Top Stories
NTAA News!
The NTAA is currently seeking story submissions for the 2022 Status of Tribal Air Report!
We are asking that you draft the short story or nominate someone who you may think has a great idea! Please list or write a short paragraph below for one (or two) of the topics given in the Google Form. You may also submit another form response. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: Friday, February 25th, 2022
The NTAA STAR is an annual publication intended to provide an understanding of the importance and impact of Tribal air programs. As such, one of the biggest components to the STAR is the unique perspectives of air programs within Tribal communities. In last year’s STAR, there was mention of needs not being met when it comes to implementing programs or projects due to the lack of funding and infrastructure. Our hope for this STAR is to emphasize funding, and not just the need for more funding for Tribes, but more emphasis on how Tribes are utilizing funds to implement projects and programs. So please provide your success and challenge stories, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to Mariah.Ashely@nau.edu, NTAA Community Program Coordinator, for any questions.
NTAA has released a new template letter that Tribes can use to respond to EPA’s Proposed revisions for National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Primary Copper Smelters. Comments to EPA are due on February 25, 2022. You can find the template letter here and find NTAA’s fact sheet here. To learn more, visit NTAA’s website here or EPA’s website here.
Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News
E&E News – White House releases EJ mapping tool amid rising scrutiny
E&E News – EPA: Power plant emissions spiked last year
Grist – A federal permitting agency will take emissions, environmental justice into account
AP News – Race excluded as WH rolls out climate justice screening tool
AP News – White House spending targets social justice; criteria vague
Indian Country Today – Tribal college part of NASA plan
Vox – How to clear the air in the most polluted cities on Earth
Grist – In Chaco Canyon, a moratorium on oil and gas leases might be too little too late
Reuters – Biden voices support for new U.S. mines, if they don’t repeat past sins
The Hill – Supreme Court rebuffs Dakota Access appeal
Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update
Climate Change/Energy
Bloomberg – How the Supreme Court Could Decide Biden’s Climate Future
E&E News – Why the White House never released its 2030 climate strategy
Axios – The U.S. is now energy independent
The Guardian – The great greenwashing scam: PR firms face reckoning after spinning for big oil
Public Service News – Voters in AZ, West Worried About Water, Climate Change
Reuters – U.S. EPA commits to increasing biofuel use, targets not yet finalized
NPR – Soot is accelerating snow melt in popular parts of Antarctica, a study finds
Inside Climate News – Researchers Say Science Skewed by Racism is Increasing the Threat of Global Warming to People of Color
ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter
Toxics/Mobile Sources
Grist – The Biden administration is updating truck pollution standards
Reuters – Mercedes-Benz foresees EV-only production lines within a few years
Vox – The mystery of methane gone missing
Turlock Journal – Air District receives $36.5M to deploy zero-emission trucks in the Valley
CNBC – Toyota and Yamaha are developing a hydrogen-fueled V8 engine
Financial Times – Tesla’s reverse on battery cells signals shift for electric vehicles
The Guardian – Oil and gas facilities could profit from plugging methane leaks, IEA says
CNBC – Airbus plans to test hydrogen engine on A380 jumbo jet to fly in 2026
Indoor Air Quality
Medical Xpress – Omitting indoor air quality from COVID-19 guidance for shelters and long-term care homes is a grave mistake
Modern Building Services – Why our buildings should be safe havens for good indoor air quality