Legal and Policy Updates: February 14, 2020
Air Permits Below are air permits up for public comment across the state. If you are interested in learning more, or getting involved, please email me at [email protected] or call me at 205-701-4272. County* Facility Type of permit Date posted** Colbert Technocon...
WATCH: ABC 33/40 Reports on Gasp Air Sampling Results
For years, residents have been complaining about air pollution coming from the Bluestone Coke plant in North Birmingham. (Prior to being named Bluestone Coke, it was called ERP Compliant Coke, and before that it was Walter Coke.) The plant heats coal at extremely high...
Legal and Policy Updates: February 7, 2020
Air Permits Below are air permits up for public comment across the state. If you are interested in learning more, or getting involved, please email me at [email protected] or call me at 205-701-4272. County* Facility Type of permit Date posted** Jefferson Big Sky...
Legal and Policy Updates: January 31, 2020
Here are updates about air permits, regulations, state and local policy, and federal legislation that relate to our work!
Alabama Groups File Motion to Intervene in ABC Coke Consent Decree
The groups filed a motion to intervene in ongoing efforts to approve a proposed settlement to address ABC Coke’s illegal emissions of benzene and the impacts on communities around northeast Birmingham and Tarrant, Ala.
The Role of Health Departments in Promoting Environmental Justice
Background If you’ve read anything else on this website, you probably already know about the environmental justice challenges facing Birmingham. Air pollution from industries and factories disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income neighborhoods,...
On March 19, 1970, Dr. Marshall Brewer Gave this Stirring Speech
The modern iteration of Gasp celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year. We are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of our namesake organization, the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution, and the signing of the federal Clean Air Act this year. As such, we...
Gasp Seeks Five Volunteer Interns for Spring Semester
Gasp is seeking to fill five unpaid internship positions for the 2020 spring semester. The deadline to apply is January 17, 2020.
Scientific Advisory Board Pushes Back on Trump’s EPA Rollbacks
The air we breathe needs to be cleaned up, not allowed to get dirtier.
Assessing Causality of Particulate Matter Pollution on Health
The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes recommendations to the EPA administrator regarding National Ambient Air Quality Standards for criteria air pollutants, including particulate matter. This process...
EPA Needs to Base Its Decisions on Science
Marion Fintel retired from Talladega College as an associate professor of biology in July of 2019. During her career, she taught anatomy and physiology, as well as other biology courses, to college students for close to thirty years. Dr. Fintel earned her doctorate...
Alabama PSC to Hold Hearing on Solar Fee
On Thursday, November 21, the Alabama Public Service Commission will hold a hearing requested by Gasp, represented by SELC, and private plaintiffs, represented by Ragsdale, LLC, about Alabama Power’s unnecessary and discriminatory monthly fee on solar power customers...
Why I Fight for Clean Air & How You Can Help
As a boy, I dreaded the Science Fair toward the end of each school year. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like science — I loved it then as I still do today. It was the competition that gave me anxiety. It wasn’t until I was in Mrs. Weeks 5th Grade class that I finally...
Study: Air Pollution is Deadly
A study recently published in the journal PLOS Medicine confirms what we already know: air pollution is hazardous to human health. Specifically, the authors found that fine particulate matter was responsible for more than 30,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2015, lowering...
More Strong Evidence Linking Air Pollution to Dementia
Often, when I read scary articles about air pollution and the frightening effects it has on your and my health, I experience a lot of anxiety...and then proceed to do nothing. I was curious about why this happens and why I (a person who is involved in environmental...
Gasp Comments on JCDH Ambient Air Monitoring Network Plan for 2019
Every year Gasp comments on the Ambient Air Monitoring Plans put out by ADEM and JCDH. These plans contain any changes that either ADEM or JCDH plan to make to their ambient air monitoring network in that year. The plans are subject to public comment and EPA must...
‘What’s Up With that Sherman Concrete Plant?’
Here are some of the answers to the most common questions we have been getting about the propose concrete plant relocation to Five Points West.
Clean Air, Healthy Kids: What I Learned as an Intern
While learning the ins and outs of my responsibilities as an intern, I was also learning important information that contributes to the quality of our air.
Groups Sue Trump’s EPA for Coke Oven Cancer Pollution
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 15, 2019) — Today Earthjustice on behalf of Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Gasp, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and Sierra Club, sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for improperly regulating coke ovens – producers of known...
The Consequences of My Consumerism
One of the hard parts for me about our consumerism driven world is that it is often so easy for me, a privileged middle class white female, to not feel the consequence of my own actions. We’ve known for a long time that minorities, specifically Black and Hispanic...
Alabama’s Largest Electricity Consumer Commits to Sustainability Goal
Mia Murr, Intern at UAB, Volunteer at Gasp I was born and raised most of my life in Norway, where I was early exposed to and educated about environmental issues and sustainability. It became a passion, as I understood the importance of conserving our earth and its...
How Air Pollution Gets Into Our Bodies
I have to be honest. Until I started reading about air pollution, I didn’t think much about it. I mean, I knew that it was bad in a vague, general kind of way, but my thinking never went past that. Air quality was way too easy to ignore, and it was even easier to...
FAQs About ABC Coke’s Permit: What You Need to Know
Last fall, the Jefferson County Department of Health posted ABC Coke's Title V pollution permit renewal application. (Title V is just a provision of the Clean Air Act.) We asked for (and received) an extension on the public comment period to allow us and residents of...
Clean Air, Healthy Brains
It’s been known for quite some time that polluted air leads to heart and lung problems, and now we are becoming aware that air pollution also has a negative effect on our brains [1]. There is growing evidence that toxic chemicals in our air are linked to disorders...
Volunteer Spotlight: Anna Vantsevich
Every single person is affected by air, either immediately or in the long run. This is the main reason that I chose to get involved with Gasp, the group that believes everyone deserves healthy air.
Katie’s Corner: My First Month Interning at Gasp
My name is Katie Causey and I am a junior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I am majoring in Biomedical Science with a minor in chemistry. My long-term career goal is to become a physician to improve the quality of human health. So far working as one of...
Gasp Delivers Blistering Letter to Environmental Management Commission, ADEM
On Friday, February 15, Haley Lewis, our staff attorney, hand delivered a rebuttal to inaccurate statements made by Alabama Environmental Management Commission (EMC) members and the director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) during the...
Toxic Birmingham: Power, Pollution and Corruption
Media Inquiries: Please contact Michael Hansen, Executive Director, at 205-701-4270 or [email protected] Note: This is a living story. We will update this article periodically with new information, additional context, and more links as we discover them — and find...
Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant: Trey Glenn Edition
This post focuses on former EPA Region 4 Administrator and former ADEM Director Trey Glenn's alleged involvement in the EPA/Superfund corruption scandal in our "Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant" series. Today’s spotlight is on Trey Glenn, who until recently...
Settlement Alleges Clean Air Act Violations by Drummond’s ABC Coke
Drummond Company has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Jefferson County Board of Health (JCBH) for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at the ABC Coke in Tarrant, Ala. The consent decree,...