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Climate, water advocates ‘dream big’ after Dems sweep Mich.

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Wednesday, November 9, 2022

The Democratic trifecta could push the Great Lakes State into a leading position on environmental policies, observers say.

The Democratic trifecta could push the Great Lakes State into a leading position on environmental policies, observers say.

The Democratic trifecta could push the Great Lakes State into a leading position on environmental policies, observers say.
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Doctors condemn suspension of retired GP over UK climate protests

British Medical Association says decision to take Dr Sarah Benn off medical register for five months ‘sends worrying message’Doctors groups are calling for urgent consideration of the rules for medical professionals who take peaceful direct action on the climate crisis, which they say is the “greatest threat to global health”, after a GP was suspended from the register for non-violent protest.Dr Sarah Benn, a GP from Birmingham, was taken off the medical register for five months on Tuesday, by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), the disciplinary arm of the General Medical Council (GMC), over her climate protests. Continue reading...

Doctors groups are calling for urgent consideration of the rules for medical professionals who take peaceful direct action on the climate crisis, which they say is the “greatest threat to global health”, after a GP was suspended from the register for non-violent protest.Dr Sarah Benn, a GP from Birmingham, was taken off the medical register for five months on Tuesday, by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), the disciplinary arm of the General Medical Council (GMC), over her climate protests.The tribunal said Benn’s fitness to practise as a doctor had been impaired by reason of misconduct. Benn, who is retired, has taken part in a number of peaceful protests since 2019.Benn received conditional discharges after being convicted for taking part in peaceful protests, including two offences of obstructing a highway. In 2022 she was jailed for 32 days for breaching a civil injunction at Kingsbury oil terminal as part of a Just Stop Oil campaign.Doctors groups were united in condemning the suspension from the medical register. The Doctors’ Association said: “Not all doctors subject to a custodial sentence having broken the law have been sanctioned by the MPTS. The MPTS can use its discretion,” the association said.The suspension of Benn showed that the GMC would impose sanctions on doctors for raising serious concerns about the risk to public health from the greatest threat to global health the world had seen, the association said.“Climate change, its effect on the planet, weather patterns, future health and even the survival of the human race is evidence based,” the association said.“The profession has not been undermined by her actions, and the public is not concerned about one doctor trying to protect them and the planet but more by the inadequate response of the government and organisations, including the GMC, to our overwhelming and unprecedented climate crisis.”The British Medical Association (BMA) said many people would find it very difficult to understand that a doctor’s ability to practise medicine could be suspended because of peaceful actions they take in protest of the climate crisis.They called for urgent consideration of the rules which meant a doctor was suspended for a punishment they had already received for taking part in a legitimately peaceful protest.“This ruling sends a worrying message to other doctors about the regulation of matters not directly related to patient care or their clinical skills, and raises serious questions about the rules behind the handling of such cases,” the BMA said.“The climate crisis is also a health crisis and as such doctors are understandably concerned.”Benn’s case will be reviewed before the five month suspension ends, when she could be struck off. In her submission to the tribunal, Benn included a statement by the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, Michel Forst, who earlier this year condemned the UK’s crackdown on environmental protest.In his most recent statement Forst said the professional tribunals of medical doctors taking part in peaceful direct action, suggested the situation in the UK was deteriorating. “It is important for me to stress that professional sanctions can definitely be considered as a form of penalisation, persecution or harassment,” he said.Benn told the tribunal that as a doctor she had a “moral duty to take action”.skip past newsletter promotionThe planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essentialPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionShe said: “The climate emergency is a health emergency; not a potential future one, but here and now. If I know all this and I choose to stay quiet, I am failing in my obligations. I am breaching the guidance in good medical practice to make my patients’ health my first concern.”But the tribunal found the “overwhelming majority of the public would not condone breaking the law in the repeated way in which Dr Benn did, especially given the impact, on the final occasion, to the wider public resources involved”.Benn was the first of three GPs facing disciplinary action by the GMC for peaceful protest on the climate crisis.In a letter to the GMC this week, the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, which includes the royal colleges of medicine and medical journals, said there was widespread dismay among doctors at Benn’s suspension from the medical register for Just Stop Oil protests.“Doctors cannot understand how a doctor can be punished for taking action to mitigate the damage to nature and climate, the major threat to global health,” the letter states.“There is also dismay that Dr Benn is among the first doctors to appear before a tribunal after protesting and that the finding will set a precedent for other doctors who will be following. Many in the GMC must recognise that they are finding themselves on the wrong side of history.”The GMC has been contacted for comment.

