• People

New Group Seeks to Address Harvard University’s Failure to Act on the Climate Crisis

• divestment
• fossil fuels
• Harvard

In response to widespread frustration in the Harvard community about the University’s inaction to climate change, a  coalition of alumni, students and faculty have launched a campaign called Harvard Forward to elect five new members of the Board of Overseers with the goal of changing the University’s policies on divesting from fossil fuels and on committing more resources to climate initiatives.

Why This Matters:   What makes this campaign interesting and different from previous ones (like South African divestiture in the ’80s) is that rather than protest the decisions of university leaders, this campaign is seeking the power to make the decisions themselves.  The last time the university restructured its Board of Overseers was almost 150 years ago.  It seems like its time to modernize it and addressing climate change is the perfect impetus.

• Politics

Andrew Yang Rolls Out Climate Plan in New Hampshire

• Andrew Yang
• carbon fee
• climate change
• climate emergency
• fossil fuels

With a healthy dose of both optimism and realism, Andrew Yang rolled out an ambitious plan to spend $5T over 20 years to combat climate change and get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2049 using the slogan “Lower Emissions, Higher Ground” to sum up his approach. 

• Sustainability

Toxic Blooms Have Energy Potential

• algae
• algae blooms
• biofuel
• fossil fuels
• Gulf of Mexico
• jet fuel

We often write about the damaging impacts of algal blooms found in the ocean and in lakes that are fouling beaches and coastal waters, not to mention drinking water in certain areas.   But algae have the potential to be used as fuel for everything from delivery trucks to warplanes and ships, according to author Ruth Kassinger in an opinion piece in The Boston Globe. –

• Politics

Governor Jay Inslee Rolls Out More Climate Policy

• climate change
• climate crisis
• fossil fuels
• Infrastructure
• polluters
• subsidies
• transparency

When it comes to climate policy, Governor Jay Inslee already has a plan to address nearly every element of the climate crisis, but on Monday he rolled out a new one — this time aimed at creating “Freedom from Fossil Fuels” by ending corporate welfare, holding polluters accountable, and transitioning the U.S. economy off fossil fuels. 

• People

Heroes of the Week: Clean Energy Change Makers in Tucson

• clean energy
• clean energy jobs
• coal
• fossil fuels
• solar power
• Superfund
• sustainability

In Tuscon, 90 percent of the public gets its power from coal and other fossil fuels, which degrades the air quality particularly for the Latinx community there.  The south side neighborhoods are home to all the area’s major polluting sources, including a gas-burning power plant, the I-10 freeway, and a Superfund site, and not surprisingly, […]

• Oceans

Oil Spill Threatens World’s Largest Coral Atoll

• Australia
• fossil fuels
• oceans
• oil spill
• Soloman Islands

by Yoel Fessahaye A nightmare is unraveling in the jewel-toned waters of the Solomon Islands. According to CNN and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, a ship carrying 700 metric tons of heavy oil ran aground in Solomon Islands’ Kangava Bay, near East Rennell — the only natural UNESCO World Heritage site in […]

• Climate Change

Shareholders Persuade Glencore To Put a Cap on Coal

• Anglican Church
• Climate Action 100+
• fossil fuels
• Glencore
• Paris Agreement
• shareholders

An activist group, Climate Action 100+ along with the Anglican Church, successfully urged the multinational commodities firm Glencore to cap at current levels the amount of coal it extracts, which is projected to be 145 million metric tons.  The Company made the announcement saying, “As one of the world’s largest diversified mining companies, we have a key role in enabling the transition to a low carbon economy.”  

• Sustainability

VW Seeks to Be Carbon Neutral In Production of Its EV

• carbon neutral
• charging stations
• climate change
• electric vehicles
• fossil fuels
• gas
• volkswagen

After its emissions cheating scandal last year, Volkswagen is looking to change its image, first announcing a new push for electric vehicles and now pledging to make the production of its first electric model carbon neutral.  That equates to reducing its emissions by 1 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, which is a good thing because according to GreenCarCongress.com, “the production of an electric vehicle currently generates significantly more CO2 than that of cars with a combustion engine—around 150% on average.” 

• Health

NYT Exposé: Health Risks on the Rise Due to Regulatory Rollbacks

• air
• air pollution
• benzene
• cancer
• carbon dioxide
• coal power plants
• Farm Workers
• fossil fuels
• health
• methane
• Native Americans
• oil and gas drilling
• pesticides
• regulations
• rivers
• sickened
• toxic chemicals
• toxic waste
• water pollution

The New York Times investigated and found that the consequences of the President keeping his promise to deregulate in favor of industry and development, particularly for fossil fuels, are beginning to have real detrimental impacts for those who live or work in proximity to them. The stories of those impacted demonstrate that the U.S. environment is not as clean as most think.