Blog Archive
More Than Football: UAB Needs Academic Integrity and Independence
Change is in the Air Dr. Ray Watts, then-senior vice-president and dean of the UAB School of Medicine, established the Clean Air Initiative in 2012. Combining private and public dollars, it was designed to be an interdisciplinary partnership of UAB’s Schools of...
Solar Works: A Look at Florida’s Solar Landscape
When we launched our Solar Works campaign a few months ago, our aim was to shine a light on Alabama's opportunity to pivot toward a more sustainable, independent energy future. As a Sun Belt state, Alabama would seem poised to take full advantage of the benefits...
Let’s Talk About Energy Efficiency, Clean Energy
As temps dip down into the teens this week, many people are looking for ways to simultaneously conserve energy and stay nice and warm. While conservation tips are helpful in the short-term, it's also important to think about long-term energy efficiency measures we can...
Deadline Nearing for EPA National Priorities List Proposal
The deadline to comment on the Proposed Rule No. 61 is two weeks away. The proposal would add north Birmingham's 35th Avenue Superfund Site to the National Priorities List, an Environmental Protection Agency designation that would allow the federal government to fund...
Why 2014 Was a Great Year for GASP, Air Quality
GASP is a young organization, but we have achieved significant milestones in our five brief years (including two as Alabama First). Please take a moment to watch our 2014 year in review video below and the infographic detailing just a handful of the work we have done...
Op-Ed: UAB, Public Service Commission operating under same rules
The following op-ed was published on al.com Tuesday, Dec. 22. View it and weigh in here. In following recent local news, I am struck by the similar circumstances between the demise of UAB's football program and the way in which Alabama Power's electricity rates are...
Industrial Pollution May Increase Risk of Adverse Birth Outcomes
Science has for a while now posited that there is a strong correlation between exposure to toxic air pollution and negative birth outcomes. A new cross-sectional study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was recently released. It looked into the...
The Link Between Dirty Air and ADHD
An article in the journal PLOS One concludes that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) during pregnancy increases a child's risk of childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public...
Support Adding North Birmingham to National Priorities List
This post has been updated to reflect the EPA's 60-day extension of the public comment period. The previous comment period was set to expire Nov. 22, 2014. The extended comment period will expire Jan. 20, 2015. The EPA recently proposed that the 35th Avenue Superfund...
GASP launches Solar Works to promote Alabama’s solar potential
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Oct. 16, 2014) — GASP launched Solar Works today, a campaign designed to educate and raise awareness about the benefits of solar energy in Alabama. The Solar Works website explains Alabama's solar power capacity, jobs potential, incentive programs...
EPA Grants GASP Petition to Investigate in Tarrant
EPA Grants GASP Petition to Investigate in Tarrant The federal agency announced that is has granted a July request by GASP to conduct a preliminary assessment in the Birmingham suburb TARRANT, Ala. (Oct. 9, 2014) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has...
Study: Want to Save Lives? Cut Carbon Emissions.
Reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants will save lives. So says a new study from scientists at Harvard, Syracuse, and Boston University. The researchers found that the Clean Power Plan (the EPAâs proposal to reduce carbon emissions from existing power...
EPA Hosting Public Meeting for Birmingham Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it has scheduled a public meeting Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in the sanctuary of Trinity CME Church (3313 Shuttlesworth Dr., Birmingham, AL 35207). The meeting is about the...
EPA Proposes Adding North Birmingham Site to National Priorities List
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing the "35th Avenue Superfund Site" in north Birmingham to the National Priorities List (NPL). According to the EPA, the site poses "risks to human health and the environment." The GASP documentary "Toxic City:...
‘Toxic City’ to be Released on DVD September 16
The short film, produced by GASP, will be released on DVD next Tuesday with bonus features including a screening kit guide, exclusive online access to the film BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — GASP announced today that "Toxic City: Birmingham's Dirty Secret" will be available...
GASP Petitions Board of Health to Disapprove ABC Coke Permit, Requests Hearing
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Aug. 25, 2014) — GASP, a non-profit health advocacy organization, filed a petition Tuesday with the Jefferson County Board of Health requesting a hearing on ABC Cokes Operating Permit. That permit was issued by the Jefferson County Department of...
Lack of Health Research Stands in the Way of Progress
On Wednesday, July 30, the Jefferson County Department of Health held a press conference in which Jefferson County Health Officer Mark Wilson — our Doctor-in-Chief — presented "cancer data, death rate data and birth outcome data related to residents'...
GASP Challenges Twinkle Cavanaugh on Health Benefits of Clean Power Plan
This morning, AL.com published an op-ed challenging Twinkle Cavanaugh, president of the Alabama Public Service Commission, for comments she made live on Good Day Alabama last week in a debate with Dr. Stephen A. Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy...
Is Indoor CO2 Pollution Hurting Our Brain Function?
Vox, a relatively new, data-driven online media outlet, published an article today with a fascinating headline "The carbon dioxide trapped in your meeting is making you think more slowly" that we thought we would investigate. Reporter Joseph Stromberg explains,...
Sign on to Support the Clean Power Plan
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this summer proposed the Clean Power Plan, which would reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants by 30 percent by 2030. These new standards are a significant step forward in tackling climate change and protecting...