TOP STORIES
National Tribal Forum on Air Quality Has Been Cancelled
On Friday, March 13, 2020, the National Tribal Air Association (NTAA), along with others from EPA and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, held an emergency call and made the decision to cancel the 2020 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality, originally scheduled for May 25-28, 2020. This decision was made in light of the many Tribes across the country who have instituted travel bans for staff, and based on the recent guidance offered by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The NTAA will continue to host national conference calls and webinars in service to its mission to support Tribal Air Quality Programs across the country. Conference cancellations are widespread, as this article in E&E News highlights, and mentions the cancellation of NTFAQ.
Resources for Protection from COVID-19
The EPA has published an expanded list of disinfectant products that are qualified for use against COVID-19. The American Lung Association has published an update titled Protecting Yourself during the Spread of the Coronavirus or COVID-19.
EPA’s Transparency in Science Supplemental Proposal published in the Federal Register today. NTAA will be publishing a Policy Resource Kit for Tribes to use to respond to the proposal that can be found here.
HEADLINES
Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes
E&E News – Science Advisory Board to review methane, water rules
Ensia – Opinion: Scientists Must Learn How to Interact with Indigenous People
E&E News – EPA won’t tighten asphalt emission standards
EPA – EPA to Review Lead Ambient Air Standards
The Hill – Adviser behind controversial EPA policies returns as agency chief of staff
High Country News – ‘This system cannot be sustained’
Science Daily – Air pollution is one of the world’s most dangerous health risks
NPR – China’s Efforts to Control Coronavirus Lead to Less Air Pollution
Washington Post – The coronavirus is deadly enough. But some experts wonder if bad air makes it worse.
AZ Central – Tribal and local activist air concerns about Resolution copper mine at Oak Flat for congressional subcommittee
National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update
Climate Change/Energy
Grist – Why don’t we treat climate change like an infectious disease?
NY Times – Social Distancing? You Might Be Fighting Climate Change, Too
Fortune – 5 charts projecting the cost of climate change by 2100
NPR – A Checkup on California’s Efforts to Combat Climate Change
NPR – Is Failure To Prepare For Climate Change A Crime?
Ensia – Does This Tiny Island Off the Coast of Maine Hold the Answer to the Future of Electricity?
E&E News – COVID-19 mimics climate catastrophe at ‘warp speed’
E&E News – Coronavirus and the U.S. grid: What to know
Cronkite News – Climate change already is diminishing the Colorado River, U.S. researchers find
Toxics/Mobile Sources
Green Car Congress – Emissions analytics finds pollution from tire wear can be 1,000x worse than exhaust emissions
Inside EV’s – Emissions-Free Future: A Look at the Appeal & Hesitation around EVs
Indoor Air Quality
E&E News – EPA denies request for leniency for wood stove standards
Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins
