KÄpiti Coast District Council says a fund aimed at supporting MÄori business on the KÄpiti Coast has opened for 2022/23 and whÄnau, hapÅ«, Iwi, ngÄ mÄtÄwaka and MÄori business are encouraged to apply.
The contestable MÄori Economic Development Grants Fund has $68,000 available for criteria-meeting applications. Applications close on 21 April.
Te Whakaminenga o KÄpiti chair André Baker says nationally the MÄori economy is worth $70 billion and growing fast, presenting opportunities for local businesses.
“The MÄori Economic Development Fund is aimed at supporting the wealth and prosperity of our people and encourages those starting out or in growth mode to take important steps forward,” Mr Baker says.
“The Fund is a great opportunity for KÄpiti MÄori entrepreneurs and businesspeople to get some financial assistance and is open to new or existing businesses.
“Some great local enterprises, like the MÄoriland Film Festival, KÄpiti Island Nature Tours and more recently the Hori Gallery and Te Chur_ch Café, have received support from the Fund and are making great contributions to the local economy and vibrancy of the KÄpiti Coast.
“So, we’re calling on talented, creative and committed applicants to get in touch and submit a proposal.”
Successful applicants will need to meet the Fund’s criteria, including alignment with the priorities of the MÄori Economic Development Strategy. Applications should fall into one of three criteria – manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga or kotahitanga.
Kim Tasker of Åtaki-based HÄ Pai Wellness was a Fund recipient in 2021/22 and says it helped her get up and running.
“Developing and launching my pakihi was possible with the tautoko and koha from the Fund,” Ms Tasker says.
“It softened the start-up challenges we as MÄori entrepreneurs face in a very competitive environment, challenges that were amplified in 2022 with Covid setbacks.
“Post Covid it is clear hauora services are invaluable to the wellbeing of our hapori and beyond.
“The Fund recognised the value, my passion and commitment to business. I encourage any MÄori pakihi that has a valuable kaupapa to tap into the support on offer, for we are all in this together.
“Ka mihi au Te Whakaminenga o KÄpiti, I am grateful.”
Mr Baker says Te Whakaminenga o KÄpiti and Council are proud to support a vibrant and dynamic MÄori economy in KÄpiti.
“We’re looking forward to receiving some excellent new applications. If you’d like to discuss your application don’t hesitate to get in touch – our team is happy to talk through your ideas.”
Applications are open until 21 April and funds will be distributed to successful applicants by 29 May.
Visit
www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/maori-ed-grant for more information on the MÄori Economic Development Strategy, the Fund criteria, to find application forms or to get in touch with Council’s Iwi Partnership Team.
Last month, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie came out with a warning: the world was running out of oil, but not just any oil. It was running out of oil that can be extracted with a low carbon footprint.The report shined the spotlight on an issue that tends to get overlooked in the daily discourse on climate change and the fossil fuel industry—the fact that not all oil is created equal.
While it would be overly optimistic to suggest that any environmentalist would back an oil project, it might be worth considering the differences between oil projects that make some less polluting than others. Because in a discourse focusing exclusively on emissions, these differences matter.
Take the Willow project that President Biden approved earlier this month. The approval, which goes directly against Biden’s campaign promises to squeeze the oil industry, caused an expected stir among environmentalists. Yet some commentators pointed out that it might not be a certain disaster.
Indeed, like all oil projects in the United States, Willow will be subject to strict environmental impact rules, and there is no doubt these rules will be enforced enthusiastically. And this means that ConocoPhillips will make super sure it develops those resources responsibly and with as little emission footprint as possible.
Related: $11 Trillion Investor Group Urges Members Not To Fund New Oil And Gas Projects
Or how about gas flaring, which releases substantial amounts of methane—another greenhouse gas—into the atmosphere? Methane has been garnering growing attention from both activists and regulators, and this attention is beginning to produce results.
Exxon said earlier this year it had stopped routine flaring at its wells in the Permian and expressed hope that other producers would follow its example. Even if they don’t, however, flaring in Texas has dropped precipitously over the last decade or so –while oil and gas production grew in leaps and bounds.
Strict environmental regulation and the readiness to implement it can do wonders for an industry’s level of responsibility. Gas flaring and new drilling are only a couple of examples of this. So is carbon capture.
Last year, Canada’s biggest oil producers said they would spend some $16.5 billion on carbon capture by 2030. That sum would make up the bulk of a planned emission-reduction investment of $24.1 billion by the six biggest oil producers in the country.
Environmentalists don’t like carbon capture. In fact, many dislike it intensely, claiming it is too expensive to make economic sense and that it would only motivate more oil and gas production instead of depressing it.
The second part of this claim is probably true. The first—probably not so much, at least from the perspective of an oil producer. The industry is being hounded into virtually giving up its business because it is the new Devil. For that industry, carbon capture may very well become—or has already become—the means to survival, so they will gladly invest in it to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint.
In Canada, the Pathways Alliance, as the group of large oil producers has called itself, plans to capture and store some 10 million tons of carbon dioxide from more than 20 oilsands projects in northern Alberta. In Texas, Chevron is working on a carbon capture hub and just announced a plan to triple the size of the facility.
Again, these are just a handful of examples showing that not all oil projects are equal. Some are, if not better, then certainly less bad for the environment than others. Of course, the United States and Canada are not the only places where oil is being extracted responsibly.
The carbon footprint of an oil project also involves the purely technical process of extraction, which, depending on the geology, could be more or less energy-intensive and, as a result, emission-intensive.
Take Guyana, for example. A new kid on the oil block, a tale of rags to riches in a few short years as Exxon and Hess make discovery after discovery offshore the tiny South American nation. Offshore oil is not the cheapest kind, for sure. Yet Guyana’s offshore oil breakeven level is around $30 to $35 per barrel. For Exxon’s second development site currently in operation, this has fallen to $25.
There is also Saudi Arabia—until recently, the world’s largest oil producer sporting the lowest breakeven prices in the world. As the emissions narrative gathered pace and volume, the Saudis have started adding to that the claim that their oil is also low-carbon—and that’s precisely because of that low breakeven. The less energy you use to develop a natural resource, the less emission-intensive that development is; it’s as simple as that.
Of course, it would be too much to think that any environmentalist activist would embrace low-carbon oil projects. The very nature of oil makes it the enemy of the activist. The only good oil as far as activists are concerned is the oil that stays in the ground.
Yet because the way the world works is far from perfect, oil continues to be taken out of the ground to be used in multiple ways, including for making the synthetic fiber used for the production of high-visibility jackets that environmentalist activists like to wear during their road blockades.
It might be wise to divert some of the attention focused on the oil industry from the fact of its existence to the ways it is changing to accommodate higher environmental standards—and reducing its emission footprint in the process.
Hundreds of protestors — including adults and children — poured into and outside of the Tennessee Capitol this morning, demanding something be done about gun laws. The angry demonstration comes three days after the Covenant elementary school shooting in Nashville that killed three nine-year-old children, three members of the school staff, and the shooter.
“Children are dead!” they shouted at lawmakers, along with other chants, such as “Gun Control, now!” and “Save our children!” (See video below, posted CBS Sunday Morning.)
From CBS:
Some silently filled the Senate chamber’s gallery, including children who held signs reading “I’m nine” — a reference to the age of the three kids who died in Monday’s attack. Most protesters were removed from the gallery after some began yelling down at the lawmakers, “Children are dead!”
Meanwhile, in the House, two Democratic lawmakers caused a temporary shutdown when they began yelling, “Power to the people” through a megaphone. …
Thursday’s rally was led by Metro Nashville Public Schools Parents, reported CBS affiliate WTVF, and those attending were asked to wear orange.
SIGHTS & SOUNDS: Hundreds of school children, teens and parents gathered at the Tennessee Capitol on Thursday to protest for tighter gun controls laws three days after a shooter opened fire at The Covenant School, killing three children and three adults. https://t.co/YBlHHduIky pic.twitter.com/UwLWVDXBfs
Front page thumbnail image: “Never Again” protest in 2018 after Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shooting. K M H P H O T O V I D E O / shutterstock.com
Mike Smith is departing Downtown after nearly three years as Global President of Downtown Music Services.
Downtown says that Smith, a highly regarded music industry veteran with a career spanning four decades, is leaving the company to pursue several personal projects and to focus on his ongoing charitable work. That work includes board positions with Teenage Cancer Trust, EarthPercent, In Place of War, and The Creative Society.
