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Ask a Scientist: Gas Plants Disproportionately Harm Marginalized Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

Gas, which now generates 40 percent of US electricity, is considered by some to be critical to maintain grid reliability. For example, Dominion Energy, an electric and gas utility in Virginia, is planning to build a mammoth 1,000-megawatt gas plant in an area with a high percentage of residents who are people of color and low-income.

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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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Ask a Scientist: The US Has to Do More to Meet Its Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals

Union of Concerned Scientists

The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. How is that going to happen? Their report, however, comes with a warning.

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We Need an Agreement to Phase out Fossil Fuels at COP28

Union of Concerned Scientists

Beyond the climate harms of fossil fuels, they also impose a terrible toll on human health, as numerous recent studies show—including the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change , a BMJ study on global deaths from air pollution caused by fossil fuels, and a study on US deaths attributable to coal-fired electricity generation.

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

Union of Concerned Scientists

Climate Alliance (USCA) can meet all of their electricity needs with renewable energy—while decarbonizing other sectors of the economy and ensuring equitable benefits to all communities. States have technically feasible and highly beneficial paths to achieving 100 percent renewable energy. by 2035 is needed.

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NRDC: Moving To Electric Trucks In PA Could Save 140 Lives, Create 3,524 Jobs

PA Environment Daily

billion in public health benefits by 2050 including 140 fewer premature deaths, 131 fewer hospital visits from breathing polluted air, and 71,760 fewer cases of acute bronchitis, exacerbated asthma, and other respiratory symptoms. -- 3,524 new jobs by 2035 , supporting growth in clean energy jobs across the country. billion by 2050.

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Reliance on Gas Power Plants Fuels Inequity

Union of Concerned Scientists

Most notable of these polluting emissions are nitrogen oxides (NOx). Higher and more volatile energy bills An electric system that is over-reliant on gas can contribute to higher and more volatile electricity bills. It indeed accounts for 40% of the electricity currently generated for the grid.