TOP STORIES

Washington Post – Alaska Native corporation to protect its land, dealing blow to massive gold mine project

E&E News – Acting air chief plots course for tackling Trump rollbacks

EPA – Air Pollution Trends Continue to Link Clean Air and Strong Economy

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

NY Times – WAs Warming Fuels Disasters, Relief Often Favors White People

NY Times – Offshore Wind Farms Show What Biden’s Climate Plan Is Up Against

Bloomberg ­– CO₂ Reaches Its Highest Level in More Than 4 Million Years

Reuters – U.S. regulator tells pipeline operators to prepare methane curbs

Phys.org – Establishing a link between air pollution and dementia

The Hill – CO2 concentration levels hit record high, show no impact from pandemic

Indian Country Today – Native professionals embrace virtual policy work

Indian Country Today ­– The modern treaty: protecting Alaska Native land, values

Native Sun News Today – White Plume inspires ‘New Green Revolution’

Colorado Sun – Some of the worst ozone pollution in the U.S. settles along the Front Range. New rules to fix it are ahead.

Legal Reader – Research Confirms Air Quality Affects Student Test Performance

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Indian Country Today – Protesters maintain blockade at oil pipeline site

Axios – The huge gap between today’s policies and Paris goals

The Hill – OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden administration moves to reverse Trump endangered species rollbacks | Putin says Nord Stream 2 pipeline nearing completion | Climate a sticking point after Biden-Capito infrastructure talk

Yahoo! News – California and much of the American West face mega-drought brought on by climate change

The Conversation – As more climate migrants cross borders seeking refuge, laws will need to adapt

The Guardian – Climate crisis to shrink G7 economies twice as much as Covid-19, says research

Live Science – ‘Glacier blood’ could be key to understanding impacts of climate change

Reuters – G7 leaders urged to show solidarity on climate change and COVID-19 at summit

Nature – More than one-third of heat deaths blamed on climate change

Forbes – This Is Why Climate Change Should Be Part Of Your Retirement Plan

National Law Review – Washington Adopts Economy-Wide Climate Legislation: “Cap-and-Invest” Approach Sets a Price For Carbon Emissions And Allows Washington To Join Existing Emissions Credit Markets

The Hill – Granholm launches ‘Earthshot’ goal of reducing hydrogen energy cost to $1

Toxics/Mobile Sources

BioMass Magazine – EPA seeks nominations for technical review committee

Axios – EVs are surging, but not enough to meet climate goals

NY Times – Climate Activists Defeat Exxon in Push for Clean Energy

MPR News – EPA alerts Wisconsin, Fond du Lac Band that PolyMet mine ‘may affect’ their waters

American Progress – Using Performance Management to Eliminate Greenhouse Gas Emissions From the Surface Transportation Sector

JD Supra – Air Regulators Tackle Trucking at Southern California Warehouses

Environmental Defense Fund – California Accelerates Toward Zero-Emission Vehicle Standards That Will Save Lives, Save Money, Create Jobs

NY Times – Crackdown on Emissions ‘Defeat Devices’ Has Amateur Racers Up in Arms

School Transportation News ­– Student Transportation of America Creates Electric Vehicle Program

Indoor Air Quality

Derby Informer – Home Upgrades for Better Indoor Air Quality

VeryWell Health – How to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality to Protect Against Pollutants

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

• The 2021 Status of Tribal Air Report (STAR) National Presentation will be held on June 14^th at 12pm PT / 3pm ET
  • The NTAA will host a national presentation to provide an overview of the STAR, share the stories within the STAR, and provide specific recommendations for national leadership to advance air quality on and around Tribal lands. Presenters include NTAA’s Executive Committee (EC) Chairwoman & Region 10’s EC Primary Representative Carol Kriebs, Region 4’s EC Alternate Representative Tiffany Lozada, Region 5’s EC Alternate Representative Joy Wiecks, Region 6’s EC Primary Representative Craig Kreman, Dana Adkins of the Chickahominy Tribe, the TAMS Steering Committee’s Chairwoman Tennille Denetdeel, and NTAA staff members Andy Bessler, Mariah Ashley, and Dara Marks Marino. To register for the presentation, follow this link.

• NTAA is producing a Policy Resource Kit to help Tribes respond to EPA on its reconsideration of the 2019 action titled, the “Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule,” for the purposes of rescinding the action taken by the prior administration.
  • NTAA commented on the full SAFE proposal, which included both the waiver withdrawal and the freezing of fuel efficiency standards, on October 26, 2018. This Reconsideration seeks comment on:
    • Appropriateness of EPA’s interpretations that led to the withdrawal of CA’s CAA waiver to set GHG standards and a ZEV sales mandate
    • Appropriateness of EPA’s interpretation that disallowed other states to adopt CA GHG emission standards
  • NTAA’s PRK includes a fact sheet and NTAA will be preparing a template letter for Tribes to use in submitting their own comments. The comment deadline is July 6, 2021. You can find more information and to comment, visit the Federal Register website.