Since joining the company in 2020, Downtown says that Smith “was instrumental” in steering Downtown’s move away from traditional music publishing models towards a services-based approach.
In April 2021, Concord acquired 145,000 copyrights from New York-headquartered Downtown Music Holdings, in a deal MBW understands cost around $400 million.
After the announcement, Downtown said it would focus exclusively on the music services sector – i.e. being a partner to copyright holders, rather than owning copyrights itself.
Downtown Music Publishing then merged with the artist/label distribution and marketing capabilities of DashGo, and together, the merged companies formed a new division called Downtown Music Services, which has since been led by Smith.
Downtown notes that he was responsible for integrating global digital distribution specialists DashGo into Downtown Music Services and artist signings during his tenure included: Masego, Anohni, Bashy and Magic Sticks alongside C Tangana’s publishing company Yelo.
He also oversaw catalog agreements with many hig- profile artists including French band Air, and instigated the recently announced administration and funding of Alternative Songs, a joint venture between Stellar Songs and Various Artists.
“After nearly 40 years at the coal face of the UK music industry, I have decided to take some time away from the day-to-day business of music to refocus my energies into a number of personal, creative projects and to devote more of my time to the charitable work that is so close to my heart.”
Mike Smith
Said Mike Smith: “It has been my pleasure and privilege to lead Downtown Music Services through a significant period of restructuring and realignment that has seen it become a global leader in artist services.
Added Smith: “I have been very fortunate during my time at the company to work with a team of highly passionate, creative and artist-focused people and with many inspiring artists, labels and music publishers.
Added Smith: “I look back on our many achievements during the last three years with pride. After nearly 40 years at the coal face of the UK music industry, I have decided to take some time away from the day-to-day business of music to refocus my energies into a number of personal, creative projects and to devote more of my time to the charitable work that is so close to my heart. “
Downtown Music also announced today that Emily Stephenson has been promoted to President, Publishing, and in addition, its publishing companies, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust, and Sheer will now, under Stephenson’s leadership, be “aligned” and share “technology and expertise”.
Nashville-based Stephenson, most recently served as the division’s Vice President of Business Operations.
During her 10-year tenure at the company, she has been responsible for all aspects of publishing administration and client services for Downtown’s songwriter and publishing clients, including Ryan Tedder, Big Yellow Dog, and the John Lennon Estate.
In her new role, Stephenson will report to Downtown Music President, Pieter van Rijn and oversee all publishing efforts, including client acquisition and business development, A&R, rights management, and client services for the group’s publishing companies – Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust, and Sheer.
Downtown says its publishing administration services currently have nearly 2 million songwriters and more than 1.5 million copyrights under management.
Downtown notes that Songtrust experienced significant growth over the past five years and in 2022, reached the milestone of having distributed over $100 million in royalties to independent songwriters, producers and creators.
”Thanks to Mike’s fantastic leadership over the past three years, Downtown’s publishing divisions are in a great position to align our efforts and maximize revenue for our clients, whether they use Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust or Sheer.”
Emily Stephenson, Downtown Music Publishing
Said Emily Stephenson, President of Downtown Music Publishing: ”Thanks to Mike’s fantastic leadership over the past three years, Downtown’s publishing divisions are in a great position to align our efforts and maximize revenue for our clients, whether they use Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust or Sheer.
“This unified approach means that Downtown can offer the industry’s leading publishing services both at scale and in-depth, working more closely with our current and future clients at every stage.”
Stephenson will be joined by Jedd Katrancha, who after 16 years at Downtown is promoted to Chief Commercial Officer, Publishing.
New York-based Katrancha joined Downtown Music Publishing in 2007, the first hire to be made by founder, Justin Kalifowitz, and subsequently led the company’s creative services and sync licensing business from its inception.
In his new role, Katrancha will report to Stephenson and oversee Business Development, A&R, and Sync for Downtown’s group of publishing companies.
“Now, with Downtown’s publishing companies aligned, we’ve created a powerful service offering that will maximize client revenue and present new opportunities to Downtown’s client base.”
Pieter van Rijn Downtown Music
Said President of Downtown Music, Pieter van Rijn: “Emily is a proven leader and Downtown Publishing is excellent hands.
“Mike stewarded Downtown Music Services through a period of great change and leaves it as a global leader.
“Now, with Downtown’s publishing companies aligned, we’ve created a powerful service offering that will maximize client revenue and present new opportunities to Downtown’s client base.”