Climate
Crisis
Health

Opinion: European court's climate ruling holds lessons for action on plastic pollution

A recent landmark decision by the European Court of Human Rights held Switzerland accountable for inadequate climate policies, specifically highlighting the increased risk of heatwave-related deaths among older women. Plastic production is another case where governments have failed to protect vulnerable groups.Sian Sutherland writes for Euronews.In short:The climate case focused on collective rights to a healthy environment.The ruling opens avenues for future legal actions against governments for failing to protect public health against environmental hazards.Plastic production, involving hazardous chemicals, represents a similar negligence, affecting reproductive health and increasing disease risks.Key quote: "This...decision is about the right of groups of people to enjoy a 'healthy environment'." — Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet Why this matters: The climate case underscores the legal leverage that groups can use against governments that neglect environmental health policies. As negotiators meet in Ottawa this week to move toward agreement on a binding agreement to control plastic pollution, it's a timely message. Here's what to know about the fourth round of plastic treaty talks.

A recent landmark decision by the European Court of Human Rights held Switzerland accountable for inadequate climate policies, specifically highlighting the increased risk of heatwave-related deaths among older women. Plastic production is another case where governments have failed to protect vulnerable groups.Sian Sutherland writes for Euronews.In short:The climate case focused on collective rights to a healthy environment.The ruling opens avenues for future legal actions against governments for failing to protect public health against environmental hazards.Plastic production, involving hazardous chemicals, represents a similar negligence, affecting reproductive health and increasing disease risks.Key quote: "This...decision is about the right of groups of people to enjoy a 'healthy environment'." — Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet Why this matters: The climate case underscores the legal leverage that groups can use against governments that neglect environmental health policies. As negotiators meet in Ottawa this week to move toward agreement on a binding agreement to control plastic pollution, it's a timely message. Here's what to know about the fourth round of plastic treaty talks.

Climate
Pollution
Government

After the Bitcoin halving, what is the climate impact of crypto?

The recent Bitcoin halving has put a spotlight on the popular cryptocurrency—and raised new questions about the environmental footprint of the crypto world. Mining popular digital currencies demands a tremendous amount of energy, and the reduced supply of Bitcoin will spur operations that are centered on that goal to work even harder. That has environmentalists (and some politicians) worried that crypto’s impact on the climate could grow, just as artificial intelligence is putting an even bigger strain on power grids and extreme weather events push some states to their limits. What is the carbon footprint of the crypto industry? Globally, cryptocurrency accounted for about 0.4% of the entire energy consumption in the world in 2022, according to an International Energy Agency report released in January. That’s about the same amount as the Netherlands consumed. The carbon footprint of Bitcoin miners alone from 2020 to 2021 was equivalent to burning 84 billion pounds of coal or operating 190 natural gas-fired power plants, according to the United Nations. In order to offset that, miners would need to plant 3.9 billion trees. That’s 7% of the Amazon rainforest and would cover an area stretching across Switzerland or Denmark. Exactly how much energy does crypto mining consume? According to that same U.N. study, the global Bitcoin mining network consumed 173.42 terawatt hours of electricity in the 2020 to 2021 period. That’s a number too big to grasp on its own, so think of it this way: If Bitcoin were a country, its energy consumption would have ranked 27th in the world, topping Pakistan, which boasts a population of more than 230 million people. Will the halving have an impact on crypto’s environmental footprint? Competition for the reduced number of Bitcoin will spur many miners to invest in newer machines, which could result in older ones being relegated to landfills. Typically, the life span of the preferred mining equipment, called an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is five to seven years. But miners could upgrade early to do away with inefficiencies. Bitmain’s Georgia operation, for instance, spent $54 million to import 27,000 of the newest ASIC machines starting last year. Is there an environmental upside to the halving? Possibly, but it’s likely minor. Replacing those ASICs will add to landfill waste, but miners will be looking to cut costs—and are likely to lean on sustainable energy to do so. Marathon Digital Holdings, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining operations, recently bought a 200-megawatt mining data center near a wind farm in Texas. That led it to forecast a 20% reduction in operational expenditures. Others could follow suit—but even then, the e-waste generation (which added up to 30.7 metric kilotons in May 2021) will be hard to overcome. Which countries have the biggest Bitcoin mining operations? China instituted an official ban on crypto mining in 2021, which resulted in many miners moving to other countries, including the U.S., but underground mining operations continue there. Other countries that are among the top miners, per the U.N., include the U.S., Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia, Canada, Germany, Iran, Ireland, and Singapore. What, if anything, is Washington doing about this? In late January, the Biden administration announced measures meant to address the energy consumption of the crypto world, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) launching a survey of electricity consumption by mining companies. Those companies will be required to offer a detailed look at their energy use. “We intend to continue to analyze and write about the energy implications of cryptocurrency mining activities in the United States,” said EIA administrator Joe DeCarolis in a statement. “We will specifically focus on how the energy demand for cryptocurrency mining is evolving, identify geographic areas of high growth, and quantify the sources of electricity used to meet cryptocurrency mining demand.”

