Publications
Testimony in front of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding EPA’s proposed Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants - June 2023
Read our testimony in front of the EPA regarding the proposal to set new national standards to limit climate-harming greenhouse gases by the larger and more frequently in service electrical power plants in order to reduce our contribution to climate change and cut back on air pollutants.
Testimony in front of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding EPA’s proposed decision to reconsider the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) - February 2023
Read our testimony in front of the EPA which is proposing to tighten national standards for particulates in order to reduce disease, death and our national climate footprint.
Follow-up Testimony requested by the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the random assignment of inspections and inspectors for abandoned and capped gas wells - January 2023
Read our follow-up testimony requested by EPA here.
Testimony in front of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding EPA’s Supplemental Proposal and Natural Gas Industry to Reduce Pollution from the Oil and Natural Gas Industry to Fight the Climate Crisis and Protect Public Health - January 2023
Read our testimony in front of the EPA which is proposing to tighten restrictions on abandoned natural gas wells in order to reduce methane emissions and our national climate footprint.
The Journal of the Association for Climate Health
December 2021
Read our latest news as the world begins to recognize methane gas as a major threat to climate and other key breakthroughs. Download the pdf here.
Winter/Spring 2021
With a new respect for science in Washington, there is more room for optimism. And yet much work still needs to be done. Read about our new work in geothermal and our top blog posts which are interesting, amusing and thought-provoking as always. Download the pdf here.
Fall 2020
See what we’ve been up to in the past several months. Enjoy some of our top blog posts – including climate-friendly snack food and an idea for your holiday giving which is even better for the planet than planting trees. Download the pdf here.
Summer 2020
Read about our testimony promoting solar and regulating leaks from fracking wells and pipelines. Check out our research on how anesthesia contributes to climate change and how towns and cities can switch to solar power. Browse some cool climate strategies including how to make sugar from air, how thinner glass bottles let wineries save money and be climate heroes, and a fun YouTube comedian who talks climate at 60 smiles per hour. Download the pdf here.
Spring 2020
Check out our new survey of local community climate work. Read some of the top strategies, including the use of hip hop for more diverse climate engagement, how microbes can be harnessed to make renewable energy and other intriguing ideas for a better climate future. Download the pdf here.
Testimony on Diversifying Philadelphia Gas Works to Include Geothermal Heating and Cooling - Philadelphia has the oldest gas utility in the nation; yet increasingly people see a conflict between achieving climate goals and burning natural gas for heating homes and businesses. How can PGW transform while protecting jobs, patching leaky pipes and maintaining affordability, health and safety? The City presented a draft study; we testified on its merits and argued that adopting geothermal heating and cooling on a networked basis may be the solution most worth further investigation. All this in the two minutes allotted! Download the pdf here.
The Geothermal Microgrid - Is your community considering geothermal for heating and cooling buildings? Is your local gas utility facing a decline in revenues - and a threat to their financial well-being - as customers turn to electric for its more sustainable footprint? Why not help buildings create more sustainable heating and cooling solutions while making use of the gas utilities’ expertise in underground tunnels, pipeline monitoring and maintenance, and long term project finance, all at the same time? It could be a win-win solution, our favorite kind. We have a new slideshow created for the City of Philadelphia, which will be applicable to many cities across the US, Canada and other regions. Download it for free here.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative - Is RGGI Worth It?
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is one of the world’s first cap-and-trade systems to reduce carbon emissions and slow global warming. For the ten years of its operations it has attracted critics and supporters. We review RGGI’s accomplishments and discuss the arguments against it to determine if it is useful enough to keep going, and for more states to consider joining it. While we do find flaws in its design, overall we feel it is a success, and that states in the pact can continue to fine-tune and provide mitigation for unwanted impacts. Download the pdf here.
White Paper on Anesthesia as a Greenhouse Gas
How often do you think of surgery as an activity that contributes to global warming? Probably not at all, and yet a significant source of greenhouse gases is the anesthesia used in surgical settings, a source which is small but many times more harmful than carbon dioxide and methane gases, the most commonly acknowledged pollutants which drive global warming. Waste anesthesia gas traps more infrared radiation per molecule of emissions and also takes longer to degrade into harmless molecules, with much as 2500 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Yet it has been left out of international climate accords and state and federal regulation, even though there are easy substitutes with much less impact on the atmosphere. Read our latest report here.
Testimony on Tightening Methane Emissions from Fracking Wells and Natural Gas Pipelines
Pennsylvania is one of the major locations for natural gas mining (aka fracking), processing and transportation. The PA DEP is considering establishing controls on emissions of VOCs (volatile organic chemicals) and methane. Read our testimony at their public hearing on June 23, 2020.
White Paper on Power Purchasing Agreements: A Route Forward for Municipalities and Institutions to Encourage New Solar and Wind Generation
Is your town, city or nonprofit institution interested in meeting climate goals and reducing your carbon footprint? Do you want to buy at wholesale rates instead of retail? Download our report on current energy markets and how to make use of the complicated but exciting potential of the Power Purchasing Agreements.
Testimony on PECO petition to provide the Default Service Option in front of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
PECO provides electric power for much of Pennsylvania; in spite of their many public forms of support for solar and wind power, they propose to provide only 0.5% of power from renewable sources. A4CH testified at the public hearing, suggesting that by minimizing solar, the PECO proposal did not meet their own standards of least cost and such factors as price volatility and the need to assure safe and reliable service. Download the testimony here.
Insights into Community Climate Work
A recent ACH survey distributed to the 150 Environmental Advisory Councils reporting to local elected officials across the state of Pennsylvania found that there is more support than ever for creating climate-friendly programs in smaller cities and towns. Yet climate work in the smaller cities and towns continues to be slowed by apathy and competing priorities, even by pockets of climate deniers. Significant resistance to change continues, though most Americans now agree they are already seeing harmful impacts of climate change in their communities, and government is not doing enough to protect the climate. Download this free report - Insights into Community Climate Work: A Survey of Pennsylvania Environmental Advisory Councils - to see what climate mitigation work looks like in local communities today.