Today’s announcement follows last week’s news that Downtown Music Holdings is making a new round of layoffs.
The layoffs were reported by Billboard on Wednesday (March 22), citing Downtown CEO Andrew Bergman’s email to staff the same day.
The staff memosuggested that Downtown’s downsizing will mostly affect roles within Downtown’s CD Baby, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust and Downtown Music Holdings divisions.
Two days after agreeing to a contract with the Montreal Canadiens, Hopkinton’s Sean Farrell made his NHL debut Tuesday night in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
Despite not having practiced with the team, the left winger jumped in on the second line and played just over 13 minutes without recording a shot on goal in Montreal’s 3-2 loss. He wore jersey number 57.
“Obviously really excited,” Farrell said after the game, “a dream come true for me to play in the NHL.”
Farrell said his family and some friends were able to attend the game, and it was “really special to be able to share that moment with them.”
Looking good Sean! #GoCrimson https://t.co/Xvb8aYGupL
He noted that the speed of the game is the biggest adjustment, although he’s skated with other NHL players during offseason workouts.
Farrell was a fourth-round pick of the Canadiens in the 2020 draft.
“Offensive talent, dynamic player,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis told reporters about Farrell after the game. “He’s done it at every level. This is the level where he’s going to have to show he can still do it.”
Farrell was playing for Harvard University less than a week ago. When the Crimson’s season ended with a loss in the NCAA tournament this past Friday, the 21-year-old made the move to go pro.
Come 4:05 p.m. ET, people will start slacking off the last hour of the work day and have their whole focus shift to the beginning of the Phillies’ defense of the National League pennant.
To hold fans over until their matchup with the Texas Rangers, the Phillies have dropped their 2023 hype video. Prepare to be jacked up:
It was pretty good! There’s nothing a Philadelphian loves more than being told how great Philly is. The team’s marketing staff played it well.
My three favorite lines in it…
“We’re done dancing on our own because we’re looking to dance on Broad Street.”
“We’re going to defend that banner, but we’re fighting for a bigger one.”
“When you enter a fight, it helps to have 46,000 in your corner and 26 beside you.”
My favorite random shot of South Philadelphia scenery in it? That dusty hotel across the street from the Penrose Diner while the camera focuses on the 1980 and 2008 World Series banners.
I didn’t know who was narrating this video but, according to the Phillies themselves, it’s actually backup catcher Garrett Stubbs. While that may seem odd on the surface, he is the Phillie who made their iconic playoff playlist last fall which included the remix of “Dancing on My Own.”
Hey, there’s a big black sky over Arlington, Texas today in the form of this Phillies squad.
Starbucks has long claimed to be a “different kind of company”—one that cares about the health, safety, and well being of its workers nationwide. It doesn’t even call us workers, it call us “partners,” saying that we’re all in this together. Starbucks executives go so far as to claim that we’re a family. But if that’s the case, this is the most dysfunctional family I’ve ever seen.
I started working at Starbucks over nine years ago as a day job to support my theater career. Little did I know, I would fall in love with this job. I thrive in the fast-paced environment, adore my colleagues, and genuinely appreciate the human connection I have with the hundreds of people who walk through our doors every day.
What I didn’t realize is that this job would also bring me a lifetime of medical bills and surgeries. While working in 2018, I started experiencing a sharp pain in my hip. Due to short staffing and the fact that I didn’t “look sick,” my manager rejected my request for time off to heal.
I continued working through the pain for two weeks before it became too much to bear. One morning, I called an ambulance from work to take me to the ER, where I was diagnosed with a serious fracture and rushed into emergency surgery. What had started as a minor stress fracture escalated to a clean break through the bone, due to the continual physical demands of my job and my inability to take time off to rest. I was out of work for four months, but the chronic pain and medical bills endured.
In 2021, I started hearing about my coworkers’ organizing nationwide, and watched their fight for fair treatment on TV and in the papers. I thought back to the day of my emergency surgery and about how much I needed a voice on the job through a union. I thought to myself, “that’s exactly what I want to do here in Seattle.”
Starbucks workers are the heart and soul of this company. We’re the ones who keep our stores running. We remember our customers’ regular orders, make the lattes, clean up spills, and are often the bright spot of our customers’ days. That’s why I was so disappointed to see leadership’s response to our union drive.