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

NY Times – A Look at What’s Inside Biden’s $6 Trillion Budget Request

EPA – Statement by Administrator Regan on the President’s FY 2022 Budget

Bloomberg Law – Biden Budget Seeks Boost for EPA Core Programs and Research

EPA – Air Pollution Trends Continue to Link Clean Air and Strong Economy

The Hill – EPA officially nixes Trump ‘secret science’ rule

Indian Country Today – Unanimous: Supreme Court rules for Tribes as Tribal jurisdiction upheld in United States v. Cooley case

Native Sun News – Water protectors continue to disrupt Line 3 construction

School Transportation News – Cleaning the air starts with education on school bus role

High Country News – Will a Native-led Initiative spur an agricultural revolution in rural Alaska?

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

The Hill – Biden administration to suspend Arctic oil leases issued under Trump: reports

The Verge – A company wants to build a massive solar project in Montana—of course it’s for crypto

Nature – The burden of heat-related mortality attributable to recent human-induced climate change

Reuters – Hydrogen ‘a huge opportunity’ to replace fossil fuels, says U.S. energy secretary

Energy News Network – Cranberry farmers look to sweeten income by pairing crop with solar panels

Canary Media – Why roofop solar and home batteries make a clean grid vastly more affordable

Reuters – Digital divide: How to unmute climate voices in poorer nations

The Hill – EPA to revise Trump rule limiting state authority to block pipelines

Architect.com – The Butterfly Effect: Retrofitting Low-Income Housing

Toxics/Mobile Sources

NPR – The Week That Shook Big Oil

The Guardian – ‘Black Wednesday’ for big oil as courtrooms and boardrooms turn on industry

NY Times – Fixing What Highways Destroyed

NY Times – Can Removing Highways Fix America’s Cities?

NY Times – How do animals safely cross a highway? Take a look.

AP – Enbridge’s Line 3 oil pipeline enters critical month in June

The Guardian – Guyanese citizens challenge ExxonMobil offshore drilling on climate grounds

Reuters – Three Exxon refineries top the list of U.S. polluters

Washington Examiner – Greener cryptocurrencies in focus as Bitcoin faces environmental criticism

Gizmodo – Iran bans crypto mining after months of blackouts

Indoor Air Quality

Charkoosta – Arlee High School students win statewide award for radon testing

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

The 2021 Status of Tribal Air Report (STAR) was released at the National Tribal Air Association’s (NTAA) Annual Meeting on May 20, 2021. On June 14^th at 12 pm PT / 3 pm ET, the NTAA will host a national presentation to provide an overview of the STAR, share the stories within the STAR, and provide specific recommendations for national leadership to advance air quality on and around Tribal lands. Presenters include NTAA’s Executive Committee (EC) Chairwoman & Region 10’s EC Primary Representative Carol Kriebs, Region 4’s EC Alternate Representative Tiffany Lozada, Region 5’s EC Alternate Representative Joy Wiecks, Region 6’s EC Primary Representative Craig Kreman, Dana Adkins of the Chickahominy Tribe, the TAMS Steering Committee’s Chairwoman Tennille Denetdeel, and NTAA staff members Andy Bessler, Mariah Ashley, and Dara Marks Marino. To register for the presentation, follow this link.

NTAA Monthly Video Update from Executive Committee Member Scott Hansen, Catawba Indian Nation, Region 4

If you don’t have time to dive deep into the NTAA Weekly Update, watch the quick video update to help give you the latest news from NTAA and learn more about the Tribes in each region! Watch the video here or on NTAA’s home page under, “Latest News.”

What a wonderful and informative NTFAQ conference we had last week! THANK YOU!  It would not have been possible without the help and support of a multitude of people – including all of you who attended our sessions, asked insightful questions, and made our virtual gathering almost feel like the real thing!

At this time, we would really appreciate hearing back from you.  Please tell us what you thought about the 2021 NTFAQ, what content you want to see in 2022, and give us feedback on air quality trainings that you have.  This feedback form should only take about 10 minutes or so to complete.

The NTFAQ website will stay open for 1 full year – so you can check out any of the pre-recorded trainings and presentations you may have missed here on the NTFAQ website. We are editing the live sessions that you all attended, and will have those posted soon.

