News Release | Environment Virginia

Earth Day Caps Landmark Year of Progress Toward Clean Air

This Earth Day, Environment Virginia applauded a year of new clean air protections from the Obama administration that represented major steps forward for public health and our environment. From new standards to protect children from mercury to proposed cuts in industrial carbon pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has had a landmark year in curbing dangerous air pollution. 

News Release | Environment Virginia

Local Leaders Thank EPA for Taking Steps to Improve the Health of Charlottesville's Children

Environment Virginia was joined by Charlottesville Councilwoman Dede Smith, Dr. Greg Gelburd, and Whitney Byrd with the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition to celebrate the fifth “birthday” of Massachusetts vs. EPA , the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set public health standards for carbon dioxide and other pollutants.  The birthday-party themed event included cake and balloons.

News Release | Environment Virginia

Obama Administration to Protect Virginians’ Health by Setting Carbon Pollution Standards for New Power Plants

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed historic new limits on carbon pollution from new power plants.

News Release

9 out of 10 Virginians Live in Areas Hit by Recent Weather Disasters

Richmond, Virginia—After a year that saw many parts of the country hit by scorching heat, devastating wildfires, severe storms and record flooding, a new Environment Virginia report documents how global warming could lead to certain extreme weather events becoming even more common or more severe in the future. The report found that, already, 9 out of 10 Virginians live in counties affected by federally declared weather-related disasters since 2006.

Report | Environment Virginia

In the Path of the Storm

Weather disasters kill or injure hundreds of Americans each year and cause billions of dollars in economic damage. The risks posed by some types of weather-related disasters will likely increase in a warming world. Scientists have already detected increases in extreme precipitation events and heat waves in the United States, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently concluded that global warming will likely lead to further changes in weather extremes.

News Release | Environment Virginia

President Obama & EPA Protect Public Health, Announce Landmark Mercury Standard for Power Plants

Richmond, VA – Today, President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first-ever nationwide standard for mercury and air toxics pollution from power plants. A record 907,000 Americans submitted comments on the standard, which is expected to cut toxic mercury pollution from power plants by 90 percent.

Report

America's Biggest Mercury Polluters

Power plants continue to release large amounts of toxic pollutants, including mercury, into our air. In 2010, two-thirds of all airborne mercury pollution in the United States came from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants. In other words, power plants generate more airborne mercury pollution than all other industrial sources combined.

Report | Environment Virginia

Danger in the Air

All Americans should be able to breathe clean air.  But pollution from power plants and vehicles puts the health of our nation’s children and families at risk.  Ground-level ozone, the main component of smog, is one of the most harmful and one of the most pervasive air pollutants. 

News Release | Environment Virginia

New Report: Richmond Area Among Most Polluted in Nation, State

Richmond, Virginia –The Richmond area is among the smoggiest cities in the country and the second most polluted of the Commonwealth, according to a new Environment Virginia report released today.  The report, Danger in the Air: Unhealthy Air Days in 2010 and 2011, shows that in total, residents in the Richmond area were exposed to air quality that made it dangerous to breathe on 10 days last year, ranking it 17th in the country among mid-sized metropolitan areas. The report comes just as some members of Congress, led by Representative Eric Cantor, are pushing a bill to roll back existing limits on smog pollution from power plants.

Report | Environment Virginia

Dirty Energy's Assault on our Health: Ozone Pollution

Dirty energy pollutes the air we breathe, threatening our health and our environment. 

When power plants burn coal, oil or gas, they create the ingredients for ground-level ozone pollution, one of the main components of “smog” pollution. Especially on hot summer days, across wide areas of the United States, ozone pollution reaches levels that are unhealthy to breathe, putting our lives at risk. In 2009, U.S. power plants emitted more than 1.9 million tons of ozone-forming nitrogen oxide pollution into the air.