington, and Oklahoma.

The document outlines the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency in Oklahoma, stating that specific policies could help the state meet 87% of its carbon pollution goals under the EPA's Clean Power Plan. By 2030, a combination of annual energy savings, model building codes, energy service contracts, and 40 MWs of combined heat and power could avoid over 10 million tons of CO2 and save Oklahomans $288 million.