PSE Energy Quarterly is the newsletter of Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy, a nonprofit research institute dedicated to supplying evidence-based scientific and technical information on the public health, environmental, and climate dimensions of energy production and use.
News Briefs
Dr. Shonkoff Congressional Briefing Across the US, the oil and gas industry has created millions of unplugged, idle, and orphaned wells. On April 7, 2021, PSE Executive Director Dr. Seth Shonkoff joined the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues (AAAS EPI) to brief members of the United States Congress and their staff on climate and public health dimensions of this problem. View Dr. Shonkoff’s presentation.
California Oil and Gas Rulemaking Together with the University of California at Berkeley, PSE Healthy Energy is leading a panel of public health experts to inform the transformation of California’s oil and gas regulator, known as the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), and update rules and regulations of California oil and gas development to better protect the health of California’s communities. PSE’s executive director, Dr. Seth Shonkoff, and UC Berkeley professor, Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch were selected as co-chairs of the panel. The Science Advisory Panel is the first of its kind in CalGEM’s over 100-year history and will help support science-based regulation of California’s oil and gas industry. Read more about our work on our website.
Resilience Hubs Community resilience hubs are local facilities offering a range of resources and services that help communities become more resilient in the face of disaster. Working with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Communities for a Better Environment, PSE is helping identify potential solar+energy storage resilience hubs across California. The project aims to support California’s climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience efforts while prioritizing underserved and vulnerable communities. The project is supported by California Strategic Growth Council’s Climate Change Research Program with funds from California Climate Investments—Cap-and-Trade Dollars at Work. For more information on PSE’s work on resilience hubs click here and for a detailed analysis of the threat posed by California’s public safety power shutoff events, read our blog.
Equity-Focused Climate Strategies for Colorado As part of PSE’s ongoing work to bring health and equity to western states’ deep decarbonization efforts, PSE released a report assessing opportunities and strategies to integrate public health and environmental equity policies into Colorado’s decarbonization plans. The findings highlight opportunities to reduce energy cost burdens, cumulative environmental burdens, and other environmental, public health, and economic inequities of the current energy system. Read the full report or take a deep dive into the state’s household energy cost burden data with our blog.
Wildfires and Public Health Increased wildfire risks are driving California to re-evaluate its strategies to both prevent and suppress wildfires and to mitigate wildfire impacts. In our July 2020 report, PSE examined the health dimensions of wildfires and approaches to wildfire prevention, mitigation, and suppression. Read the full report here.
PSE in the Media
- E&E News: Loopholes undermine fracking setback rules — study
- The Denver Post: Harvard study says tighter oil, gas rules that allow exemptions make little difference
- Newsy: The Promising Future Of Battery Storage On The U.S. Grid
- Truthout: Fossil Fuel Phase Out Must Begin Where the Industry Has Hurt People the Most
- Current Affairs: The Wreckage of the Last Energy Epoch: Abandoned Wells and Workers
- The Center for Public Integrity: Trump’s pullback of pollution controls is even more hazardous than you think
- Grist: Law and Disorder
- Bloomberg Green: Gas Companies Are Abandoning Their Wells, Leaving Them to Leak Methane Forever