Atlanta, GA -- Today, the Trump administration announced new vehicle emission guidelines which roll back the existing Clean Car Standards. This regressive move will get rid of our nation’s best climate change mitigation program, which is cutting future carbon emissions more effectively than any other current federal policy. Preliminary calculations indicate this move could increase global warming emissions by 2.2. billion metric tons. It also threatens to worsen Georgia’s air quality—a report put out by Environment Georgia in June 2018 found that Atlanta had 118 dirty air days in 2016. This action betrays the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA)’s stated mission of protecting human health and the environment.
[Atlanta, GA] –According to a new report by Environment Georgia Research & Policy Center air pollution remains a threat to public health. 5.8 million people in the Atlanta area experienced 118 days of degraded air quality in 2016, increasing the risk of premature death, asthma attacks and other adverse health impacts.
These troubling findings come at a time when the Trump administration prepares to weaken the federal clean car standards, a critical program to cut global warming emissions and increase fuel efficiency. And just this week, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced the agency will review the federal ozone standard -- a standard he sued to stop when he was Oklahoma’s attorney general.
On Monday May 7th the Atlanta City Council passed 18-R-3133 which will provide the funds to help purchase two electric shuttle buses to serve passengers traveling between terminals at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Atlanta, GA—Atlanta’s first community-based solarize program will launch Thursday at Monday Night Brewery’s Garage from 7 to 8:30pm. The launch follows months of work from the Solarize Atlanta Coalition which, after a competitive bid process, chose Creative Solar as the installer for all residential roof projects and Hannah Solar as the installer for all commercial roof installations. After the launch event residential, non-profit and commercial roof owners can go to www.solarizeatl.com to sign-up. People who sign-up will get a free solar evaluation and, if they decide to buy solar, will have access to significantly discounted prices and materials vetted for quality.
Environment Georgia Research and Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.