Trump Expected to Back Out of Paris Climate Agreement

Trump Expected to Back Out of Paris Climate Agreement
Post Date May 31, 2017
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Category Blog, Climate & Energy, News

Multiple news outlets are reporting that President Trump will announce this week his intentions to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate change agreement. The move is likely to upset U.S. allies across the globe, especially considering that the accords were agreed to by 197 nations.

This is further evidence that the onus is on us to fight climate change. Here in Alabama, some of our vulnerabilities include extreme heat, increased ozone pollution, drought, wildfire, or coastal flooding. And yet our state government has not taken any action …

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What I Learned Working at Gasp: A High School Intern’s Point of View

What I Learned Working at Gasp: A High School Intern’s Point of View
Post Date May 22, 2017
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Category Blog

This blog post was written by Cayla, our work study intern for the past two semesters.

Interning here at Gasp from Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School through a Corporate Work Study program, I learned many different things about the environment that I did not know. My experience with Gasp has changed my perspective in different situations.

I learned how to find people on the internet just by their name, address, phone number, etc. (We were working on a mailing list for Gasp newsletters and needed to …

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AirBeam Saga Part III: Analyzing Pollution Data in Five Local Parks

AirBeam Saga Part III: Analyzing Pollution Data in Five Local Parks
Post Date May 4, 2017
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Category Air Quality, Blog, Healthy Kids

After conducting an air study around three major public high schools, I decided to conduct some testing around Birmingham’s local parks. The five parks tested were Elyton, Lynn, Greenwood, Avondale, and Homewood Park. I tested each park over a period of three days, and I spent around five minutes walking around each park.

Day 1:

On the first day of testing, I noticed how different the parks were from each other. In Elyton and Lynn Park, there were no people around. I was quite happy by …

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Federal Roundup: Trump’s First #100Days Edition

Federal Roundup: Trump’s First #100Days Edition
Post Date April 28, 2017
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Category Air Quality, Blog, Climate & Energy, Environmental Justice, Featured, News

The news is a buzz this week with assessing President Trump’s first 100 days in office. NPR did a great Q&A with Cokie Roberts about this Presidential benchmark and its significance, if any. I have been doing my best to keep you all up to speed since day one of the new administration and how actions at the executive and federal level are affecting clean air and health. It has been a very busy first 100 days to track, sadly mostly not in a good …

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Signing Up with Arcadia Power’s Renewable Energy Programs is Easy and Smart!

Signing Up with Arcadia Power’s Renewable Energy Programs is Easy and Smart!
Post Date April 28, 2017
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Category Blog, Climate & Energy, Featured

Burning fossil fuels is one of the largest contributors to air pollution in the world as well as a key factor in climate change. In Alabama, coal-fired power is still the largest source of electricity in our homes.

What if you desire to support clean and renewable sources of electricity to power your home? (Keep in mind that reducing the amount of electricity you consume is the first action to take.)

You can install solar panels on your home or property to generate your own electricity. Unfortunately, the Alabama Public Service Commission has approved policies that impede the growth of …

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Guest Post: Science Education as a Civil Right

Guest Post: Science Education as a Civil Right
Post Date April 25, 2017
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Category Blog, Featured, Opinion

Below is the text of a speech given by Kathryn Drago at the “Shelby, show up for science” march April 21. Ms. Drago is a science educator and curriculum developer. She has all but defended her Ph.D. in Science Education from University of Michigan and has M.A. in Research Methods from University of Michigan, an M.S. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

 

Central High School Falcons, University of Alabama Tide, citizens of West Alabama, …

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Guest Post: The Importance of Science

Guest Post: The Importance of Science
Post Date April 24, 2017
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Below is the text of a speech given by Dr. Patrick R. LeClair at the “Shelby, show up for science” march April 21. Dr. LeClair is a professor of physics at the University of Alabama. He has a B.S. in Materials Science from MIT and a Ph.D. in Physics from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.

 

 

I first want to say that Senator Shelby has been very good for science at UA. You can see that from the beautiful science and engineering quad you …

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Renew Alabama Conference to Shine a Light on Climate Change

Renew Alabama Conference to Shine a Light on Climate Change
Post Date April 20, 2017
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Category Blog, Climate & Energy, Environmental Justice, Featured

Countering a national agenda which seeks to divide us will require us to discover our shared values. Renew Alabama is a new coalition united under a common banner of social, environmental, and climate justice. Grounded in our shared humanity, experiences and faith, we are calling on community leaders and elected officials throughout Alabama to shift the paradigm.

On May 6, 2017, partner organizations will come together to host the inaugural Renew Alabama Conference. The free, full-day workshop will take place at The Edge of Chaos on the University of Alabama …

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Federal Roundup: Recent Executive and Legislative Actions

Federal Roundup: Recent Executive and Legislative Actions
Post Date April 11, 2017
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Category Air Quality, Blog, Climate & Energy, Environmental Justice, Healthy Kids, Issues, News

It’s been a few weeks since I updated everyone on executive and legislative actions. Sadly, this is not because there has been nothing to update; so this will be a long one! However, one reason this update is delayed is because I attended an inspiring conference two weeks ago that replenished my “hope budget” and gave me new energy to tackle the many and ever-growing attacks on clean air. Since I blogged last month, several new developments have cropped up and we have new updates:

New …

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The AirBeam Saga Part II: Placement and Testing Around 3 Birmingham High Schools

The AirBeam Saga Part II: Placement and Testing Around 3 Birmingham High Schools
Post Date March 23, 2017
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Category Blog

Once I was able to understand how to connect the AirBeam to my phone, and to input data into its open source map, AirCasting, I was finally able to test the pollution around Birmingham. To learn how to connect the AirBeam to your phone, and how to operate AirCasting, check out my previous blog post here.

The sunroof was closed almost completely shut, except for a tiny space to allow the rope to go through. This allowed the AirBeam to be securely placed at the top of …

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