Thank you again for making the 2021 NTFAQ so informative, meaningful and fun!  And please SAVE THE DATE to be at Muscogee Nation for the 2022 NTFAQ May 2 – 6, 2022!!

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

Indian Country Today – National report published today recommends air quality improvements and shares stories from tribal air quality programs

Reuters – Air pollution costs each American $2,500 a year in healthcare – study

The Guardian – Biden administration pauses transfer of holy Native American land to mining firm

Washington Post – Heat and smog hit low-income communities and people of color hardest, scientists say

NY Times – Facing Hurricane and Wildfire Seasons, FEMA Is Already Worn Out

The Hill – The terrible environmental costs of stagnant EPA funding

Native Sun News – Army Corps seeks tribal cooperation on DAPL

EPA – U.S. EPA penalizes Lupton, Arizona refinery for violating Clean Air Act chemical safety requirements

CNN – Stark racial disparities persist in vaccinations, state-level CDC data shows

Science Advances – Air pollution impacts of COVID-19–related containment measures

High Country News – Petroglyph vandalism is not a victimless crime

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

The 19^th – Indigenous women and LGTBQ+ people led Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Five years later, they reflect on Standing Rock

Euronews – ‘The climate has won today’ – Shell ordered to cut CO2 emissions by 45% in landmark climate case

Reuters – U.S. identifies areas for offshore wind energy projects near California

Ensia – “A Generational Historic Struggle To Regain Our Water”

Washington Post – For seventh straight year, a named storm forms in Atlantic ahead of hurricane season

Mashable – 3 signs the climate op-ed you’re reading is full of it

The Hill – Environmentalists see infrastructure as crucial path to climate goals

NPR – Once Nearly Extinct, The Florida Panther Is Making A Comeback

USA Today – Climate Point: Helium mining lifts off in the Navajo Nation

Toxics/Mobile Sources

CNBC – Ford boosts electric vehicle spending to more than $30 billion, aims to have 40% of volume all-electric by 2030

The Wall Street Journal – Bitcoin Miners Are Giving New Life to Old Fossil-Fuel Power Plants

The Hill – Bipartisan group of senators introduces surface transportation bill

Grist – The cost to clean up New Mexico’s oil and gas industry? $8 billion.

Nexus – Refinery That Rained Oil Shut Down By EPA in St. Croix

Jalopnik – A Brief History of Gasoline: A Century And A Half of Lies

Nexus – Biden Administration Lets DAPL Oil Keep Flowing Without Permit

Indoor Air Quality

EPA – EPA and Partners Make Progress on the National Radon Action Plan

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

Join us this week for NTFAQ, May 17 – 21, 2021! Click here to check it out! 

Updates include:

1. You can join the NTAA Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 20 at 12:30 pm PT when NTAA will be releasing the 2021 Status of Tribal Air Report. You can also learn how to join NTAA as a Member Tribe or Associate Member!
2. Join leaders from the Moms Clean Air Force for a Meet and Greet TODAY at 3pm PT. Moms Clean Air Force is NTAA’s latest Associate Member so join them to learn what they do to advance air quality!

It’s National Asthma Awareness Month!

Join the EPA Indoor airPLUS Program in celebrating National Asthma Awareness Month. Asthma is a serious, sometimes life-threatening chronic respiratory disease that affects the quality of life for more than 25 million Americans, including an estimated 5 million children. Although there is no cure for asthma yet, asthma can be controlled in part through management of the indoor environment. Indoor airPLUS is a voluntary partnership and labeling program that helps new home builders improve the quality of indoor air by requiring construction practices and product specifications that minimize exposure to airborne pollutants including environmental asthma triggers. Search for a local Indoor airPLUS builder on EPA’s Partner Locator, and ask for the EPA Indoor airPLUS label on your new home!

How Indoor airPLUS Homes Help Reduce the Occurrence of Asthma Triggers in the Home. Here are ways an Indoor airPLUS home can help reduce asthma triggers in the home.