The recent Bitcoin halving has put a spotlight on the popular cryptocurrency—and raised new questions about the environmental footprint of the crypto world. Mining popular digital currencies demands a tremendous amount of energy, and the reduced supply of Bitcoin will spur operations that are centered on that goal to work even harder. That has environmentalists (and some politicians) worried that crypto’s impact on the climate could grow, just as artificial intelligence is putting an even bigger strain on power grids and extreme weather events push some states to their limits. What is the carbon footprint of the crypto industry? Globally, cryptocurrency accounted for about 0.4% of the entire energy consumption in the world in 2022, according to an International Energy Agency report released in January. That’s about the same amount as the Netherlands consumed. The carbon footprint of Bitcoin miners alone from 2020 to 2021 was equivalent to burning 84 billion pounds of coal or operating 190 natural gas-fired power plants, according to the United Nations. In order to offset that, miners would need to plant 3.9 billion trees. That’s 7% of the Amazon rainforest and would cover an area stretching across Switzerland or Denmark. Exactly how much energy does crypto mining consume? According to that same U.N. study, the global Bitcoin mining network consumed 173.42 terawatt hours of electricity in the 2020 to 2021 period. That’s a number too big to grasp on its own, so think of it this way: If Bitcoin were a country, its energy consumption would have ranked 27th in the world, topping Pakistan, which boasts a population of more than 230 million people. Will the halving have an impact on crypto’s environmental footprint? Competition for the reduced number of Bitcoin will spur many miners to invest in newer machines, which could result in older ones being relegated to landfills. Typically, the life span of the preferred mining equipment, called an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is five to seven years. But miners could upgrade early to do away with inefficiencies. Bitmain’s Georgia operation, for instance, spent $54 million to import 27,000 of the newest ASIC machines starting last year. Is there an environmental upside to the halving? Possibly, but it’s likely minor. Replacing those ASICs will add to landfill waste, but miners will be looking to cut costs—and are likely to lean on sustainable energy to do so. Marathon Digital Holdings, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining operations, recently bought a 200-megawatt mining data center near a wind farm in Texas. That led it to forecast a 20% reduction in operational expenditures. Others could follow suit—but even then, the e-waste generation (which added up to 30.7 metric kilotons in May 2021) will be hard to overcome. Which countries have the biggest Bitcoin mining operations? China instituted an official ban on crypto mining in 2021, which resulted in many miners moving to other countries, including the U.S., but underground mining operations continue there. Other countries that are among the top miners, per the U.N., include the U.S., Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia, Canada, Germany, Iran, Ireland, and Singapore. What, if anything, is Washington doing about this? In late January, the Biden administration announced measures meant to address the energy consumption of the crypto world, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) launching a survey of electricity consumption by mining companies. Those companies will be required to offer a detailed look at their energy use. “We intend to continue to analyze and write about the energy implications of cryptocurrency mining activities in the United States,” said EIA administrator Joe DeCarolis in a statement. “We will specifically focus on how the energy demand for cryptocurrency mining is evolving, identify geographic areas of high growth, and quantify the sources of electricity used to meet cryptocurrency mining demand.”

Climate
Energy
Sustainable

"Climate change is not something to ignore"

