An often unexplored dimension of air quality issues, port communities have been disproportionately subjected to air pollution, but are now able to secure essential funding for port electrification and emissions-reduction through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. This announcement from the EPA provides a guiding light for port officials to improve the health of their already-overburdened communities.

Learn more about our work to protect port communities from air pollution.

Terrance Bankston, Senior Ports and Freights Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, released the following statement:

We’re elated by the EPA’s decision to finalize a significantly stronger air quality standard that will better protect all Americans, especially port communities. Many Americans have been subjected to disproportionate health risks from air pollution via port operations for decades. The biggest offender has and continues to be soot pollution from port emissions. For LatinX residents, the exposure to soot pollution is 75% higher. For Black Americans, the risk of dying from soot pollution is the highest, with a rate of over triple that of White Americans.

Today, we celebrate the EPA’s choice to prioritize people and the planet. Tomorrow, the hard work continues as we urge port officials to take advantage of the $3 billion that will be available through the EPA’s Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission port equipment and technology. As a follow up to today’s action taken by the EPA, ports must focus their attention on implementing funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. These bills create unique opportunities to support port emission-reduction efforts, which haven’t been prioritized historically. We encourage port stakeholders to use the EPA’s announcement as an opportunity to be on the right side of history.

Altorice Frazier, Executive Director and Community Organizer for Parents Engaging Parents New Jersey, said:

Parents Engaging Parents Inc. recognizes the critical strides made towards cleaner air with the EPA’s updated soot pollution standards. This progress reflects our mission to advocate for the health and well-being of all families, especially in Newark, New Jersey, where Black, Brown, and economically disadvantaged communities have faced longstanding disparities in environmental quality. The efforts of President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan to enforce stricter pollution controls align with our vision of a healthier, more equitable environment where children, regardless of their background, can play outside without the threat of asthma or other health risks. We celebrate this advancement towards reducing soot pollution but also acknowledge the need for ongoing action to ensure environmental justice. Consistent with our commitment to support parents and communities, we urge further policy enhancements to protect our air and health, guaranteeing everyone the right to clean air and a safe, vibrant community life.

Sharon Lavigne, Founder and Executive Director for RISE St. James in Louisiana, said:

Clean air is a fundamental right for all, so we appreciate this milestone change.  From the burning of fossil fuels to the bustling activity along ports, trains, the mighty Mississippi River, and the constant flow of big trucks throughout Cancer Alley, we find ourselves surrounded by pollutants.  This serves as a steppingstone, and we extend our heartfelt appreciation to President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan.  By reducing soot particles, health outcomes should also improve such as respiratory problems and cardiovascular diseases.

Jeffrey Richardson, Chairman for the Delaware Community Benefits Agreement Coalition in Wilmington, DE, said:

The announcement this week by the EPA that a lower level for Pm 2.5 has been established is objectively an improvement, as the previous level of 12 PM2.5, µg/m3 has been reduced to 9 PM2.5, µg/m3.  This is a step in the right direction. It must be tempered by the fact that the World Health Organization recommends a level of 5 PM2.5, µg/m3 . The new guidelines will provide port adjacent communities, like the ones in Wilmington Delaware, with another tool to address the damage of 100 years of port operations. There has been little regard to the concerns of community residents. This is a time for dramatic change on all environmental fronts and coordinated efforts to ensure that impacted communities actually receive the benefit of resources that have been allocated to clean the environment and specifically ports.

Paulina Lopez, Executive Director for the Duwamish River Community Coalition (DRCC) in Seattle, WA, said:

As a member of the Duwamish Valley in South Seattle, a near Port community, I am very grateful for this long overdue final rule towards clean and healthy air for overburdened communities with health inequities. We suffer from dangerous exposures to PM2.5.  Our community is one of the city’s most culturally and racially diverse neighborhoods and also the most overburdened with environmental pollution like black carbon and heavy metal concentrations.  We will be looking very closely at how our community meets revised standards and work with the Port of Seattle closely to move towards zero-emission technology to protect communities historically impacted by multiple pollution sources.

Communications contact: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org

The post Environmental Justice Groups Celebrate EPA’s Decision to Raise Soot Standard appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

The U.S. Department of the Interior released its final Five-Year Plan today, offering three lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico.The final plan scales back from the eleven sales originally proposed to three and spares Alaska. But the plan is a step backwards from the climate goals the administration has set and for environmental justice communities across the Gulf South, who are already experiencing the disproportionate impact of fossil fuel extraction across the region. This decision comes after over a year of advocacy in which the Protect All Our Coasts coalition has consistently stood together in their call for “No New Leases” in the final Five-Year Plan. 

Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Biden administration could have finalized a Five-Year Plan with no new leases for offshore drilling. Offering three lease sales is incompatible with reaching President Biden’s goal of cutting emissions by 50-52% by 2030, undermines domestic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and runs counter to commitments to Gulf communities that already bear the brunt of oil, gas, and petrochemical buildout.  

In response to the release of the Department of Interior’s Five-Year Plan, these organizations have released the following statements:

Local Organizations 

“Given that there are over 9,000 leases, yet to be explored or tapped into, it makes no sense that the Biden administration would open up additional leases, placing the environment and the lives of people in serious jeopardy in the Gulf South. Folks in Port Arthur, TX die daily from cancer, respiratory, heart, and kidney disease from the very pollution that would come from more leases and drilling,” said John Beard, Founder, President, and Executive Director of the Port Arthur Community Action Network. “If Biden is to truly be the environmental president, he should stop any further leasing and all forms of the Petrochemical build out, call for a climate emergency, and jumpstart the transition to clean green, renewable energy, and lift the toxic pollution from overburdened communities. We say enough is enough. We refuse to be sacrificed. We reject the five year plan, and demand that President Biden treat us like living people, not pawns in a Petrochemical power-play for profits at the expense of our lives, health, and futures.” 

“Our community stands with others throughout the Gulf South that condemn the expansion of offshore drilling. The Biden Administration’s decision contradicts promises of environmental stewardship and places profit over the well-being of our communities and plane,” said Armon Alex, Co-Founder of the Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit. “ It’s imperative that we prioritize climate action and the protection of vulnerable frontline communities. Let us unite to end new offshore drilling and pave the way towards a clean, just, and sustainable energy future.”

“We’re disappointed the Biden Administration did not follow through on a promise of no new leasing, and instead, the residents of the Gulf of Mexico are having their resources sold off for bargain prices once again,” said Christian Wagley, coastal organizer at Healthy Gulf. “These new leases lock us into continued dependence on extractive fossil fuels, instead of moving towards a clean and just energy economy that Americans not only want but is a necessity to stave off climate disaster. Furthermore, Gulf communities are tired of being a sacrifice zone, experiencing the effects of climate change first while other regions remain protected from new leases.”

“While we would love to celebrate the news of historically few lease sales, the earth does not recognize political ‘victories,’” said Kendall Dix, national policy director at Taproot Earth. “South Louisiana is currently facing a drinking water crisis right now that is a consequence of salt water intrusion and the climate crisis. As the head of the United Nations and has said, continued fossils fuel development is incompatible with human survival. We need to transition to justly sourced renewable energy that’s democratically managed and accountable to frontline communities as quickly as possible.”

National Organizations 

“The Surfrider Foundation is deeply disappointed that the Biden administration plans to expand offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters,” said Dr. Chad Nelsen, CEO of the Surfrider Foundation. “New leases in the 5-year drilling plan will damage our coastlines and communities, while further exacerbating the climate change crisis. We call on the President and Congress to take decisive action to end new offshore drilling forever. This includes canceling new lease sales in the next 5-year plan and passing legislation to permanently protect U.S. coasts from new oil drilling. It’s high time that our federal leaders stop approving new fossil fuel development that will worsen climate change.” 

“Biden has once again chosen Big Oil profits over what’s right for the climate and Gulf communities,” said Raena Garcia, senior fossil fuels and lands campaigner at Friends of the Earth. “Having squandered this crucial moment to protect our oceans, it’s no wonder he was sidelined at last week’s UN Climate Ambition Summit. No law, not even the Inflation Reduction Act, mandates new drilling, and we are exploring all available strategies in response to BOEM’s deeply disappointing and potentially unlawful move.”

“I feel disgusted and incredibly let down by Biden’s offshore drilling plan. It piles more harm on already-struggling ecosystems, endangered species and the global climate,” said Brady Bradshaw, senior oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We need Biden to commit to a fossil fuel phaseout, but actions like this condemn us to oil spills, climate disasters and decades of toxic harm to communities and wildlife.”

“New fossil fuel development is incompatible with the scale of the climate crisis we face. The Biden Administration’s continued leasing for offshore drilling sacrifices the Gulf South communities that have been subjected to living in the most polluted areas of the nation for decades,” said Zero Hour Policy Director Aaditi Lele. “Decisions like these lock us into decades of oil spills, pollution, and destruction at the hands of Big Oil. The President and Congress must act to phase out all fossil fuels on public lands and waters.”

