Advancing Climate Health in Arizona

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter(PM2.5), commonly referred to as “soot” as it comes primarily from burning. These rules will curb the deadly air pollutant that significantly harms public health, causing premature death and decreased lung function, and that is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths in the United States every year EPA’s final air quality standards for PM2.5 lower the annual standards from 12 mcg/m3 to 9 mcg/m3, and will prevent up to 4,200 premature deaths and 270,000 lost workdays per year while bringing as much as $43 billion in net health benefits in 2032, when the standards are in full effect. (Sierra Club, Jan 7). 

Let’s keep the momentum going, we need to ask President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan to enact the strongest carbon standards and air quality requirements for power plants by May 2024. The soot standard is a good start, but we need to reduce emissions from power plants too.

What We Are Reading & Listening to This Week

• The detergent-pod problem (Bloomberg, Feb 10)
• As climate disasters become more frequent, insurance companies are abandoning us (Feb 1)
• Biden’s Natural Gas Export Pause Is Good for the Working Class (Newsweek, Feb 9)
• Scope 3: Its importance, challenges and implications for decarbonizing portfolios (IIGCC, Jan 24)
• NASEM Webinar: Climate Conversations: Offshore Wind (Feb 29 1:00 -2:15 pm)
• A weed killer popular among AZ cotton growers could be off-limits (AZ Central, Feb 10)

Thank you for joining us in making a healthier planet today!