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

Dame Magazine – It’s High Time We Listen to Indigenous Women on Climate

NTAA’s recent partnership with Moms Clean Air Force is mentioned

NY Times – Biden Administration to Repeal Trump Rule Aimed at Curbing E.P.A.’s Power

NY Times – Blazes That Refuse to Die: ‘Zombie Fires’

The Guardian – Air pollution linked to ‘huge’ rise in child asthma GP visits

Gizmodo – The EPA Is Doing Its Job Again

High Country News – The everyday violence of Indian Country’s ‘bordertowns’

Cronkite News – Fight over Oak Flat mine draws support of diverse religious groups

Oregon Live – Lawsuit seeks $103 million in damages from two public utilities stemming from Holiday Farm wildfire

Grist – The EPA just accused Missouri’s environmental agency of violating the Civil Rights Act

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

The Hill – White House environmental justice advisers express opposition to nuclear, carbon capture projects

The Hill – Researchers: Emissions goals must incorporate Arctic permafrost warming

Gizmodo – Exxon Blames You for Climate Change

The Guardian – Crying about hamburgers is dead-end on climate crisis, Republicans warned

The Guardian – Third of global food production at risk from climate crisis

Earther – 40,000-Year-Old Rock Art Is Being Destroyed Due to Climate Change

Star Tribune – Minnesota family-owned company on track to build third of U.S. wind projects this year

NY Times – Syria’s Surprising Solar Boom: Sunlight Powers the Night in Rebel Idlib

The Guardian – Weatherwatch: does nuclear power really keep the lights on?

Energy News – Micigan Line 5 opponents serve ‘eviction notice’ at Enbridge pumping station

Toxics/Mobile Sources

NY Times – Electric Pickups Could Make or Break Biden’s Infrastructure Plans

The Hill – Gas shortages likely to linger for days

The Hill – Vast majority of DC gas stations without fuel amid panic buying

Washington Post – EPA orders Virgin Island refinery o shut down, citing ‘imminent’ health threat

Reuters – Factbox: Getting out of gas – the sold and scrapped projects

Inside Climate News – Biden’s Pipeline Dilemma: How to Build a Clean Energy Future While Shoring Up the Present’s Carbon-Intensive Infrastructure

Indoor Air Quality

Vox – Covid-19 proved bad indoor air quality makes us sick. We can fix that.

Yale Climate Connections – Santa Fe women built homemade air purifiers to help protect people from wildfire smoke

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

NTAA is happy to announce that Moms Clean Air Force has joined the NTAA family as an Associate Member! NTAA has established a partnership with Moms Clean Air Force – a community of over 1,000,000 moms and dads united against air pollution—including the urgent crisis of our changing climate—to protect our children’s health. They fight for Justice in Every Breath, recognizing the importance of equitable solutions in addressing air pollution and climate change. In collaboration with Moms, NTAA published a joint fact sheet that provides a summary of the air pollution impacts on Indigenous people. You can view the fact sheet here and be sure to check out the Facebook Live event held on Thursday, April 15 that was recorded and posted on Moms’ YouTube channel.

You have one more week to register for the NTFAQ! May 17 – 21, 2021!

Our NTFAQ contractors (OpenWater) have updated the conference website. Please take a few minutes to check it out! 

Updates include:

1. 1. New webpages for:  Host Tribe, Keynote Speakers, TAMS Awards, NTAA Meeting.
   2. Addition of details for the Schedule of sessions.  For the breakout sessions all recorded presentations have been added, plus any handouts that have been provided to us.
   3. When you register for the NTFAQ, you can join the NTAA Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 20 at 12:30 pm PT when NTAA will be releasing the 2021 Status of Tribal Air Report. You can also learn how to join NTAA as a Member Tribe or Associate Member!
   4. Join leaders from the Moms Clean Air Force for a Meet and Greet on Wednesday, May 19^th at 3pm PT. Moms Clean Air Force is NTAA’s latest Associate Member so join them to learn what they do to advance air quality!

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

The Conversation – Wildfires are contaminating drinking water systems, and it’s more widespread than people realize

NM In Depth – Navajo-Gallup water delay spurs problem solving in arid Southwest

NPR – Emission Impossible

NPR – Environmental Concerns Arise Over Energy Needed To Mine Bitcoin

National Law Review – EPA Enforcement Policies Prioritize Environmental Justice and Embrace “NextGen” Compliance Tools

Indian Country Today – Federal legislation forthcoming stemming from McGirt

Indian Country Today – Some tribes will get more CARES Act money

Indian Country Today – Land exchange for Alaska Native veterans

The Hill – Farms’ air pollution contributes to almost 18K deaths in US annually: study

Wisconsin Examiner – State of the Tribes Address highlights racism and economic challenges, threats to Wisconsin’s environment

ABC News – 50 years ago, election ushered in new era for US tribes

KUER – Advocates for Tribal Water Access Are Asking Congress To Earmark Money For Projects On Native Land

High Country News – So you want to acknowledge the land?

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Reuters – Global renewable energy grew at fastest pace in two decades in 2020 – IEA

The 19^th News – Deb Haaland on climate, energy and a new effort to address violence against Native Americans

The Guardian – The young people taking their countries to court over climate inaction

ProPublica – Clean Energy Loans Trapped Black Homeowners in Debt. The Legislature Just Stated Trying to Fix the Problem.