Management is out of touch with the needs of workers, which is why we want to join them at the bargaining table to discuss our demands. Starbucks has only tarnished its brand as a progressive company with its unprecedented union-busting campaign. I witnessed it myself, having been unfairly targeted with frivolous write-ups and seeing partners I worked with get fired for organizing their stores.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 17: Signs sit on a table as striking Starbucks workers picket outside of a Starbucks coffee shop during a national strike on November 17, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Thousands of members of the Starbucks Workers Union are striking at over one hundred Starbucks stores across the country as workers try to negotiate a contract with Starbucks. The one day strike is taking place on Red Cup Day, when Starbucks gives customers limited-edition reusable red holiday cups, one of the company’s most profitable days of the year. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
In all the corporate talking points and posturing, the core of our fight has gotten lost: we are asking for the bare minimum. We are on the front lines fighting for basic human rights, including the ability to work in a safe, secure, and respectful workplace; a living wage with consistent scheduling; fairness, equity, and the right to organize free from fear, intimidation, or coercion.
No worker deserves the treatment I endured on the job. I know that the challenges I faced could have been mitigated with adequate staffing and collective action. I was talking to my manager as soon as I hung up the phone with 911, fighting through my tears and the pain in my hip to ask for additional support. With a voice on the job, I would have been able to advocate for myself at a higher level in order to prevent this crisis from happening.
My experience is not unique. The more connected I became with workers nationwide, the more I understood these challenges are systemic. I’ve heard stories of homeless coworkers being late to work because they were unable to charge their phones while sleeping at the bus stop, only to be fired on the spot. We give so much to this company, and we deserve better.
I joined hundreds of Starbucks workers in protest last week—the day before the company’s shareholder meeting—because I know a brighter future for this company is possible. My coworkers know it too. Since December 2021, more than 7,500 Starbucks partners have organized 285 stores, calling for Starbucks to uphold the forward-thinking values it claims to stand for, respect our fundamental right to organize, and bargain a fair contract.
I love Starbucks, but I am so disheartened to see how hard leadership has fought against our efforts to join a union. Starbucks’ union-busting campaign is breaking the law. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued dozens of official complaints against Starbucks, encompassing more than 215 charges and 1,300 alleged violations of labor law. Six times, NLRB judges have found the company committed more than a hundred violations against workers. I thought the company was better than this.
The recent actions of this corporation don’t embody our values, but as partners at Starbucks we live those values every day. We need better treatment from a company to which we give so much. Starbucks should respect our right to organize and meet us at the bargaining table.
And to our new CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, I say this: we the workers, we the partners, we are Starbucks. You have an opportunity to join us and make Starbucks the company we know it can be.
Sarah Pappin is a Starbucks worker from Seattle, Washington.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
ELMA, N.Y. — In the largest commercial real estate deal so far this year, Moog Inc. and two of its affiliated companies have acquired the Jamison Business Park in Elma.
According to March 28 filings in the Erie County clerk’s office, Moog Inc., Curlin Medical Inc. and Zevex Inc. paid $28 million to buy the 42-acre Jamison Business Park at 611 Jamison Road, Elma. The property had been owned by 611 Jamison Road LLC, a local commercial real estate investment group.
Peter Wilson, one of the 611 Jamison Road LLC investment members and Sonwil Logistics CEO, said Moog approached his group about buying the business park. The deal was separate from Sonwil Logistics, Wilson said. You can read the full story on Buffalo Business First’s website.
Within just a few years, California endured its driest three-year period on record and its hottest September in history — a brutal summer month that nearly broke the state’s overtaxed electric grid.
Now, new research suggests that the hardships inflicted by those events may be more widespread than previously thought. Drought and extreme heat also worsened air pollution for low-income and non-white communities throughout California, researchers say, further degrading health in neighborhoods that have long struggled with environmental inequities.
When electricity demands skyrocket during extreme heat waves and drought reduces water availability for hydropower production, power systems depend more on fossil fuels to meet energy needs and avoid rolling blackouts. The result is an increase in emissions of greenhouse gasses, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, study authors say.
“Under normal circumstances, people of color are more exposed to air pollution from power plants because they’re predominantly located in counties that have higher percentages of people of color living in them, and that just gets worse when there are droughts and heat waves,” said Jordan Kern, assistant professor of forestry and environmental resources at North Carolina State University and a study co-author.
Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental threats to health, and the combined effects of outdoor air pollution and household air pollution are associated with 6.7 million premature deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization.
In the case of California residents, increased air pollution associated with drought was determined to last for months or even years, whereas researchers found that heat waves created brief spikes in emissions.
Led by North Carolina State University, the study also found that fining power plants could reduce their emissions and people’s exposure to pollutants, except during heat waves, when system operators are forced to deploy more fossil fuel power plants to avoid power shutoffs.
“The ineffectiveness of penalties tends to happen late summer, early fall — that’s kind of what California went through in September, where you don’t really have any hydropower to produce because the snow melt season is over,” Kern said.
Last September, a heat wave shattered temperature records in the state and wreaked havoc on the electric grid and other infrastructure. To meet power demands and avoid power outages, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a series of proclamations allowing, among other things, generators fueled by natural gas to run without restrictions.
Ari Eisenstadt, campaign manager for Regenerate California, a campaign aimed at ending fossil fuel use in the state, said that when the power grid is overtaxed, the first communities to experience blackouts are often the same ones where gas plants are located. And where that energy goes is not always known.
“There are many front-line communities where it’s much less likely that they’ll have access to home cooling, and so the demand isn’t necessarily coming from the communities themselves where those plants are being turned on,” said Eisenstadt, who was not involved in the study. “We have a tendency as a state and as a country to really outsource pollution based on needs that are occurring elsewhere.”
Using a simulation tool, the study’s researchers calculated how much sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and fine particles power plants in California could emit across 500 “synthetic weather years.” These years imitated conditions that could happen in the future based on historical air, wind, temperature and solar radiation records between 1953 and 2008 on the West Coast. They estimated air pollution across counties by identifying locations of power plants and assessing how much electricity they would generate under different weather conditions.
The study did not consider the long-term impacts of climate change however, although researchers acknowledged global warming’s contribution to worsening cycles of drought and extreme heat events.
While sulfur dioxide is less of a problem in the Northwest than in the Midwest, which burns more coal, people with asthma are particularly sensitive to it, said Ed Avol, professor emeritus at USC Keck School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.
Nitrogen oxides and fine particles are bigger issues in California, he said. When inhaled at low levels, nitrogen oxides, the precursor to smog, can irritate the eyes, throat and lungs, and cause nausea or shortness of breath. At higher levels, they can lead to inflammation in the throat and upper respiratory tract; the buildup of fluid in the lungs, and even death.
In the short term, inhaling fine particulate matter has been linked with premature mortality, bronchitis and other health problems in people with preexisting heart or lung diseases. Long-term exposure has been associated with stymied lung growth in children.
Low-income and communities of color often experience “a triple or quadruple whammy” of “disproportionate exposures,” Avol said. They tend to live closer to freeways, trucking centers, refineries and other industrial locations that increase their exposure to toxins, and may not have adequate healthcare access if they do fall ill. “All these different factors that potentially increase your exposure are all tilted unfairly in their direction so that they get more than somebody else.”
While California has adapted ambitious climate policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions, wildfires and heat waves are complicating those efforts. Yet if the state wants to meet carbon neutrality by 2045, experts agree it will need to get all of its electricity from non-carbon or renewable sources.
The net result of clean energy would lower everyone’s exposure to air pollution, especially fine particles, said Michael Kleeman, professor in civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis who was not involved in the study, but researches how regional and urban air pollution affect public health.
His research has found that adopting low-carbon energy sources makes air pollution exposure more equitable across communities. But you can’t erase the disparity entirely, he said. “Some of it is just locked in because of red lining and other past housing practices, but you can reduce it.”
For now, the study’s authors said the state can protect people from the combined consequences of heat waves and air pollution in several ways, such as instituting programs that compensate consumers for decreasing electricity use, and urging power systems to avoid initiating rolling blackouts in vulnerable communities at times of day when people would be exposed to high levels of air pollution if they went outside.
And during hot days when electricity demand is high, it will be important to consider how cooling centers will be powered and where they are located, “especially moving forward under climate change,” Kern said.
“I think that’s the obvious next step,” Kern said. “How much worse is this going to get when you factor climate change, but also how much better can this problem get if you really quickly decarbonize the grid?”