“This is the last thing we need – and the last place we need it. Gulf waters have never been hotter. Rising seas are swamping the Gulf coast. Louisiana is suffering some of the worst heat, drought and wildfires in the state’s history,” said Manish Bapna, President and CEO of the NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council).“The message from the Gulf is clear. It’s time to break, not deepen, our dependence on the fossil fuels that are driving the climate crisis. It’s time to make federal ocean waters part of the climate fix, not the problem. It’s time to reduce, not increase, offshore drilling that exposes oceans, marine life and coastal communities to catastrophic risk and ongoing harm. It’s time to end the unconscionable health risks that producing, refining and exporting Gulf fuels inflicts on local communities.This plan calls for fewer new offshore leases than previous federal five-year plans. But let’s be clear: oil and gas companies already hold leases to enough of the Gulf of Mexico to cover half the state of Indiana – and to produce oil and gas at current rates for decades. Exposing even more of the Gulf to the risk of a BP-style blowout makes no sense.”

Oceana Vice President for the United States, Beth Lowell, said:

“By failing to end new offshore drilling, President Biden missed an easy opportunity to do the right thing and deliver on climate for the American people. This decision is beyond disappointing, as Americans face the impacts of the growing climate crisis through more frequent and intense fires, droughts, hurricanes, and floods. President Biden is unfortunately showing the world that it’s okay to continue to prioritize polluters over real climate solutions. Expanding dirty and dangerous offshore drilling only exacerbates the climate catastrophe that is already at our doorstep. Unfortunately, it’s our coastal communities who will bear the immediate impact of this shortsighted decision. 

Every new drilling lease is a disaster waiting to happen. We know when companies drill, they spill, and offshore disasters impact communities, people, and businesses who rely upon a healthy ocean. Offshore drilling also fuels the climate crisis that will impact every single person living in the United States, but it will be low-income and marginalized groups who are disproportionately impacted. We can’t accept the consequences from President Biden’s failure to act. Congress must immediately reject this proposal during the review period and prevent all new leases on federal waters.”

“A single new lease sale for offshore oil and gas exploration is one too many,” said Sarah Winter Whelan, Executive Director of the Healthy Ocean Coalition. “Communities around the country are already dealing with exacerbating impacts from climate disruption caused by our reliance on fossil fuels. Any increase in our dependence on fossil fuels just bakes in greater impacts to humanity. In addition, the ocean, which absorbs 90% of the heat from our warming planet and a third of the carbon dioxide released into the air, should be seen and treated as a climate solution, not a source for further climate disaster. We call on the Biden Administration and Congress to stop handing our future to Big Oil and focus solely on the just and equitable transition to renewable energy.”

“With this Five-Year Plan, President Biden has sent the message that there is a price tag on our oceans, on our and our grandchildren’s livable futures, on breathing clean air, and on public health. The very culprits of this generation-defining catastrophe, oil giants like Chevron, Exxon, and Shell, will now continue to enjoy the privilege of cashing in on the economic boon and environmental death sentence that is drilling into the ocean floor for the next five years – a time frame critical to preventing the most irreversible consequences of a rapidly heating planet,” said Rachel Carson Council President & CEO Bob Musil. “Scientists, the youth, and the general public agree that if we do not implement ‘immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors’ we will sacrifice our chance of preventing the passage of the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold in the next decade, virtually crystallizing a future of chaos.”

“The ocean offers powerful solutions to fight the climate crisis–drilling for oil and gas is not one of them,” said Jean Flemma, Director of Ocean Defense Initiative. “Ocean, climate, and environmental justice advocates nationwide have been clear that the time has come to stop selling our ocean–and our future–to Big Oil. Any new leasing will perpetuate fossil fuel energy production–at a time when we urgently need to reduce emissions–while unfairly burdening Gulf communities yet again. By scheduling the fewest number of offshore lease sales in history, the Administration has acknowledged the need to transition from dirty, dangerous offshore drilling toward a clean energy future. Now they need to turn that acknowledgment into reality, and end offshore drilling.” 

“While President Biden correctly only offered the smallest possible proposed leasing program, even one sale is one too many,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous. “Communities in the central and western Gulf are on the frontlines of climate change, offshore drilling disasters, and the pollution caused by extractive activities. Further leasing only furthers the threats to their homes, their health, and their future. At a time when we should be rapidly moving away from fossil fuels to meet our climate commitments and avert the worst effects of the climate crisis, issuing more oil and gas leases is the last thing we should be doing. Congress must fix these statutory mistakes and end new offshore drilling once and for all.”

