Top 5 Health Energy Tips: 2018 | PSE | Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy

#5 Underground natural gas storage may be hazardous to your health. This year brought the launch of a state-mandated independent scientific study of California’s underground gas storage system. PSE Executive Director Seth Shonkoff was the lead author of the human health section of this study. The findings? Health hazards include exposures to health-damaging air pollutants, especially formaldehyde, and to explosions and fires during both routine operations and major blowout events.
#4 Words matter, especially in regulations. Inconsistent or vague definitions of “protected groundwater” in 17 state oil and gas regulations leave the nation’s water supply vulnerable to contamination from oil and gas production, according to a PSE-led study published in March. Our report recommends that all states protect groundwater to the federal standard, creating meaningful water policy that protects human health and precious water resources.
#3 Solar is for everyone. California is serious about its equity goals. A statewide initiative targets low-income, multi-family housing for placement of solar panels. PSE developed this interactive map so community groups, regulators, legislators, and developers can see who qualifies.
#2 Those tangerines may have been irrigated with oilfield wastewater. PSE has been shedding light on this issue throughout the year. Read the article Seth Shonkoff and Dominic DiGiuilio authored for the trade journal EM Magazine, and watch the NBC-Bay Area TV news interview with Shonkoff on the topic.
#1 The most polluting type of power plant is…

It depends! Peaker power plants are the most polluting type of plant per megawatt hour in California. But some older power plants have similar health-harming emissions and may have larger populations living nearby. Use the California Power Map to see which power plant is near you and the hazards it may pose. PSE’s new interactive data visualization tool – which maps the location, operations, emissions, and adjacent-human populations for fossil-fuel burning power plants – is designed to help regulators, agencies, and communities make informed decisions to support the state’s transition to clean energy in ways that protect public health, vulnerable communities, and the climate.

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