The Hill – Biden to restart environmental review of bird habitat Trump opened for mining

CNN – Biden administration approves first major offshore wind project in US waters

TIME – Fossil Fuels, Climate Change and India’s COVID-19 Crisis

Buzzfeed – Magic Mushrooms: This Scammer Is Twisting Science In A Scheme To Save The World

Indian Country Today – Michigan tribe banishes Enbridge Line 5 pipeline

Indian Country Today – Interior drops Arctic offshore drilling proposal

Toxics/Mobile Sources

NY Times – Cyberattack Forces a Shutdown of a Top U.S. Pipeline

The Hill – Feds eye more oversight of pipelines after Colonial attack

AP – EPA sets grants to restore ‘brownfields’ at blighted sites

The Guardian – Wyoming stands up for coal with threat to sue states that refuse to buy it

The Hill – Court ruling paves the way for Minnesota to adopt clean car standards

The Guardian – Electric cars ‘will be cheaper to produce than fossil fuel vehicles by 2027’

Indoor Air Quality

Better Homes and Gardens – Why cooking with a gas stove is bad for your health

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

In case you missed yesterday’s NTAA Informational Webinar for Tribes on TAS, NTAA’s Ryan Tsinigine hosted an informational webinar for Tribes to learn about TAS that included presentations by:

• • Pat Childers, EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation
  • Brandy Toft, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Indians
  • Dan Morey of the Monrongo Band of Mission Indians
  • You can view NTAA’s resources on TAS including a recording of the 96 minute webinar here.

U.S. EPA – EPA Announces $4.5 Million in Grants Available for Tribes to Replace Diesel Equipment and Reduce Harmful Emissions: For the first time under this competition, matching funds are not required.

The White House – A Proclamation on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, May 4, 2021

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

NPR – Senate Votes To Restore Regulations On Climate-Warming Methane Emissions

The Hill – EPA official directs agency to ramp up enforcement in communities hit hard by pollution

Axios – Study: Air pollution disproportionately kills Americans of color

Native News Online – Biden’s First 100 Days: Impact on Indian Country

National Law Review – EPA Will Finalize Rule Imposing Toxics Release Inventory Reporting Requirements on Natural Gas Processing Facilities

Indian Country Today – Interior sets new path through land maze

NBC – Texas enabled the worst carbon monoxide poisoning catastrophe in recent U.S. history

CNN – ‘The honeymoon is over’: Biden faces tougher tasks ahead as progressives demand more

Indian Country Today – Race, sovereignty clash as Congress meddles in tribal enrollment

U.S EPA Region 10 – Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians receive EPA approval to administer Clean Water Act programs on reservation and trust lands

EurekAlert! – Air pollution linked to high blood pressure in children; other studies address air quality and the heart

The Guardian – Air pollution spikes may impair older men’s thinking, study finds

Phys.org – Exposure to air pollution can influence investors’ decision making

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

NY Times – EPA to Sharply Limit Powerful Greenhouse Gases

Axios – NOAA unveils a warmer climate “normal” for the U.S.

Axios – Vast majority of existing coal plants are more costly than wind or solar plants

NY Times – Global Vaccine Crisis Sends Ominous Signal for Fighting Climate Change

Huffpost – How Arizona’s Attorney General Is Weaponizing Climate Fears To Keep Out Immigrants

Star Tribune – In Minnesota, fighting climate change means changing how to heat buildings

The Guardian – Climate crisis: our children face wars over food and water, EU deputy warns

Climate Home News – How youth climate court cases became a global trend

Reuters – Ice melts out at famous Alaska river betting site

Earther – Polar Bear-Grozzly Hybrids, Aka Pizzly Bears, May Be Growing More Common Due to Climate Crisis

Toxics/Mobile Sources

The Hill – Senate Democrats announce $73B clean bus plan

The Hill – Carper asks EPA to require half of new cars to be zero-emissions by 2030

NY Times – To Promote His Infrastructure Plan, Biden Revisits ‘Amtrak Joe’ Days

AP – Public transit hopes to win back riders after crushing year

Bloomberg – Plugging In: The EV Transition Gains Speed

E&E – Biden’s conundrum: Expand EVs without harming the Earth

Indoor Air Quality

CNBC – MIT researchers say time spent indoors increases risk of Covid at 6 feet or 60 feet in new study challenging social distancing policies

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

@AirNow is Celebrating Air Quality Awareness Week, May 3 – 7, 2021!

