| | | |  | Letter from Executive Director: The Council's 2022 Priorities The start of a new year provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the past and plan for the future. 2021 was yet another stressful and difficult year for us all. COVID-19 continued to upend almost every aspect of life in America and around the world. In the United States, there seems to be increased anger and pessimism about the future. For the last three years, I have not seen my Clean Air Council colleagues except through zoom. I really miss them. The Council continues to work remotely – the furthest remote employee is located in Montana! The Council has an amazing staff and I am so impressed by how quickly they adapted to remote work. On the other hand, it is sad how divided America was in 2021, and the bitterness between fellow Americans seems to be growing. But 2021 was also a year of optimism where long-established issues of social injustice started increasingly being addressed despite growing backlash towards change of any kind. Many Americans, businesses and nonprofits are still struggling to understand how to best move forward productively and with optimism. 2022 is a new year, and I pray that healing from the pandemic, economic downturn and our political divide can start early. It is also an election year in which I hope we all do our patriotic duty and vote. This year will mark my 40th at the Council. At age 67, I still do not want to leave my beloved organization and its critical mission. But I also recognize that sometime in the not far future some young, eager, much more talented person will take my job and continue to grow the Council. One of the issues that the Council staff and board are working on is how to ensure a smooth transition when the time comes for me to retire. The Council’s top priority is to get the United States and all 50 states to move forward in a meaningful way to address climate change. Read the full letter and 2022 priorities here. By Joseph Otis Minott, Esq, Executive Director and Chief Counsel | | | | | | DEP’s Environmental Justice Policy Must Better Serve Environmental Justice Communities By Joseph A. Ingrao, Esq, Legal Fellow In the past, the Council has pointed out to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in comments, current laws like the Air Pollution Control Act grant DEP the power – and the responsibility – to deny permits for the harm they could cause to a community’s health. If the DEP wants to improve its environmental justice policy, it must take that responsibility seriously. | | | | | | | | Pollution Concerns Around Cryptocurrency By Russell Zerbo, Advocate The Council is deeply concerned that the expansion of Bitcoin mining and manufacturing is causing state governments to further support polluting fossil fuel operations that would have likely otherwise retired. | | | | | | | | Mini-Grant Awardees 2021-2022 By Titania Markland, Transportation Outreach Coordinator Feet First Philly recently announced the first 5 mini-grant projects that will implement unique strategies to address different barriers to public spaces in their neighborhood. | | | | | | | | Victory for Local Government’s Right to Regulate the Use of Single-use Plastic Bags
By Logan Welde, Esq, Director of Legislative Affairs The Philadelphia plastic bag ban is a victory and we should celebrate the long road it has taken to get here. For those of you who are paying attention to the plastic bag “ban” in Philadelphia, you may be confused as to where it stands; if so, that’s understandable. | | | | | | | | Meet Two of the Council's Newest Hires | | | | Echo Alfrod, Community Organizer Meet our newest Community Organizer from Delaware County, PA. "Living in an environmental justice community completely surrounded by polluting infrastructure, I can see the very real and immediate harm to people’s health and safety from pollution every day. But I also see people working together to fight for a better life, and not giving up— not just in my community, but around the world. The ingenuity, skills, optimism, and power that I see people bring to this cause is an endless spring of inspiration for me." | | | | | | | | Legal Fellow, Joe Ingrago, Esq. "My position is unique because I work exclusively on Environmental Justice matters – helping poor communities and communities of color however I can. My work varies greatly from day to day, from helping advise a grassroots coalition about environmental science and law, to commenting on permits being proposed in communities of color, to helping litigate against power plants in low-income areas." | | | | | | The Council staff work remotely as we enter the third year of the COVID pandemic. We have adjusted to work from home and are growing our team, hiring 7 new staff to our team the last few months: Annie Fox (Lawyer), Echo Alfrod (Community Organizer), Joe Ingragro (Legal Fellow), Leeannah McNew (Social Media and Communications Coordinator), Paul Cohen (Lawyer), Stephen Ballentine (Lawyer) and Susan Volz (Advocacy Coordinator). Welcome to our new staff! We also have 5 new Board Members: Allie Cole, Carolyn Hewson, Ganesh Swaminathan, Jennifer Clark, and Oscar Wang. | | | | | | | Want to get notified about timely actions and ways to let your voice be heard? Sign up for occasional text messages from Clean Air Council and stay informed with alerts sent to your phone. | | | | | | The Council is Fighting the Climate Crisis | | | | | |  | Climate Change 101 Learn from Russel Zerbo about simple actions that individuals can take to reduce their impact on the environment and adapt to the effects of climate change. | | | | |  | What is the Methane Rule? Clean Air Council partnered with Protect PT to discuss the local impacts of the EPA's new pollution standard for existing oil and gas drilling sites. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Council In The News Philadelphia Tribune, Feb 8 Councilmember Gym debuts environmental justice legislation Yale Environment 360, Jan 30 For Low-Income Pittsburgh, Clean Air Remains an Elusive Goal StateImpact, Jan 26 In federal court, plaintiffs say US Steel fire, pollution control outage was a ‘complete failure’ PennLive, Jan 18 The Wolf Administration must get serious about environmental justice Inquirer, Jan 13 South Philly residents are worried about Hilco refining operations permits at former PES site StateImpact, Jan 13 ‘This is nonsense, for real’: Philly hits a ‘crossroads’ of environmental justice at ex-PES oil refinery Philadelphia Citizen, Jan 11 WE CAN BREATHE CLEANER AIR Penn Capital-Star, Jan 10 A New Year’s Resolution for Pa.: Go big on reducing methane emissions | | | | | | Contact Us Clean Air Council
135 S. 19th Street Suite 300
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
(215) 567-4004
members@cleanair.org | | | | | | | |
