Online Articles

Natural gas powers this home stove.

Healthy Homes for D.C.

October 30, 2023 by Kathryn Blanco Air Fossil Fuels Oil and Gas

Amid growing concern over the health and climate impacts of natural gas appliances, the Washington, D.C. council has proposed a solution with the Healthy Homes Act.

A lack of focus on carbon capture harms the global community’s ability to keep the world’s average temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Carbon Capture: Clearing Confusion and Calling Attention

October 19, 2023 by Sera Simpson Air Climate change

Carbon capture and storage is a complicated technology whose use and value confuses many. To address this confusion, this article explains the importance of carbon capture and provides solutions to support its development.

City skyline in orange haze

Inadequate Protections for Workers In a Warming World

October 2, 2023 by Agnes Enochs Air Climate change Litigation State and Local

July 2023 was the hottest month on record. As extreme temperatures become the norm, many workers find themselves without adequate workplace protections. With heat-related deaths on the rise, more must be done to secure workers' safety in a warming world.

Picture depicting a series of airplanes, one behind the other, on a tarmac with grass on either side. An additional single aircraft, one tarmac over on the right, is also visible

The Environmental Injustice in Aviation Emissions

February 6, 2023 by Paige Power Kendrick Air Energy Fossil Fuels

The last few years, especially these last few months, have seen aviation emission regulation like never before. At home and abroad, the aviation industry appears to be making significant inroads relating to emissions from engines “typically used in…

Then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry advocates for the Kigali Amendment during the 28th meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol in 2016

The Kigali Amendment: Congress's First Approved Climate Treaty in Decades

October 31, 2022 by Megan Algya Air International Sustainability

On September 21, 2022, the Senate voted 69-27 to ratify the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, marking the first climate treaty approved by the Senate in decades.[1] The Montreal Protocol is an international environmental agreement to phase…

Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

We're Falling into a Ring of Fire: Taking Stock of Wildfire Liability Regimes from Varying Perspectives in the United States

March 31, 2021 by Alec Williams Air Climate change Litigation Public Lands State and Local

After a record-breaking wildfire season in 2020, lawsuits are likely to flood the dockets of federal and state courts across the United States. Wildfire liability determinations at either level can be complex, typically implicating many parties and exorbitant damage awards. However, in light of the projected impact of climate change on wildfire frequency and severity, such lawsuits may become increasingly commonplace.

By Alec Williams, Managing Editor

The United States may finally ratify the Kigali Amendment—with potential implementing legislation already underway

January 15, 2021 by Sara Zaat Air Chemicals Climate change International

Hydrofluorocarbons, an alternative to the ozone-depleting substances that damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer, are potent greenhouse gases that exacerbate climate change. These chemicals are scheduled for reduction under international law: the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Will the United States join the majority of U.N. Member States in committing to phasing down its hydrofluorocarbon production and consumption in accordance with international law in a Biden administration?

Coal stacks emitting pollutants into the atmosphere

Reclassification of Major Sources as Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act: A Farewell to “Once In, Always In”

November 9, 2020 by Hunter Johnston Air Chemicals Regulations

On October 1, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized text for a final rule that proposed to change the way facilities that emit hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are regulated under the Clean Air Act.[i] The rule, titled Reclassification of Major Sources as Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, purports to implement a plain language interpretation of Section 112 of the Clean Air Act.[ii] In practical effect, the final rule provides that a “major source” can reclassify to “area source” status at any time after reducing its actual or potential hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emissions to below the major source threshold of 10 tons per year (tpy) of any single HAP and 25 tpy of any combination of HAPs.[iii] Additionally, the rule amends Clean Air Act requirements regarding compliance dates, notification, and record keeping.[iv]

Imagining a Greener Future for Post-COVID-19

October 25, 2020 by Hyunjin Kim Air Chemicals Climate change Fossil Fuels International

"Normal was a crisis." When we say we want to "go back to normal," do we really mean the world exactly as we left it? Or, could we use COVID as a means of building something better than what we had, perhaps greener?