HOUSTON — This week EHN is publishing letters from eighth grade students at YES Prep Northbrook Middle School in the Houston-area neighborhood of Spring Branch, Texas.English educators Cassandra Harper and Yvette Howard incorporated the environment into a series of lessons in December last year. Each student conducted their own research to begin drafting letters to EHN about their concerns or hopes. EHN reporter Cami Ferrell visited their classrooms to share information about her personal reporting experiences in Houston.The collection of letters, some of which were lightly edited, do not represent the opinions of YES Prep Northbrook or EHN, but are offered here as a peek into the minds of children and their relationship with environmental issues. Read the first and second set of letters. Anali LopezI am writing to discuss the problem of climate change and how we, citizens, are impacted by it, and how we can prevent the situation from worsening. Although people are familiar with this problem, it also feels like it is not addressed enough for people to start advocating for the world. People are not very persuaded when it comes to changing their actions, until they start seeing the dangers of what they caused, so I hope while you are reading this, you can start being more cautious of what you do or at least spread more awareness.Climate change is an issue because it is affecting people's daily lives, health, and environment. People barely want to go outside now because of the rising temperatures and the air pollution. Some are even scared to take their children outside or while pregnant because of the fear of their kids having cancer or developing an illness. Air pollution is not getting worse by itself, it is getting worse by the number of forests burning, and the gas people use for their everyday needs. Even on some days people go outside and see that it is completely fogged outside, but it is all the smoke roaming around from factories burning supplies or gasoline from cars. I have seen people check the weather or air quality on their phone before they go outside to see if it is safe enough to have your skin contact the sun or breathe in the air. Factories are one of the causes of the poor air around the world. Some of the materials people recycle get burned at the end by these factories. Factories are not the only ones guilty of this mess though, vehicles like cars, trucks and planes are also causes of air pollution. Since most motor vehicles need to operate on gasoline, it tends to create harmful fuels and byproducts like carbon or nitrogen dioxide. Which is why you pass by a car sometimes and you will be able to smell the gasoline because of all those strong harmful fuels the gasoline is producing. These situations do not happen once every month or year, this happens every day. Now as a teenager, I see how people mistreat the world and lack the empathy to make a change knowing that it affects people and every living organism like plants and animals. It makes me wonder if I will even be able to have a future, let alone, see the next generation walking on Earth.To address climate change, it is important that Environment Health News spreads more awareness of the danger that climate change has such as public health and environmental impacts. Environmental Health News should also acknowledge publishing more internationally especially in more languages for everyone to be more aware of the situations on Earth. To my readers, I want you to understand that climate change will not get better by itself until we citizens, act and take responsibility because if we do not act, we might not see another day of Earth. One way that environmental activists can help with this is by getting more involved with news and other government agencies to see what methods or steps to take, so we can better our world.With all, thank you for taking your time to read this. I would hope that after, you have a different perspective on how climate change is a very serious topic, and that you decide to at least spread a little bit of awareness. Please if you are willing to save and take action for our world, act now.- Anali LopezEvelyn NunezI know we have many issues in the world, but climate change needs to be addressed, or no other problem will matter. Each day it’s starting to get hotter and hotter. In Houston, Texas families live by refinery companies and suffer every day with health problems because of the toxic chemicals in the air that they breathe in. Climate change has gotten worse and worse over the years. We the people who live on earth need to speak more about climate change and figure out a way to stop it.Climate change makes me feel worried about our Earth because it can get to the point where we will not have a place to live, and that makes me wonder if I am going to have a future. Climate change increases the health issues for people. Some of the health problems that people face are heat stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, and pregnancy complications. These problems affect us a lot because they can end up causing us to die. Climate change is a problem we must discuss more. People do not focus on the problems that climate change causes. Taking steps toward positively impacting the environment is something we need to do to end climate change. We might not be able to fix what happened in the past, but we can try and make the future better for everyone else. Make sure that you do not throw trash in the ocean, take the bus, etc. There are multiple ways to stop climate change. Younger people will have a better life if people try to help the Earth. - Evelyn NunezUriel MataClimate change is a serious problem as it’s affecting both people and the environment, heatwaves, droughts, crops drying, sea water levels increasing, and natural disasters becoming more common are some of the effects on the environment.Global warming is one of the worst and most impacting forms of climate change as this year many cities across Texas experienced triple-digit record temperatures! Also natural disasters such as hurricanes are occurring out of hurricane season due to the change in temperature. This is also causing glaciers to melt which leads sea water levels to rise while also putting many species in danger. Increase in temperatures is also causing many health problems such as heat exhaustion, heat strokes, and respiratory issues which is mainly affecting people with asthma. These extreme temperature conditions are greatly affecting my community not only physically but economically as well. Farmers and outside workers can’t work in such harsh temperatures as it is far too dangerous leading to decrease in money and jobs. Many people in my community have experienced the intense heat including myself, I witnessed an intense heatwave that forced people to carry water to avoid dehydration. I am greatly concerned about the climate circumstances we are in and what will be of the future, because if global warming isn’t taken care of it will only get hotter and hotter which is worse not only for us but for the future generations to come.In order to address climate change, it is important that we avoid releasing damaging chemicals and gasses in the air that harm the environment. The gasses are mainly released by factories and refineries therefore, they should be cautious of the amounts of gasses they’re releasing. If there is anybody who can help improve the circumstances it’s the government. The government’s actions might help improve the situation however, we can’t sit with our arms crossed as we are capable of helping too. - Uriel MataMelani Caceres-CaballeroI am writing to discuss the dangerous effects climate change has on people. This topic is an issue because everyone on earth is affected by this. Even the little ants to the big lions, everyone is experiencing climate change.Each year the summer is hotter than the earlier one. This year Houston broke a record for seeing the hottest temperature it's seen of 109 degrees. Of course, in this case breaking a record is not a good thing at all. This affects mostly the people in Houston, since a lot of people in Houston work jobs that are outdoors. For example, my dad works in construction so he must be outside for his job. He comes home exhausted from the heat but that’s what he has to do to provide for us. This makes me concerned for the future, how much longer will this have to go on? Will we be able to survive another extremely scorching summer? In order to address climate change, it is important that the city of Houston attempts to use less nonrenewable resources. These nonrenewable resources cause greenhouse gasses to be released into our atmosphere and that’s what makes our earth warm up. The government should have stricter regulations. (Texas Governor) Greg Abbot has passed a bill that cars will no longer need to be inspected. This means that they do not need to do the emissions tests anymore. The emissions tests are there to make sure your car isn’t a contributor to air pollution. Greg Abbott passing this law means that there will be more cars that have high emissions and will be contributors to air pollution. Our lives and our future are in the government’s hands. I want people to understand that you cannot just look away from this issue, this is something that you cannot run from. One thing we can call do is use less electricity. Such as, unplugging your charger before you leave work or school. Since electricity is also used by nonrenewable resources. - Melani Caceres-CaballeroEvelyn G. Ramirez LoredoThe issue is that we humans are causing climate change. How? You might ask yourself, well by polluting our earth, by not recycling, or throwing away trash, using too much of something like plastic, burning fossil fuels, trees, or things that can’t be recycled, because of that it is causing extreme weather. This is a problem, and although not everyone realizes that it is, others can because they lose their homes and loved ones because of extreme weather.For example, I live in Houston, Tx which is near the Gulf of Mexico at Galveston. Since the sea levels are rising there is a risk that Houston will submerge. This is scary for me because maybe one day Houston won’t exist anymore, my home, the place where I grew up at. Another example is that here in Houston, Texas in the Spring Branch area there was a fire of burning trees and what not. Personally I wasn’t affected by it, but the people that live around there were. Smoke was getting in their home to the point where they couldn’t breathe and had to evacuate their home. As I stated above, I am scared. I'm scared that Houston won't be here to show my kids where I grew up. I'm scared that my home will just be in the past. I'm scared that these fires will become a common thing risking kids, adults and family's health. To address climate change, it is important that the world knows what's happening so that they know how to act if in any way they get affected by climate change. Not everyone knows what's happening because it's not being translated in their language, so journalists need to start translating reports that they do on climate change so that those that don’t speak English know what's happening because we are all humans that live in the same world. We all have a right to know about this to help to stop this problem. Climate change is not something to ignore because sooner or later we are all going to be more affected by it if we don’t do something fast.- Evelyn G. Ramirez Loredo