We are pleased to offer an Air Quality Awareness Week Social Media Challenge. This exciting challenge encourages people to do things like explore air quality tools online and to get outside and post a photo or video with a caption, ‘Enjoying clean air!’” and “Show us an image of you doing your favorite outdoor activity.”  We’re using the hashtag #AQAW2021 Thank you for supporting this celebration each year.  This year’s theme is, “Healthy Air – Important for Everyone!”  We’ll be supporting that theme with daily topics:

• May 3 – Wildfires and Smoke
• May 4 – Asthma and Your Health
• May 5 – Citizen Science and Air Sensors
• May 6 – Environmental Justice and Air Quality
• May 7 – Air Quality Around the World

The AQAW 2021 website will go live on Monday, May 3^rd – www.airnow.gov/aqaw

Politico – What Regan wants: Inside Michael Regan’s Mind

The Hill – Senate confirms Janet McCabe as deputy EPA chief

Reuters – EXCLUSIVE White House backs 2030 milestone on path to net zero grid

U.S. EPA – EPA Reconsiders Previous Administration’s Withdrawal of California’s Waiver to Enforce Greenhouse Gas Standards for Cars and Light Trucks

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

The Results Are In – Census Bureau Announces 2020 Apportionment Counts

EPA – EPA Administrator Regan Announces New Initiatives to Support Environmental Justice and Climate Action

Axios – Interior to restore tribal lands and management in rollback of Trump-era actions

AP – Democrats move to reinstate methane rules loosened by Trump

Cronkite News – Tribal officials outline infrastructure gap ‘big as the Grand Canyon’

Indian Country Today – Alaska legislators consider state recognition of tribes

Seattle Times – Washington Legislature approves caps on carbon pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, giving big win to Inslee, environmentalists

Nature Communications – Wildfire smoke impacts respiratory health more than fine particles from other sources: observational evidence from Southern California

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

NY Times – Halting the Vast Release of Methane Is Critical for Climate, U.N. Says

Reuters – Biden administration offers $8.25 billion in loans for power grid

Grist – AOC’s plan for a 1.5 million-strong Civilian Climate Corps explained

TeenVogue – Climate Change in Florida Is Forcing a Response From Republican Politicians

E&E – Interior to study massive solar project on Nev. Tribal land

The Guardian – ‘Insanely cheap energy’: how solar power continues to shock the world

The Washington Post – Biden closes landmark summit with a message: Climate action equals jobs

The Washington Post – The Technology 202: Researchers warn misinformation on Facebook threatens to undermine Biden’s climate agenda

Washington Examiner – Nickelodeon airs Earth Day segment teaching children about ‘environmental racism’

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Washington Post – EPA moves to give California right to set climate limits on cars, SUVs

U.S. EPA – EPA Administrator Regan Establishes New Council on PFAS

LA Times – Newson bans new California fracking permits starting in 2024

Wall Street Journal – Why New Induction Cooktops Are Safer and Faster Than Gas or Electric

USA Today – Honda to phase out gas cars, aiming for 100% electric vehicles in North America by 2040

Reuters – Supreme Court seeks U.S. government views on VW emissions case

Indoor Air Quality

Climate Control News – Reset IAQ standards

Contracting Business – Fredrich introduces IAQ solutions to combat pathogen and pollutant threats

WTVD-TV – IAQ could be one of the pandemic-inspired changes that sticks around long after COVID-19 is gone

FacilitiesNet – How to Improve IAQ With Effective Air Filtration

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

• NEW! NTAA is hosting a free informational webinar for Tribes with a panel discussion on Treatment as a State (TAS) under the Clean Air Act’s Tribal Authority Rule on Thursday, May 4, 2021 at 1 pm ET. The panel includes EPA representatives that will speak about TAS and Tribal representatives will speak to TAS’s benefits and what aspects of TAS have worked for their Tribe. You can click here to register for the 1 ½ hour webinar. To learn more about TAS, visit NTAA’s TAS webpage or contact NTAA’s Ryan Tsinigine.
• If you missed last week’s Indigenous People and Air Pollution in the U.S. Round Table Discussion with Moms Clean Air Force, you can watch it here! The Fact Sheet is also available for download and available at both Moms and NTAA’s websites.
• Registration is now open for the National Tribal Forum on Air Quality, May 17-21^st, 2021! Register Here for FREE! We want to especially thank the Muscogee Creek Nation for their partnership and assistance.  This year’s conference theme is 50 years of the Clean Air Act and How Traditional Wisdom Can Lead Us Into the Future.  Throughout our conference we will be weaving in the voices of Native youth and elders – a reminder to us all the importance of the work we do. The tapestry of tribal air quality programs is rich and diverse, much like the traditions and languages of Native American Tribes and Alaskan Native Villages.  For questions or technical difficulties during the conference, our NTFAQ team is standing by to help. Please email us at [email protected] for assistance.
• NEW! EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act’s Tribal Grants for FY21 Request for Applications are coming soon! More information can be found on this flyer and on this website.

American Lung Association – ALA Releases 2021 State of the Air Report

Fortune – Biden readying pledge to cut 2030 greenhouse gas emissions by half

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

Science Alert – Microplastics Are Now Spiraling Around The Globe in The Air We Breathe

Greenwire – EPA brings equity agenda to struggling sewage systems

Cronkite News – How Arizona’s Havasupai Tribe has kept COVID-19 out of its community

Native News Online – Minn. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan Tweets Minnesota is “A Place Where It Is Not Safe to be Black”

The Verge – The Environmental Protection Agency is Cleaning up its Image

Indian Country Today – High court seems ready to send funds to Alaska Natives

Indian Country Today – Score one for wild rice: The EPA directs Minnesota to consider wild rice when listing impaired waters

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

EPA – EPA Publishes 28^th Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

NY Times – Biden Is Pushing a Climate Agenda. Gina McCarthy Has to Make It Stick.

Navajo Times – Grassroots effort provides solar power to 12 off-grid HPL homes

Cronkite News – Superior mayor, tribal officials spar over bill to stop Oak Flat mine

Reuters – Exclusive: India may build new coal plants due to low cost despite climate change

Gizmodo – A Just Transition In Appalachia May Start With Plugging Old Oil Wells

NY Times – Haaland revokes a dozen Trump-era orders on fossil fuels and prioritizes climate change

CBS News – Biden’s climate duo of Kerry and McCarthy puts U.S. back in global warming fight

The Hill – Treasury creates hub to fight climate change through finance

Grist – Goodbye, old freeways? How subtraction could address climate change

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Cronkite News – Buttigieg: Indian Country investment a priority of infrastructure plan

Washington Post – Trump administration sidelined experts in writing car pollution rules, EPA watchdog finds

Minneapolis Star Tribune – 2 Italian managers indicted in Fiat Chrysler emissions probe

Transport Topics – EPA Provides Updates on Emissions Standards, SmartWay Activities

AP – Size of pipeline spill again underestimated in N. Carolina

Bloomberg – Gas Is the New Coal With Risk of $100 Billion in Stranded Assets

LA Times – My friend was killed riding a bike. He wanted cities built for people, not cars

Indoor Air Quality

Quartz – The air you breathe: Indoor air plays a surprisingly large role in human health, even when there isn’t a pandemic.

The Denver Channel – Amid Pandemic, Workplace Air Quality Standards ‘All Over The Place’

MIT News – A method to assess Covid-19 transmission risks in indoor settings

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

Join representatives from NTAA and Moms Clean Air Force as they announce the publication of a joint fact sheet and discuss the new partnership between NTAA and Moms Clean Air Force. The fact sheet provides a summary of the air pollution impacts on Indigenous people. You can view the new fact sheet here and be sure to check out the Facebook Live event to be held on Thursday, April 15 at 6pm ET here. The live event will be recorded and posted on Moms’ YouTube channel and on NTAA’s website for viewing after the 15^th.

Registration for the 2021 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ) is now open and FREE! Click here to register for the 2021 NTFAQ that will take place LIVE remotely on a virtual platform May 17-21, 2021. The 2021 NTFAQ is hosted by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Click here to learn more!

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

Reuters – Biden budget’s $14 billion hike for climate includes big boosts for EPA, science

E&E News – 6 questions, answers about Biden’s spending plan

NPR – EPA Chief Says Biden Infrastructure Bill Will Help The U.S. Face Climate Change

Reuters – Biden admin’s methane emission curbs to exceed Obama’s: EPA chief

The Guardian – Airborne plastic pollution ‘spiraling around the globe’, study finds

The Guardian – Exclusive: EPA reverses Trump stance in push to tackle environmental racism

AP – Judge orders delay amid debate over Dakota Access pipeline

Native News Online – LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard, Leader of Standing Rock’s Fight Against the Dakota Access Pipeline, Passes on

“Two years ago, when Dakota Access first came, I looked at the pipeline map and knew that my entire world was in danger,” she wrote in YES! Magazine. “If we allow this pipeline, we will lose everything. We are the river, and the river is us. We have no choice but to stand up.”

High Country News – Can a wildlife refuge help a community’s fight for environmental justice?

