By Anya Kamenetz for Grist.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Grist-Public News Service Collaboration Jesika Gonzalez will tell you that she wasn t the biggest fan of Porterville, California, while she was growing up. "When I was younger, I was very, like, angsty," the 18-year-old said as she flicked her purple hair over her shoulder. "Whatever, this town s small, nothing to do." Porterville is a predominantly Hispanic working-class town in the Central Valley of California, where environmental hazards include some of the worst air quality in the state; the past year s torrential rains that inundated hundreds of acres of farmland; and a heat wave that pushed temperatures past 110 degrees Fahrenheit this July. " .
This Saturday, North Carolinians who are dedicated to fighting climate change and air pollution will be honored at the annual CleanAIRE Affair fundraiser. CleanAIRE NC, a nonprofit environmental group, will present the 2023 Blue Sky Awards to recognize their honorees commitment. Yancey Fouché, director of sustainability at Davidson College, is among this year s honorees. .
Nebraska environmental leader Jane Kleeb has received the largest environmental award offered to an individual, a $3 million Climate Breakthrough Award. Kleeb is founding director and president of Bold Alliance, formerly Bold Nebraska. She said after 13 years of fighting pipelines, they are moving into being energy builders. .
New York lawmakers and environmentalists are working to prevent radioactive wastewater from being dumped into the Hudson River. As part of the decommissioning of the Indian Point Energy Center, the facility s owner Holtec International is considering dumping treated but radioactive waste into the river. More than $1 billion was spent cleaning up pollution in the river with 200 miles of it still classified as a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency. .
A new report reveals that the Keystone State steel industry has the potential to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions by making a switch to "green steel," reducing reliance on coal and natural gas. Nick Messenger is a senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute and a co-author of the report. He said that for more than a decade, employment has declined in the primary and direct steelmaking industry in Allegheny County and the Monongahela Valley. .