DALLAS – As November marks the end of the ozone season, Texas officials and environmentalists are busy analyzing trends in the state's air quality - and they're drawing starkly different conclusions.

Every few years, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has to convince the feds that the state has a plan for complying with evolving air standards - standards that some regions have consistently failed to meet. Jim Schermbeck, director of the citizen action group Downwinders at Risk, says one problem with the state's current strategy is that it overemphasizes transportation-related pollution.

"It was never about the cement plants, or the coal plants. It's about cars, cars, cars. And you see this in the way they lay the blame, and you also see it in the way they're approaching the fee problem - to collect for pollution-control measures - [they're] letting drivers pay for that."

The state is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waive tens of millions of dollars in annual penalties imposed on Texas oil refineries, chemical plants, and other industries for noncompliance. The fines are supposed to be used for reducing emissions from commercial transportation sources. The TCEQ argues that other transportation taxes and fees can adequately make up for the industry penalties.

Supporters of the Texas strategy say the recession is partly to blame for any backsliding in air quality. That's because the TCEQ's latest plan counted on more consumers buying newer, cleaner cars. Schermbeck thinks the Perry administration wants to protect industry interests at the expense of air quality, and that the state is not keeping up with changing times. For example, he says, the TCEQ has largely ignored the impact of the recent "fracking" boom.

"In the past, plans have dealt with traditional smokestack industries. Now there's a new source, and that's the natural gas plays in north Texas and south Texas. Those gas emissions are having an impact that's not being calculated very well by the state."

The TCEQ refutes studies indicating that fracking chemicals and practices may be harming air quality, although Schermbeck says the commission is relying on internal models and discounting independent studies. He wants the EPA to be more rigorous about challenging the effectiveness of any state air-quality plan before authorizing it.

See TCEQ regional data at here.




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State officials in Maine are preparing the next generation for climate change-related activism and careers.

A new state-run website helps young Mainers find ways to use their own talents and interests to counter any climate anxiety and work to build the state's climate resilience.

Abigail Hayne is Maine's youth climate engagement coordinator.

"Whether it's taking action just in your community or in your life, or exploring different climate jobs that are specific to Maine," said Hayne, "the youths can just kind of poke around and find something that makes sense to them."

Hayne said the website offers practical, localized ways young people can get active with their town or school as well as Maine's Climate Council, which currently includes a dozen youth representatives.

Maine faces simultaneous challenges. The state is warming faster than the global average and coping with an increase in extreme weather events.

It also has one of the oldest populations in the nation.

Hayne said towns statewide are developing plans to strengthen infrastructure, and the state has a responsibility to make sure young people are well-informed about these climate-related jobs.

"Soon enough, we're going to start seeing younger generations really on the front lines of climate change and community resilience," said Hayne, "and we need to make sure that they are fully prepared when they enter those roles."

More than 170 communities are utilizing state grants to identify the roads, buildings and energy infrastructure that is susceptible to climate change and begin needed upgrades.

Construction, engineering and electrical workers will be in high demand.

Hayne said the website can connect young Mainers with these new work opportunities as well as each other.






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School buses are getting cleaner in Washington state after this year's legislative session.

Lawmakers in Olympia passed House Bill 1368, which will fund the purchase of zero emission school buses.

Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, said the program is getting off the ground quickly.

"As we work towards that long-term goal of all new school buses being zero emission, we're kick-starting this year with $40 million in grants to school districts in overburdened communities," Senn explained.

Going forward, Senn noted school districts will have to purchase zero-emission vehicles once the total cost of ownership is equal to or lower than the cost of diesel vehicles. The state is leveraging the state's Climate Commitment Act resources to fund the transition of its 10,000 school buses.

Devin Denney, director of transportation for Highline Public Schools in King County, which already has electric school buses in its fleet, said he has driven the electric buses and talked about some of their benefits from a driver's perspective.

"You're not competing against that engine noise, the kids aren't competing against the engine noise," Denney observed. "It's a much quieter bus all the way around. The major advantage, of course, is that there's no tailpipe emissions with an electric bus, so our kids' health is better protected."

Senn emphasized health studies have shown there are negative health effects from diesel vehicles for kids, and it is easy to understand why.

"If you think about kids waiting to get on their bus in front of an elementary school and you have this line of buses idling, letting out diesel fumes right at the height of a little child, it becomes obvious that this is probably not the most healthy thing for our children," Senn added.


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Today, in honor of Earth Day, climate advocates are asking California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to rally around a plan to put a $15 billion bond measure on the November ballot.

If passed, the bond measure would fund a range of climate resiliency measures.

Sam Hodder, president and CEO of the Save the Redwoods League, said March was the tenth month in a row to break monthly heat records.

"I think Earth Day is a terrific opportunity for the broader public to recognize how nature is critical for resilience, for our quality of life, for our mental and physical health, and for our communities more broadly," Hodder outlined.

Two similar bills to put a bond measure on the ballot are under consideration in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 1567 and Senate Bill 867, but they have been stalled since last summer. The bond would finance many programs, including some to restore wetlands that guard against sea-level rise, and to remove dead wood in forests to guard against mega-fires, which Hodder noted have killed 20% of the giant sequoias in recent years.

Opponents pointed out the state already faces a budget deficit and cannot afford to take on more debt. But only 5% of California's old-growth coastal redwoods remain, mostly due to aggressive logging many decades ago.

Hodder argued the giant trees can be critical ingredients in the fight against climate change because they trap so much carbon.

"Redwood forests sequester more carbon per acre than any other forest system in the world," Hodder emphasized. "We have the opportunity to transition the redwood forest from something that is vulnerable to climate change to something that is helping to solve and address the climate crisis."

Experts blame climate change for California's wild weather over the past few years, which has been marked by extreme drought, devastating fires and flooding rain.