News & Commentary

Greater Energy Equity Ahead, in both Maryland and Virginia

May 25, 2023 Expert BlogVirginia, Maryland, Richmond (Virginia)Walton Shepherd, Lucy LaFlamme, Dawone Robinson

New state laws in MD and VA will lower spiking electric bills for those least able to afford them, through better-designed home energy efficiency improvements.

The Proposed Colorado River Deal: A Short-Term Band-Aid for a Long-Term Problem

May 23, 2023 Expert BlogWest, California, Arizona, Nevada, MexicoDr. Mark Gold

The Colorado River conservation proposal from Arizona, California, and Nevada reduces diversions by 1 million acre feet a year. Is this enough to make river management sustainable?

Clean Cars Yield $95 Billion in Benefits for Coloradans

May 18, 2023 Expert BlogColoradoYeh-Tang Huang

A new study shows that the Colorado Clean Car program can bring over $95 billion in benefits to the state. 

Colorado Legislative Roundup: 2023

May 9, 2023 Expert BlogColoradoAlana Miller

A suite of important, yet heavily negotiated, environmental bills are making their way to Governor Polis’s desk.

Colorado's Win for Clean Trucks

May 5, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, ColoradoClaire Lang-Ree

Colorado voted to adopt historic standards to promote clean trucks in the state, which will reduce harmful air pollution from trucks and buses. It's time for other Western states to move forward with these safeguards.

Goodbye Verner, Fearless Fighter Against the Pebble Mine

April 19, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, AlaskaJoel Reynolds

Bristol Bay tribal and environmental leader Verner Wilson III personified the next generation of committed opposition in decades-long battle against destructive Bristol Bay mining scheme.  

Colorado River Carbon Bomb: Utah's Uinta Railway Project

April 6, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, UtahJosh Axelrod

Backers of a proposed crude-by-rail project in northeastern Utah—which would unleash a carbon bomb potentially larger than the controversial Willow Project—want taxpayer support to the tune of $2 billion.

Colorado’s Opportunity for Cleaner Cars

February 16, 2023 Expert BlogColoradoClaire Lang-Ree, Kathy Harris, Alana Miller

The state can lead by adopting the full Advanced Clean Cars II rule and ensuring all Coloradans have the freedom to choose quality clean vehicles.

Supercharge EmPOWER to Ensure No Marylander Gets Left Behind

February 16, 2023 Expert BlogMarylandDeron Lovaas, Sam Whillans

Creating a low-income energy savings target can ensure that Maryland’s energy efficiency program works toward equity—not against it.

Six Colorado Basin States Lay Down a Marker for California

January 31, 2023 Expert BlogArizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, WestEd Osann

The "Consensus Based Modeling Alternative" is a positive development in addressing the current water emergency. It’s unfortunate that California did not join in this recommendation.

Earth to EPA: “End the Threat,” Protect Bristol Bay Now

January 12, 2023 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Broad-based coalition calls on EPA to finalize its recommended Clean Water Act veto of the Pebble Mine.

Colorado’s Religious Communities See Climate Action as a Moral Obligation

December 22, 2022 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

Whether fighting for clean air or affordable housing, several of the state’s faith leaders are uniting around the notion of protecting “home.”

EPA, Do the Right Thing on Truck Pollution

December 14, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, Missouri, Kansas City (Missouri)Patricio Portillo

If the Biden administration is going to deliver on its pledges to address climate change and environmental justice, EPA must approve the most ambitious state and federal heavy-duty vehicle standards possible.

Equitable Building Decarbonization Across the Country: 2022

December 14, 2022 Expert BlogCalifornia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, OregonCaroline Keicher, Joe O'Brien-Applegate

Policies and programs aimed at new construction and existing buildings continue to gain traction as communities and elected officials realize the feasibility and benefits of ambitious and equity-centered action.

States Embrace the Transition to Clean Cars

December 14, 2022 Expert BlogCalifornia, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, WashingtonKathy Harris

The federal government has made strides to help bolster the electric vehicle market, attract manufacturing, and ensure a robust charging network. But in many ways, states led the way.

Pebble Mine Veto: China Laughing?! It’s Pebble Weeping!

December 5, 2022 Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesJoel Reynolds

Replying to EPA’s recommended veto of destructive Bristol Bay mine, desperate Canadian owner argues yet again, against law and science, that the proposed agency decision after 12 years of federal review remains “peremptory,” based on “wildly speculative” assumptions, and an…

Protection for Bristol Bay Is Within Reach

December 1, 2022 Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesTaryn Kiekow Heimer

EPA just released a recommendation under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act that would prohibit the Pebble Mine—a giant gold and copper mine proposed at the headwaters of the world’s greatest wild salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska. This…

Memo to Maryland: Start Over on Workplace Heat Protections

November 16, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, MarylandJuanita Constible

Maryland needs to shelve its weak and unenforceable proposal for workplace heat standards and start over again.

Colorado River Basin Tribes Address a Historic Drought—and Their Water Rights—Head-On

November 14, 2022 DispatchColoradoTim Vanderpool

Their growing inclusion in the region’s water management will likely prove priceless.

Pebble Mine: Too Much Trick, Too Little Treat

November 4, 2022 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

House Committee Issued a Report Detailing How Pebble Mine Proponents “Tried to Trick Regulators” and Asked the Attorney General to Investigate False Statements to Congress