HOUSTON — This week EHN is publishing letters from eighth grade students at YES Prep Northbrook Middle School in the Houston-area neighborhood of Spring Branch, Texas.English educators Cassandra Harper and Yvette Howard incorporated the environment into a series of lessons in December last year. Each student conducted their own research to begin drafting letters to EHN about their concerns or hopes. EHN reporter Cami Ferrell visited their classrooms to share information about her personal reporting experiences in Houston.The collection of letters, some of which were lightly edited, do not represent the opinions of YES Prep Northbrook or EHN, but are offered here as a peek into the minds of children and their relationship with environmental issues. Read the first and second set of letters. Anali LopezI am writing to discuss the problem of climate change and how we, citizens, are impacted by it, and how we can prevent the situation from worsening. Although people are familiar with this problem, it also feels like it is not addressed enough for people to start advocating for the world. People are not very persuaded when it comes to changing their actions, until they start seeing the dangers of what they caused, so I hope while you are reading this, you can start being more cautious of what you do or at least spread more awareness.Climate change is an issue because it is affecting people's daily lives, health, and environment. People barely want to go outside now because of the rising temperatures and the air pollution. Some are even scared to take their children outside or while pregnant because of the fear of their kids having cancer or developing an illness. Air pollution is not getting worse by itself, it is getting worse by the number of forests burning, and the gas people use for their everyday needs. Even on some days people go outside and see that it is completely fogged outside, but it is all the smoke roaming around from factories burning supplies or gasoline from cars. I have seen people check the weather or air quality on their phone before they go outside to see if it is safe enough to have your skin contact the sun or breathe in the air. Factories are one of the causes of the poor air around the world. Some of the materials people recycle get burned at the end by these factories. Factories are not the only ones guilty of this mess though, vehicles like cars, trucks and planes are also causes of air pollution. Since most motor vehicles need to operate on gasoline, it tends to create harmful fuels and byproducts like carbon or nitrogen dioxide. Which is why you pass by a car sometimes and you will be able to smell the gasoline because of all those strong harmful fuels the gasoline is producing. These situations do not happen once every month or year, this happens every day. Now as a teenager, I see how people mistreat the world and lack the empathy to make a change knowing that it affects people and every living organism like plants and animals. It makes me wonder if I will even be able to have a future, let alone, see the next generation walking on Earth.To address climate change, it is important that Environment Health News spreads more awareness of the danger that climate change has such as public health and environmental impacts. Environmental Health News should also acknowledge publishing more internationally especially in more languages for everyone to be more aware of the situations on Earth. To my readers, I want you to understand that climate change will not get better by itself until we citizens, act and take responsibility because if we do not act, we might not see another day of Earth. One way that environmental activists can help with this is by getting more involved with news and other government agencies to see what methods or steps to take, so we can better our world.With all, thank you for taking your time to read this. I would hope that after, you have a different perspective on how climate change is a very serious topic, and that you decide to at least spread a little bit of awareness. Please if you are willing to save and take action for our world, act now.- Anali LopezEvelyn NunezI know we have many issues in the world, but climate change needs to be addressed, or no other problem will matter. Each day it’s starting to get hotter and hotter. In Houston, Texas families live by refinery companies and suffer every day with health problems because of the toxic chemicals in the air that they breathe in. Climate change has gotten worse and worse over the years. We the people who live on earth need to speak more about climate change and figure out a way to stop it.Climate change makes me feel worried about our Earth because it can get to the point where we will not have a place to live, and that makes me wonder if I am going to have a future. Climate change increases the health issues for people. Some of the health problems that people face are heat stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, and pregnancy complications. These problems affect us a lot because they can end up causing us to die. Climate change is a problem we must discuss more. People do not focus on the problems that climate change causes. Taking steps toward positively impacting the environment is something we need to do to end climate change. We might not be able to fix what happened in the past, but we can try and make the future better for everyone else. Make sure that you do not throw trash in the ocean, take the bus, etc. There are multiple ways to stop climate change. Younger people will have a better life if people try to help the Earth. - Evelyn NunezUriel MataClimate change is a serious problem as it’s affecting both people and the environment, heatwaves, droughts, crops