WGNTV – ‘We just want to breathe’: Little Village protest marks anniversary of botched coal plant demolition

The Hill – Haaland return sets up Biden decision on Utah national monuments shrunk by Trump

Bloomberg Law – Scientists Fear Trump Wood-Burn Stance to Stay Under Regan EPA

The Atlantic – Return the National Parks to the Tribes

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Energy News Network – Black, Latinx families bear the energy burden in Milwaukee, study finds

High Country News – Tribal nations adapt to being at ‘ground zero’ of the climate crisis

Grist – Cascadia’s communities of color speak out against climate injustice

Grist – House hunters are fleeing climate change, causing a new kind of gentrification

Environmental Health News – Racism, inequities move to the center of the climate debate

CBS – Guatemalan farmer weights leaving family behind to go to U.S. as climate change poverty forces migrants from homes

NPR – Energy Policy Researcher Says Biden’s Jobs Plan Tackles Climate Change

Gizmodo – California Could Require Uber and Lyft to Go Electric by 2030

U.S. Department of Energy – DOE Announces $35 Million for Technologies to Reduce Methane Emissions

The Washington Post – Drought-plagued California and western U.S. may see another devastating fire season

The Guardian – Meet Arizona’s water one-percenters

Toxics/Mobile Sources

The Washington Post – South Korean battery makers reach last-minute settlement

Gizmodo – Big Oil Fed State Educators Stats Used to Push Back on Biden’s Climate Goals

Reuters – Biden admin’s methane emission curbs to exceed Obama’s: EPA chief

NPR – Betting Big on Electric Vehicles, Biden Faces Fraught Decision on Ga. Battery Plant

Indoor Air Quality

Quartz – The air you breathe: Indoor air plays a surprisingly large role in human health, even when there isn’t a pandemic.

U.S. EPA Region 10 – EPA and Tribal Healthy Homes Network are hosting a 3-part webinar series on Tribal Innovations & Success Stories in Healthy Homes Outreach. Click here to register.

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

High Country News – As the country reckons with race, will tribal nations lead the way?

U.S. DOI – Secretary Haaland Creates New Missing & Murdered Unit to Pursue Justice for Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Native

Indian Country Today – Fond du Lac Band wins halt to copper mine

The Oklahoman – Tribes deliver big economic lift to Oklahoma communities

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

HCN – The ‘slow-motion genocide’ of the Chinook Indian Nation

Al Jazeera – This river in Canada is now a ‘legal person’

U.S. DOI – Interior Invests $1.6 Billion to Improve Infrastructure on Public Lands and Tribal Schools

Wildfire Today – Red Flag Warnings in seven Great Plains states, April 2, 2021

The Hill – Court tosses Trump rule limiting emissions regulations

The Hill – Targeting federal spending to help EPA promote environmental justice

The Hill – Groups petition EPA to remove ethane and methane from list of compounds exempt from emissions limits

The Norman Transcript – Euchee tribe struggling to become federally recognized as its own tribe

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Rolling Stone – Nothing’s Off the Table: Gina McCarthy Has Big Plans for the Climate Fight

E&E News – Gina McCarthy: Clean energy standard to include nuclear, CCS

NPR – ‘Green New Deal’ Leaders See Biden Climate Plans As A Vistory, Kind Of

The Hill – Biden clean electricity standard faces high hurdles

Inside Climate News – Big Meat and Dairy Companies Have Spent Millions Lobbying Against Climate Action, a New Study Finds

NY Times – Floods and Mudslides in Eastern Indonesia Leave at Least 41 Dead

Climate Signals – Climate Change & Drought

NPR – Your Weather Forecast Update: Warmer Climate Will Be The New ‘Normal’

EurekAlert – COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent global need to control air pollution

Toxics/Mobile Sources

The Hill – EPA to propose vehicle emissions standards to meet ‘the urgency of the climate crisis’ by July’s end

Grist – Fighting pipelines to the last mile

Washington Post – Biden’s plan to rev up the electric car market is complicated by battery supplies

NY Times – America Has Long Favored Cars Over Trains and Buses. Can Biden Change That?

Eather – How to Ensure Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Is Accessible to Everyone

Climate Nexus – Why activists distrust this plan to cut emissions from cars and trucks

AP – Leak at wastewater pond prompts evacuations in Florida

Indoor Air Quality

Alaska Public Media – CARES Act flooded Alaska tribes with cash for pandemic programs. Now they’re bracing for a bigger deluge.

Minnesota Star Tribune – Historic investment a lifeline for Minnesota tribes devastated by COVID

Cronkite News – How Arizona’s Havasupai Tribe has kept COVID-19 out of its community

Dwell – Spring Clean Your Indoor Air Quality

All Work Space – Return to the Office: Why IAQ Should be the Top Priority

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins