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California Climate Legislation | Earth Wise

October 6, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

At the end of its summer session, California’s state legislature passed five climate-related bills including ones that it had been unable to pass in previous sessions. Taking all of these actions puts California in the position of blazing a trail for the country and the rest of world in taking aggressive action on climate issues.

One bill confirmed California’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2045. Another bill added interim-term targets to go along with the state’s goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2045. It sets a target of 90% by 2030 and 95% by 2040. That bill mandates that California state agencies use 100% clean energy by 2035, which is a decade earlier than the previous requirement.

A third bill requires the California Air Resources Board to determine steps and regulations for carbon-capture and storage projects at pollution hotspots like oil refineries.

A fourth bill requires the state to set goals for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through natural means such as tree planting.

The California state budget includes a record-breaking $54 billion to be spent on climate programs over the next five years, including $6.1 billion toward electric vehicles, $14.8 billion towards public transit projects, more than $8 billion for electric grid stabilization, $2.7 billion towards preventing wildfires, and $2.8 billion towards managing drought.

California has been dealing with ongoing drought and numerous wildfires and is highly motivated to take decisive action in dealing with the climate crisis. California’s environmental initiatives often result in comparable actions taken by other states.

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California Passes Massive Climate Legislation Package

Photo, posted March 16, 2019, courtesy of Raymond Shobe via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Green Bills Pass In New York | Earth Wise

August 19, 2020 By EarthWise 3 Comments

In late July, the two houses of the New York legislature passed a number of environmental bills covering a wide range of topics.

These included a bill to add protected status for streams that support fisheries and non-contact recreation. A second bill bans the use of PFAS in food packaging. A third bill classifies all wastes resulting from oil and gas exploration, development, extraction or production as hazardous waste, closing a previous loophole in the law.

A fourth bill requires water works corporations with more than 1,000 service connections to post their annual water supply statements online, thereby providing transparency and openness to water quality data. A fifth bill expands protections for endangered species to protect them from environmental rollbacks by the federal government.

A sixth bill prohibits non-electric vehicles from parking in spaces designated for electric vehicle charging, thereby establishing penalties for this practice that is often done for spite. A seventh bill bans the use of glyphosate – the herbicide found in Roundup and other products – on state property.

An eighth bill reduces the use of road salt in the Adirondacks. A ninth bill requires supermarkets to make good faith efforts to donate edible excess food to qualifying entities such as food pantries, food banks, or similar entities. A tenth bill bans certain uses of trichloroethylene or TCE, including as a vapor degreaser, an intermediate chemical to produce other chemicals, a refrigerant, or an extraction solvent.

When signed by the governor, these ten pieces of legislation will help protect New York’s environment, water, and health. It was a busy session for green legislation.

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Several Green Bills Pass in State Legislature

Photo, posted September 12, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Solar-Powered Airport

August 12, 2019 By EarthWise 1 Comment

The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport in Tennessee has become the first airport in the United States to run entirely on solar power. The small airport operates over 60,000 flights a year and has recently completed work on a 12-acre, 2.64-megawatt solar farm that generates enough clean electricity to account for the airport’s total energy needs.

The project was funded largely by the Federal Aviation Administration, cost $10 million, and took nine years to complete. The facility uses onsite batteries to help power operations at night. The installation is expected to last 30 to 40 years.

The solar farm is in the southwest corner of the airfield on land that is unusable for aviation purposes. It is visible from the two runways at the airport.

Officials from nearly 50 airports around the world have visited or contacted the Chattanooga airfield in recent years to learn about its solar operations. Several major airports, including San Diego and London’s Gatwick, have also installed solar panels that provide a portion of their power needs. The world’s busiest airport – Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson – is looking into constructing renewable energy microgrids to power part of its operations. Airports generally have plenty of vacant land that can be used for solar panels that can lower their power bills.