drying, sea water levels increasing, and natural disasters becoming more common are some of the effects on the environment.Global warming is one of the worst and most impacting forms of climate change as this year many cities across Texas experienced triple-digit record temperatures! Also natural disasters such as hurricanes are occurring out of hurricane season due to the change in temperature. This is also causing glaciers to melt which leads sea water levels to rise while also putting many species in danger. Increase in temperatures is also causing many health problems such as heat exhaustion, heat strokes, and respiratory issues which is mainly affecting people with asthma. These extreme temperature conditions are greatly affecting my community not only physically but economically as well. Farmers and outside workers can’t work in such harsh temperatures as it is far too dangerous leading to decrease in money and jobs. Many people in my community have experienced the intense heat including myself, I witnessed an intense heatwave that forced people to carry water to avoid dehydration. I am greatly concerned about the climate circumstances we are in and what will be of the future, because if global warming isn’t taken care of it will only get hotter and hotter which is worse not only for us but for the future generations to come.In order to address climate change, it is important that we avoid releasing damaging chemicals and gasses in the air that harm the environment. The gasses are mainly released by factories and refineries therefore, they should be cautious of the amounts of gasses they’re releasing. If there is anybody who can help improve the circumstances it’s the government. The government’s actions might help improve the situation however, we can’t sit with our arms crossed as we are capable of helping too. - Uriel MataMelani Caceres-CaballeroI am writing to discuss the dangerous effects climate change has on people. This topic is an issue because everyone on earth is affected by this. Even the little ants to the big lions, everyone is experiencing climate change.Each year the summer is hotter than the earlier one. This year Houston broke a record for seeing the hottest temperature it's seen of 109 degrees. Of course, in this case breaking a record is not a good thing at all. This affects mostly the people in Houston, since a lot of people in Houston work jobs that are outdoors. For example, my dad works in construction so he must be outside for his job. He comes home exhausted from the heat but that’s what he has to do to provide for us. This makes me concerned for the future, how much longer will this have to go on? Will we be able to survive another extremely scorching summer? In order to address climate change, it is important that the city of Houston attempts to use less nonrenewable resources. These nonrenewable resources cause greenhouse gasses to be released into our atmosphere and that’s what makes our earth warm up. The government should have stricter regulations. (Texas Governor) Greg Abbot has passed a bill that cars will no longer need to be inspected. This means that they do not need to do the emissions tests anymore. The emissions tests are there to make sure your car isn’t a contributor to air pollution. Greg Abbott passing this law means that there will be more cars that have high emissions and will be contributors to air pollution. Our lives and our future are in the government’s hands. I want people to understand that you cannot just look away from this issue, this is something that you cannot run from. One thing we can call do is use less electricity. Such as, unplugging your charger before you leave work or school. Since electricity is also used by nonrenewable resources. - Melani Caceres-CaballeroEvelyn G. Ramirez LoredoThe issue is that we humans are causing climate change. How? You might ask yourself, well by polluting our earth, by not recycling, or throwing away trash, using too much of something like plastic, burning fossil fuels, trees, or things that can’t be recycled, because of that it is causing extreme weather. This is a problem, and although not everyone realizes that it is, others can because they lose their homes and loved ones because of extreme weather.For example, I live in Houston, Tx which is near the Gulf of Mexico at Galveston. Since the sea levels are rising there is a risk that Houston will submerge. This is scary for me because maybe one day Houston won’t exist anymore, my home, the place where I grew up at. Another example is that here in Houston, Texas in the Spring Branch area there was a fire of burning trees and what not. Personally I wasn’t affected by it, but the people that live around there were. Smoke was getting in their home to the point where they couldn’t breathe and had to evacuate their home. As I stated above, I am scared. I'm scared that Houston won't be here to show my kids where I grew up. I'm scared that my home will just be in the past. I'm scared that these fires will become a common thing risking kids, adults and family's health. To address climate change, it is important that the world knows what's happening so that they know how to act if in any way they get affected by climate change. Not everyone knows what's happening because it's not being translated in their language, so journalists need to start translating reports that they do on climate change so that those that don’t speak English know what's happening because we are all humans that live in the same world. We all have a right to know about this to help to stop this problem. Climate change is not something to ignore because sooner or later we are all going to be more affected by it if we don’t do something fast.- Evelyn G. Ramirez Loredo

