Solar panels installed on our homes and businesses are a great source of clean, renewable energy, but they have many other benefits as well. From reducing the land needed for power generation and electricity transmission to helping conserve water, and from improving local resilience against outages to accelerating the decarbonization of our energy sector, rooftop solar is a crucial tool for mitigating and adapting to global warming.
The Clean Water Act, adopted in 1972, set the goal of making all of our waterways safe for swimming. Nearly a half-century later, Americans visiting their favorite beach are still met all too often by advisories warning that the water is unsafe for swimming. Safe for Swimming? assesses water qulity at our nation's coastal and Great Lakes beaches, and highlights strategies for keeping our swimming areas free of dangerous pollution, now and for the future.
Fossil fuel and utility interests are working across multiple states to slow the adoption of rooftop solar. Blocking Rooftop Solar explores the tactics these solar opponents have used — including their efforts to remove incentives or impose new charges — and how policymakers can respond to keep renewable energy growing.
Fossil fuels are responsible for a rapidly warming planet, for hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. each year from air pollution, and for untold environmental damage. We Have the Power explores America's potential for a large-scale shift to emission-free energy from the wind, sun and other renewable sources, and how such a shift can solve many of America’s most pressing environmental and public health challenges.
Solar power on the roofs of our homes, schools and businesses provides important value for consumers across California – moving us toward a clean, resilient, affordable energy system.
Pennsylvania recently announced plans to join the Zero-Emission Vehicle program, which reduces transportation emissions by requiring automakers to deploy clean, emission-free vehicles. Transitioning to electric vehicles will improve air quality and public health while helping the commonwealth reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to meet its climate goals.
Putting a price on carbon pollution should be a central element in any strategy for addressing global warming, the existential challenge of our time. But how does carbon pricing work and what role should it play? How should it be implemented? How should revenues be used? Carbon Pricing 101 addresses these questions and more, and contains key information for charting a course toward carbon neutrality.
America’s roads and bridges need repair, yet federal and state governments continue to pour billions of taxpayer dollars into unnecessary highway construction and expansion. Frontier Group and U.S. PIRG worked to create the following factsheet outlining the need for a “fix-it-first” approach that puts repair of existing infrastructure before new or expanded highways.
By using a set of key tools to encourage EV adoption, local governments can help clean up the air in their communities and take meaningful action against global warming. The actions of leading EV communities around the state and around the country provide examples for other Texas communities to follow. This toolkit draws from their experiences and provides ideas for local governments on how to accelerate the deployment of electric transportation on our roads.
Burning fossil fuels in buildings damages our health and the environment. By running our buildings on electricity, we can reduce carbon emissions, our dependence on gas and our overall energy use while improving public health.