“Sacrificing millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas extraction when scientists are clear that we must end fossil fuel expansion immediately is a gross denial of reality by Joe Biden in the face of climate catastrophe,” said Collin Rees, United States Program Manager at Oil Change International. “Doubling down on drilling is a direct violation of President Biden’s prior commitments and continues a concerning trend. Just last week, 75,000 people marched in the streets of New York urging an end to fossil fuels and the United States was blocked from attending the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit due to its dangerous plans to expand oil and gas. The United States is on track to expand fossil fuel production more than any other country by 2050, which is our most crucial window to limit the impacts of warming. Frontline communities, marine ecosystems, and our climate deserve a swift and just end to fossil fuels.”

Additional Information: 

• Overwhelmingly, voters support preventing new offshore oil and gas leases in the upcoming Five-Year Plan decision, according to recent public opinion research, conducted by Lake Research Partners in March of 2023. The poll found that most voters do not want to expand offshore drilling and instead favor a proposal to not schedule new offshore drilling by a net margin of 16 points. Additionally, two-thirds of voters said they would prefer the administration expand clean energy like wind and solar over offshore drilling for oil and gas. Both national and coastal-states results are available.
• Nearly 1 million people have urged the Biden administration in a new petition to reject new leasing for offshore drilling in the final Five-Year Plan. 

A broad and diverse group of people and organizations are united in calling for no new leases in the final Five-Year Program, including numerous U.S. Representatives, over 200 environmental and frontline organizations, 50 scientists, 28 youth organizations, and representatives of 60,000 coastal businesses and entrepreneurs.

Communications contacts: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org; Grace Nolan, grace@team-arc.com

The post Protect All Our Coasts Coalition Responds to the Biden Administration’s Five-Year Plan for Offshore Drilling appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Since the disaster, fishermen who attempted to call for action have been imprisoned and journalists advocating on behalf of victims have been detained. In June 2019, nearly 8,000 victims filed a suit against Formosa Plastics Group, and the legal process is ongoing. 

“Formosa Plastics and the Vietnamese government have sidestepped accountability for too long,” says Paloma Henriques, Senior Petrochemical Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, “President Biden has the opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to environmental justice by advocating on behalf of the victims of this ecological and human rights disaster. We call on the Biden Administration to pursue an independent inquiry to ensure pollution has ceased, a comprehensive cleanup has occurred, and livelihoods are restored. We also urge them to pressure the Vietnamese government to compensate victims and release political prisoners jailed for standing up for their communities.”

COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org

The post Activists Call for Justice for Victims of Formosa Plastics Disaster as President Biden Visits Vietnam appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

In March 2023, for example, the Biden Administration approved ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, undermining his climate commitments by instilling an enormous new carbon emission source that will cause irreparable harm to Alaska’s communities, environment, and wildlife. The approval was met with a lawsuit from Friends of the Earth and other environmental groups who vehemently opposed the project, citing it will add about 260 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere over the next 30 years, or the equivalent of an extra two million cars on the road per year. 

Raena Garcia, Senior Public Lands and Fossil Fuels Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, issued the following response: 

Today’s announcements, while appreciated, simply don’t go far enough to preserve our public lands. Lease sales like those in the ANWR that were put forth by the Trump Administration should have never happened in the first place. Small measures like the ones the Department of Interior put forward won’t erase President Biden’s incredibly disappointing climate record with respect to oil and gas leasing. If the Administration is truly committed to protecting our people and the planet, they will halt climate-destroying projects like Willow altogether.

COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org 

The post Friends of the Earth Responds to Interior’s Announcements for Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

We applaud today’s bills introduced by Representatives Ocasio-Cortez, Kamlager-Dove and Ross. The public has had enough of backroom deals that benefit Big Oil, like those that tethered clean energy to fossil fuels in the Inflation Reduction Act. By unshackling renewables from dirty energy, the CLEAN Energy and NOW Acts ensure decisions are based on sound science and economics, not political favor. We encourage environmental champions in Congress to support these bills.  

Communications Contact: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org

The post Friends of the Earth Celebrates CLEAN Energy and NOW Acts appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Terrance Bankston, Senior Ports and Freights Campaigner at Friends of the Earth and Environmental Justice Activist based in Newark, issued the following statement: 

Polluters who want a permission slip to perpetuate environmental inequalities and inequity must be checked at the door. It’s not surprising that New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Rule faces legal challenges by those who are most inconvenienced by it – that is, groups representing industries that want to expand facilities while poisoning our most disadvantaged communities. We will continue to advocate for this crucial legislation and ensure that permitting has strict regulations that protect our New Jersey communities from pollution and political bullying. 

Communications Contact: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org

The post Friends of the Earth Condemns Legal Attack on New Jersey Environmental Justice Legislation appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Petrochemical companies such as Formosa Plastics often look to big banks and other financial institutions to help fund their toxic facilities. That’s why frontline communities are rising up in full force to tell banks that these dirty, racist and risky industries have no business in their backyards.  

Almost 60,000 activists signed a petition from RISE St. James, Friends of the Earth, Earthworks and a coalition of environmental and social justice organizations telling JPMorgan Chase bank not to invest in Formosa Plastics and denounce the company’s proposed Sunshine Project in St. James Parish, Louisiana. The new petrochemicals complex would be in “Cancer Alley,” a predominantly Black community along the Mississippi River already sickened from the air and other toxic pollution from over 200 industrial plants. 

This week, our friends at GreenFaith and Dayenu delivered the petition to JPMorgan Chase’s New York headquarters during the bank’s Annual General Meeting. The groups educated those present about the harmful and unjust proposed Sunshine Project, read the petition out loud and led a spiritual grounding and blessing before handing the petition to bank staff. 

Photos courtesy of Erik McGregor

The petition notes that the proposed Sunshine Project could increase toxic air emissions by 800 tons yearly, increase greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6 million tons yearly and destroy the burial grounds of enslaved ancestors of some of the current population of St. James Parish. United Nations human rights experts have also called for an end to further industrializing “Cancer Alley,” describing the high concentration of industrial plants along an 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi as a case of “environmental racism.” 

The petition demands JPMorgan Chase:  

• Publicly denounce environmental racism and the Sunshine Project 
• Publicly commit to not directly or indirectly finance the Sunshine project or related projects 
• Cease and refrain from any financing of Formosa Plastics and its affiliate companies (loans, asset management, underwriting of debt and equities)  
• Invest in community-led, environmentally responsible alternatives in St. James Parish, Louisiana 

Even though JPMorgan Chase has made pledges to “responsibly invest” and support racial equity, it is the largest US financier of the plastics industry and still holds shares in Formosa Plastics. It’s time they act on their promises. A commitment by JPMorgan Chase not to invest in the Sunshine Project and Formosa Plastics would send a strong signal that this toxic and racist petrochemicals complex is simply “uninvestable.” 

More plastics production and toxins in our environment and our bodies is the last thing we need. When enough people band together to fight injustice, true change can happen.  

There is strength in numbers, and tens of thousands of us agree: JPMorgan Chase must invest in communities, not Formosa Plastics.  

The post 60,000 activists tell JPMorgan Chase: Denounce, divest and defund Formosa Plastics’ toxic and racist petrochemical complex   appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Friends of the Earth’s analysis is the only existing comparison between cruise and land-based vacations that focuses on carbon emissions. The analysis looks at low- and high-end emissions based on different cruise ships and land-based activities. Land-based activities such as whale watching and rideshare transportation in and around Seattle were compared to someone being on a cruise ship for one day. Regardless of a high carbon itinerary on land, the difference is startling.

According to the analysis, one individual on a typical cruise ship emits roughly 421.43kg of CO² per day. Alternatively, one individual staying in a high-end hotel, using carbon-heavy transportation and choosing higher carbon activities emits just 81.33 kg of CO² per day. The carbon footprint of an average land-based vacationer is around 51.88kg, less than one-eighth of the average cruisegoer.

Cruise ships are known as heavy carbon emitters, and have a disproportionate impact on the health of port communities and destinations despite industry greenwashing about better practices. In 2019 ships that sailed from Seattle to Alaska during the six-month cruise season emitted a total of 1,120,324 metric tons of CO² equivalent (about 1.1 million tons of gas). These emissions stemmed from 13 cruise ships with a total of 559,414 total passengers.

Marcie Keever, Oceans and Vessels Program Director with Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement:

Our analysis shows that for the environmentally conscious traveler, a cruise should not be the first choice. Cruise companies like to parade their commitments to cutting plastic pollution and using less energy onboard, but they ignore the one factor that has the greatest impact on carbon emissions: the massive volume and low quality of fuel they use.

Cruise-goers do care about the climate impacts of their vacation choices, yet the cruise industry overall offers very few decent vacation choices. There is no longer any doubt that land-based vacations, even with plane and car travel, are overwhelmingly less polluting than getting on a cruise ship. It’s time for industry leaders like Carnival Corporation to address their dirty practices and take their responsibility to the planet seriously.

Communications contact: Shaye Skiff, kskiff@foe.org, 202-222-0723

The post Analysis: Vacationers Generate 8 Times More Carbon on a Cruise Ship than on Land appeared first on Friends of the Earth.