Missouri, Kansas do not require carbon monoxide detectors in schools
KSHB Kansas City
October 19, 2022
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a carbon-monoxide leak at Kansas City school Wednesday, the KSHB 41 I-Team dug into the laws surrounding carbon monoxide detectors in schools. Seven students and two employees at Longfellow Elementary School — which is part of Kansas City, Missouri, Public Schools — were taken to the hospital after showing symptoms of CO poisoning around 9:30 a.m. . . .
A local coalition’s fight against the state to preserve community health and protect the environment
the review (by Konner Metz)
October 17, 2022
Jeffrey Richardson is no stranger to the tribulations of dealing with state agencies and departments. But the state of Delaware and its Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) present one of the toughest challenges he has faced: repeated restrictions on, and dismissals of, public participation. So when a July 26 hearing with DNREC’s Environmental Appeals Board concerning a proposed expansion port north of Wilmington fell flat, Richardson felt as if he and his peers were pushed aside unfairly in favor of larger entities.
Since 1984, the faces and voices of ELI’s constituents have come together in a gathering of environmental professionals at the annual ELI Environmental Achievement Award. In this episode, ELI’s Georgia Ray sits down with the recipient of this year’s Environmental Achievement Award: Benjamin F. Wilson, an environmental lawyer and civil rights advocate who has worked tirelessly to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal field.
What happens when federal regulatory changes to the CWA framework result in regulatory “gaps” for the states to resolve? Jim McElfish, a Senior Attorney and Director of ELI’s Sustainable Use of Land program, explains the challenges of water regulation when federal protections are taken away. Jim also offers his thoughts on what may happen if the U.S. Supreme Court’s impending decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency results in a rollback in what qualifies as WOTUS. Listeners hungry for more information on this important topic are encouraged to read Jim’s article from the September 2022 issue of ELR—The Environmental Law Reporter, available for free download here.
Digital technologies have steadily woven themselves into the global economy, transforming the pace at which we access and process information. “Digital sharing services” like Airbnb and Lyft often promise broad society benefits, including a reduction in energy usage, a lower environmental footprint, and more efficient use of existing products. But are these sharing innovations really changing our environmental outlook for the better? Listen to a comprehensive review of research sponsored by the Network for the Digital Economy and the Environment and hear what is known about the environment performance of digital sharing services.
Water utilities are tasked with providing clean, affordable water to their constituents, yet, a growing number of utilities are charging high prices for water and/or carrying out policies that decrease, rather than increase, water access. Participatory governance, which aims to enable those who are most closely affected by a problem to influence how policymakers solve that problem, may offer a path to a more just water policy. In “Turning Participation into Power: A Water Justice Case Study,” Prof. Jaime Lee of the University of Baltimore School of Law offers a revamped model of participatory governance she dubs the “Constituent Empowerment Model.” The model, which was recently implemented in Baltimore, Maryland, goes beyond traditional community involvement mechanisms and has the lofty goal of shifting power dynamics. In this episode, Linda Breggin, a Senior Attorney at ELI and Lecturer in Law at Vanderbilt Law School, speaks with Professor Lee to learn more.
In this episode of the People Places Planet Podcast, ELI’s six summer interns (Jesse Ferraoili, Rebecca Huang, Fatima Lawan, Priyanka Mahat, Raf Rodriguez, and Jeremy Rubin) join host Georgia Ray to reflect on their time as summer interns, talk a little more about who they are, what they are interested in, and what brought them to ELI. They discuss their independent research work, work done on broader projects at the organization, and things they have learned throughout the summer.
A Tufts rising senior will tell you about her fight for maternal health in the Black community, especially as it pertains to air quality. Another will dive into uranium contamination in America’s southwest. A third will talk about his work with prison populations and the heat related illnesses that can occur inside the system. All of them will discuss what it was like to work at ELI, how they hope to continue in the environmental space, and the lessons they have learned spending the summer in D.C.
You can find Raf and Priyanka on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafjrodriguez & https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyanka-mahat-b16642151/
If you are interested in learning more about The Center for Black Maternal Health & Reproductive Justice at Tufts (with whom Fatima worked closely on her project), you can visit their website.