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Activism
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This Tribe Will Gladly Accept Clean Energy Funding, Even If Wyoming Won’t

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. When Wyoming governor Mark Gordon told the Environmental Protection Agency in 2023 that the state would not be applying for federal grant money to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases, he left most communities in the state without access to […]

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. When Wyoming governor Mark Gordon told the Environmental Protection Agency in 2023 that the state would not be applying for federal grant money to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases, he left most communities in the state without access to potentially transformative funds to upgrade infrastructure, reduce pollution, and bring down costs for local governments. But in the nation’s most sparsely populated state, two cities and the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes could qualify on their own for Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) from the $4.6 billion made available to states, cities, tribes and territories under the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. On April 1, Cheyenne, Wyoming’s capital, submitted its application for more than $99 million to cover most of the cost of building two solar farms and making upgrades to both of its wastewater treatment plants.  Northern Arapaho members host a local powwow on the eve of a solar eclipse in Riverton, Wyoming. Helen H. Richardson/ Getty Images The Northern Arapaho, which is qualified to apply for the $4.6 billion in general funding, met the EPA’s deadline to do so earlier this month. The tribe is also eligible for $300 million in EPA tribal funding, for which it is finalizing an application ahead of a May 1 deadline. The tribe hopes federal money will fund a solar-powered microgrid on its reservation, enable weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades to residents’ homes, and help convert the tribe’s vehicle fleet to electric and hybrid cars. Officials from the Northern Arapaho Tribe and city of Cheyenne called the grant money potentially transformational. “This money would really, truly help big time,” said Dean Goggles, environmental director for the tribe’s natural resources office. Wyoming faces a series of climate change-related threats to its environment, people, plants, and animals. Temperatures in the state have already risen 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the onset of the 20th century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As temperatures rise, the rate and severity of droughts and wildfires are projected to increase and the severity of storms across the state is expected to rise, too. With “unprecedented warming” expected to continue, “communities in Wyoming will continue to experience higher average temperatures, warmer winters, decreased snowfall, stronger storm precipitation events and increased risk of drought and wildfires,” said an EPA spokesperson. “Everyone is faced with high utility bills. What we’re looking at is something that would be off the grid and generate its own power.” The Northern Arapaho will likely prioritize projects that will increase the tribe’s energy independence and the community’s resilience to severe weather events. Tribal planners began working on the community’s application last fall, and identified the building and transportation sectors as the largest sources of climate-warming emissions the tribe could address. “There’s a lot of interest in solar here,” said Steve Babits, an environmental scientist with the Northern Arapaho Natural Resource Office. “People are pretty interested in being more self-sufficient with the utilities.” In its Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), a planning document the Northern Arapaho submitted to the EPA last month in order to qualify for general funding, the tribe laid out plans to apply for funds to build a community‐scale solar farm with battery storage on the Wind River Reservation. Such a project could reduce the tribe’s emissions and “provide affordable, reliable power” to the community, the tribe wrote. As Goggles and Babits met with tribal government groups about the PCAP, they said the idea proved popular. “Everyone is faced with high utility bills,” Babits said. “What we’re looking at is something that would be off the grid and generate its own power.” Weatherizing housing on the reservation is another of the tribe’s top priorities. By constructing high-efficiency buildings using electrical heating systems, putting them close together and retrofitting current buildings with better insulation, the tribe can minimize driving and create homes that “more easily ‘ride out’ power failures during inclement weather by minimizing heat energy losses to the exterior,” it said. This would help solve “major public health issues on the reservation” during Wyoming’s biting winters. The Northern Arapaho also signaled they might seek funds to replace the tribe’s fleet of diesel and gas-powered vehicles with electric and hybrid ones. Babits said funding for any of these plans would help the community create jobs. “The reservation is an underserved community, it could really benefit from that,” he said. About 300 miles to the southeast of the Wind River reservation, Renee Smith had been working diligently on Cheyenne’s PCAP and CPRG. “We’ve been working toward this for a year. We just weren’t anticipating being the lead,” she said, referencing Gordon’s decision to remove the state from funding consideration. Like the Northern Arapaho, Smith sees these funds as an opportunity to expand Cheyenne’s renewable energy portfolio. The city is working with Black Hills Energy, a local utility company, to install solar panels on city-owned cattle grazing lands, the municipality’s closed landfill, and both its wastewater treatment plants. (In Wyoming, cities cannot own and provide their own energy.) Together, these projects could add more than 96,000 megawatts to Cheyenne’s grid annually, helping the city meet its growing energy demand as more data center companies flock to the area, Smith said. Cheyenne’s goal is to win as much grant money as it can from the federal competition, but “it would be great if the state could support this.” Pairing solar panels with cattle grazing, a burgeoning practice known as agrivoltaics, could be particularly transformative for the city. Cheyenne makes money by leasing land for grazing, and leasing that same land for solar development to a utility like Black Hills Energy is a way for the city to do some “double dipping,” Smith said. “Cheyenne would become a national leader” if the city received money for this idea, Smith said. “No project in America would come close to the size and scale of this proposed project.” Reusing the city’s old landfill as a solar farm would help power low-income residents’ homes, Smith said, and the goal would be to one day create a community solar site run by Black Hills. Installing solar panels at its Crow Creek and Dry Creek wastewater treatment plants would allow Cheyenne to power municipal infrastructure with cheaper energy, which would free up tax dollars “to fund quality of life projects” like outdoor and indoor recreation facilities Smith said. “We feel like this is just a once in a lifetime opportunity.” In its CPRG application, the city also included plans to capture and sell methane collected from Dry Creek wastewater treatment plant to local utilities that can burn it as natural gas. Any of these projects would develop employment opportunities in Cheyenne. Solar installation creates jobs “on the front end,” Smith said. As the panels are being set up, Cheyenne would train a workforce to “make sure we have enough qualified people to manage these [panels] and maintain them,” she said. Absent federal funding, Cheyenne would be hard pressed to find ways to get these projects off the ground. Wyoming offers Energy Matching Funds, money from state coffers awarded by the Wyoming Energy Authority to projects that meet an array of energy criteria—most of which are focused on preserving the extraction and use of fossil fuels in a clean energy economy. Cheyenne’s goal is to win as much grant money as it can from the federal competition, but “it would be great if the state could support this. Even in this small way,” Smith said.  States and cities that have applied for CPRG funds will compete based on grant proposal size. It is not yet clear how many other states or cities joined Cheyenne in applying for CPRG funding between $50 million to $99 million, but the EPA plans to award anywhere from six to 12 grants in that range, according to an EPA announcement in January. If both the Northern Arapaho’s applications are deemed suitable for funding, the EPA would award the tribe only one grant. With only two applicants from Wyoming, and Gordon electing to keep the state on the sidelines, grant planners from the Northern Arapaho and Cheyenne said they are aware that the rest of the state may be keeping tabs on how their applications turn out should the two communities receive funding. “Hopefully we can be a leader on this in the state and be a good example for everyone,” Babits said.  “It’s really exciting that we get to apply for these funds—and it’s even more exciting if we can move ahead,” Goggles added. “I’m anxious for it.”

Climate
Energy
Pollution

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