The largest airport solar installation is actually Cochin International in Kerala, India, which became 100% solar powered in 2015. It is the 7^th largest airport in India. Its solar array has nearly 30 megawatts of capacity. Airport managers there were fed up with huge electric bills and invested about $9 million to install the solar array. It is expected to have paid for itself in the next couple of years.

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Chattanooga Becomes First U.S. Airport to Run Entirely On Solar

Photo courtesy of Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Capital Region Community Solar

July 19, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

New York’s Capital Region is getting a major new community solar farm. A community solar farm is a solar power installation whose output is shared by multiple community subscribers who receive credit on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. The primary purpose of community solar is to allow members of a community to have the benefits of solar power even if they cannot or prefer not to install solar panels on their own property.

US Light Energy has broken ground on the Sugar Hill Solar Farm, to be located on 40 acres of land on the Sugar-Hill/Sugar-View Farm in Clifton Park. The 7-megawatt, ground-mounted solar project will include nearly 20,000 solar modules. When fully operational later this year, the facility is expected to produce more than 8.6 million kilowatt-hours of energy a year.

The farm will be part of New York state’s Community Solar Program, and the electricity it generates can be supplied to customers anywhere in National Grid’s existing distribution system. Residential and commercial properties in Clifton Park will have 30 days to subscribe before the solar energy generated by the farm is opened to the general public. Subscribers of community solar farms typically save 10% on their electricity bills.

There are already community solar programs in operation in several Capital Region communities, but this is the first one in the Clifton Park Area. Apart from providing savings on utility bills, community solar allows consumers to support clean, locally generated power with little or no upfront costs. Not everyone is in a position to put solar panels on their roof, but community solar is increasingly an option for New York residents.

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Construction begins on 7-MW community solar farm in New York

Photo, posted March 19, 2012, courtesy of Kate Ausburn via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Quiet Clean Energy Revolution

March 5, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

While the Trump administration seeks to prop up and promote use of fossil fuels, the country continues to move in the opposite direction. Last year was actually a pretty positive year for clean energy in the U.S.

In terms of public opinion, 70% of Americans surveyed believe the country should produce 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources and more than half of survey respondents think renewables are a good idea even if they raise energy bills.

Companies in the U.S. purchased a record 6.43 gigawatts of renewable power, enough to power 1.5 million homes. The number of corporations entering into renewable energy deals doubled last year.

More than 300 U.S. cities, towns or counties have made commitments to climate action and, as of November, 99 cities have committed to 100% renewable energy, doubling the total from a year ago.

A number of gubernatorial candidates running on ambitious renewable energy platforms were elected in November including those in Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico, Maine and Nevada.

Utilities are responding to the growing demand for clean energy. Consumers Energy in Michigan plans to cut carbon emissions by 80% and stop using coal. Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy will become the first U.S. utility to source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources next year. Xcel Energy, one of the biggest utilities in the country, has committed to be 80% carbon-free by 2030 and go completely carbon-free by 2050.

The fossil fuel industry with its supporters in high places is still kicking and screaming, but there is no doubt that the U.S. energy system is changing, and the quiet clean energy revolution will only pick up more steam in 2019.

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The US Underwent a Quiet Clean Energy Revolution Last Year

Photo, posted August 15, 2009, courtesy of Ken via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Energy Justice In California

September 27, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

California put in place a cap-and-trade program in 2013. In such a program, companies pay penalties if they exceed a cap in carbon emissions but can buy and sell allowances that permit them to emit a given amount. Trading gives companies a strong incentive to save money by cutting emissions. Since taking effect, the California program has raised more than $6.5 billion and is the fourth largest in the world.

New Year’s Resolutions

December 29, 2017 By EarthWise 1 Comment

2018 is just around the corner. Popular resolutions for the New Year always seem to include things like improving health, traveling more, spending less money, and so on. But one resolution that isn’t as popular but could collectively have a major impact is committing to living a cleaner and greener life.