PITTSBURGH – A plan for reducing carbon pollution in the U.S. has been finalized by the Obama administration. The EPA's Clean Power Plan, released Monday, sets a 32 percent goal for cutting emissions from power plants by 2030.

Ed Perry, Pennsylvania coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation's Climate Change Campaign, calls the plan a "flexible, science-based" rule. He says he's confident it will create "real progress" in protecting natural resources.

"Climate scientists say we need to reduce carbon pollution by 80 percent by the year 2050," he says. "So this is a big step in that direction."

Pennsylvania is the fourth-largest coal producer in the country, and according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, receives 36 percent of its electricity from coal. Monday's rollout of the Clean Energy Plan was met with a backlash of legal opposition, with utilities and political leaders in some states saying tougher rules will be an economic hardship.

Perry points to the wooly adelgid as a prime example of how a changing climate is harming some species. As winters have warmed, Perry says the insect has moved north, decimating hemlock trees in Pennsylvania.

"If we don't take action to reduce carbon pollution, we are going to see our state fish, the brook trout, the state bird, the rough grouse, and our state tree, the hemlock, gone from Pennsylvania by the year 2100," he says.

A coalition of environmental, clean energy, public health, labor and faith groups predicts the Clean Power Plan will provide up to $45 billion in climate and health-related benefits.

Jeaneen Zappa, executive director of Pittsburgh-based Conservation Consultants, one of the coalition organizations, says a new focus on cleaner power and energy efficiency will also lower electric bills.

"Energy efficiency is the simplest, and cheapest, first step to better financial health and grid health, and to reduce carbon footprint," she says.

Last year, renewable energy accounted for just four percent of Pennsylvania's net electricity generation.


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Members of Nevada's African American community say they're channeling the spirit of Juneteenth to fight for environmental justice.

Church-affiliated groups in Las Vegas hold monthly trainings on ways to fight climate change, promoting programs to make solar panels and electric appliances more affordable. The Rev. Leonard Jackson, director of the Faith Organizing Alliance in Nevada, said it's important that low-income Nevadans benefit from big projects, such as the electric vehicle-charging network.

"We want to make sure," he said, "that it is the underserved individuals that live in these communities, that they're the ones that receive the jobs, as far as installing this equipment, as far as maintaining this equipment."

He pointed out that communities of color often suffer the most from the effects of extreme heat and drought linked to climate change, as urban neighborhoods become heat islands, choked by air pollution from cars and trucks. So, Jackson welcomes efforts to subsidize electric vehicles and put more electric buses on the streets.

Utility companies offer programs to weatherize homes, help people use less water and switch from gas to electric appliances. But Dr. Mary House, chief executive of the Las Vegas faith-based nonprofit CHR Inc., said they need to spread the word at community events.

"People don't even understand these programs and the benefits of them. because they're not going into our community," she said. "Who's going to walk them through the steps? We don't see any of that being done."

Heather McTeer Toney, vice president for community engagement at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the African American community embodies resilience.

"We can link systemic problems of race and poverty to not only environmental concerns," she said, "but also how communities have both thrived and overcome in a number of those areas."

Almeta E. Cooper, national manager for health equity with the group Moms Clean Air Force, encourages Nevadans to get involved.

"We have many projects that, once an individual connects with us, we can empower you to go further," she said, "to connect with your elected officials, to tell them what you need in your community."

Wyomingites concerned about bigger and more frequent wildfires, prolonged drought, threats to clean air, water and wildlife can explore ways to combat climate change in their own community at the Wyoming Climate Summit this Saturday in Lander.

Ariel Greene, organizing committee member for the Summit, said the climate crisis is not a hypothetical future event. In the 20th century, Lander saw an average of 17 days a year with temperatures at 90 degrees or above. The past two years saw 44 days at 90 or above.

"So these changes are already here, and they are everywhere, and they affect us all," Green asserted. "And they will be dramatically intensified in coming years if we do not mitigate their cause, which is the emission of heat-trapping gases from certain kinds of human activity."

Members of the Wind River Reservation are joining the summit, to pass along Indigenous knowledge gained by living sustainably across the Mountain West for thousands of years. The summit is free and open to the public, and will feature an electric'car show including the new Ford Mustang Mach-E. Saturday's event kicks off at 9 a.m. at the Lander Community Center.

Wyoming, long dependent on fossil fuels for jobs and tax revenues, has opposed transitioning away from coal and other greenhouse-gas producing energy sources. But Greene argued the state is uniquely positioned to play a major role in the coming zero-emission economy. Wyoming ranks 6th nationally for untapped wind-energy potential.

"We're tied, I think, for the eighth-best solar resource in the country, ahead of Florida," Greene outlined. "We have a lot of potential for geothermal power and next-generation geothermal power. We have a lot of knowledge about how to dig deep holes in the ground."

Nearly six in 10 Wyoming residents understand climate change is happening, according to Yale University analysis.

Greene believes most people just need a few tips to start creating solutions in their hometown.

"People are concerned about climate change, but are not really active in doing anything about it, and maybe don't know what to do about it," Greene noted. "We're trying to educate them about ways they can get involved."

A big rally is planned for tomorrow (Thursday) in Sacramento on issues related to climate change. Advocates will urge the California Air Resources Board to reject any expansion of natural gas plants. and urge lawmakers to pass SB 1020, which would set near-term targets for 100% renewable energy. They also want Gov. Gavin Newsom to block any future oil and gas permits. Comments from Alex Walker-Griffin, vice mayor of the Bay Area town of Hercules (HER-cue-leez); from Dan Kalb, a member of the Oakland City Council and immediate past chair of the East Bay Community Energy Board; and Marisol Rubio, vice president of the Dublin-San Ramon Water District Board.

Groups fighting the effects of climate change will gather Thursday at the state Environmental Protection Agency building in Sacramento to call for action on multiple fronts.

Protesters want the California Air Resources Board, which meets Thursday, to reject a proposed 20-year scoping plan option that would allow new gas-fired power plants in the state.

Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb said he wants Gov. Gavin Newsom to push for a swift transition away from oil and gas.

"Elected officials from up and down the state are urging our good governor to stop issuing any new permits for fossil-fuel development," he said, "and urge the passage, and then sign, SB 1020 when it gets to his desk."

Senate Bill 1020, which will be heard today in the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy, would set interim goals toward getting 100% of the state's power from renewable sources. Supporters of the oil and gas industry have said it provides thousands of jobs and should remain in California's energy portfolio.

Alex Walker-Griffin, vice mayor of the Bay Area town of Hercules, said California must keep environmental justice in mind as it transitions away from fossil fuels.

"This is an opportunity," he said, "for California to reinvent itself, where we have come together and help out some communities that have been really impacted by oil drilling, the refineries that are in their area that have polluted their neighborhoods for years and decades, and say, 'Hey, we want to do something better.'"

Marisol Rubio, vice president of the Dublin-San Ramon Water District Board, said the air pollution generated by burning oil and gas is deadly serious.

"In the U.S., air pollution kills around 100,000 people per year," she said. "Health effects from the fine particulate matter stemming from fossil-fuel combustion include aggravated asthma, respiratory infections, lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, cognitive impairment and premature death."