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A 100% Renewable Energy Future is Possible, and We Need It

Union of Concerned Scientists

And we’re still trying to recover from a pandemic that has made even more clear the disproportionate impacts of air pollution on overburdened communities, making them even more vulnerable to the negative impacts of COVID 19. On the Road to 100 Percent Renewables examined how two dozen state members of the U.S.

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The State of the Air in 2024? Not Great

Union of Concerned Scientists

So of course the American Lung Association ’s yearly report, State of the Air (SOTA), published every year since 2000, is of professional and personal interest. The air quality for this report was calculated using data reviewed by EPA from 2020, 2021, and 2022. We cannot change the topography.

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EPA Grant Program Helps to Accelerate Transition to Cleaner Ports

Union of Concerned Scientists

Air pollution from ports comes from many sources: ships, trains, tugboats, cargo equipment, and – quite importantly – the trucks that move cargo containers to and from ports. Because drayage trucks tend to be among the oldest tractor trucks on the road, they tend to pollute at greater rates than other tractors.

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We Need an Agreement to Phase out Fossil Fuels at COP28

Union of Concerned Scientists

And, while renewable energy is growing fast too, it’s not happening fast enough—and can never happen fast enough if its outpaced by fossil fuel expansion. is a particularly nasty pollutant, contributing to a range of cardiovascular and lung diseases and even causing death. Particulate matter (PM2.5)

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Ask a Scientist: Two Dozen States Can Meet 100 Percent of Electricity Demand with Renewables by 2035

Union of Concerned Scientists

Nearly all of the alliance members have a renewable electricity standard (RES), which requires utilities in their jurisdiction to increase their use of renewable energy to a particular percentage by a specific year. We found that states have technically feasible and highly beneficial ways to achieve 100-percent renewable energy.

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Reliance on Gas Power Plants Fuels Inequity

Union of Concerned Scientists

Air pollution Gas-fueled power plants and compressor stations release emissions that pollute local air and have dangerous health impacts to nearby residents. Most notable of these polluting emissions are nitrogen oxides (NOx).

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Clean Fleets Rule Slated to Deliver Healthier Air for Californians

Union of Concerned Scientists

Trucks and buses on California’s roads and highways are responsible for the majority of lung-damaging fine particulate and ozone-forming nitrogen oxide emissions, and a sizable amount of climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions as well.