Author Archives: Paige Bennett

Jury Finds Greenpeace Liable for $660 Million in Defamation Lawsuit

Posted on by March 20, 2025

A jury in North Dakota has found Greenpeace liable in a defamation lawsuit by Energy Transfer, an oil company based in Dallas, Texas. Energy Transfer sued Greenpeace in state court over protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline that took place from April 2016 to February 2017.

Energy Transfer argued that the protests sought to defame the oil company. Energy Transfer also argued that Greenpeace’s role in the protests caused further damages and disruptions. In the case, Energy Transfer’s lawyer Trey Cox asked the jury to award $265 million to $340 million for Greenpeace’s actions plus additional damages, BBC reported.

“This win is really for the people of Mandan and throughout North Dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace. It is also a win for all law-abiding Americans who understand the difference between the right to free speech and breaking the law,” Energy Transfer said, as reported by CBS News.

Greenpeace has argued that the lawsuit is a hit to free speech and that it did not lead the protests, but supported Indigenous-led efforts. As CBS News reported, the pipeline was planned to go through Lake Oahe, near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe argued that the pipeline violated treaty rights.

“What we saw over these three weeks was Energy Transfer’s blatant disregard for the voices of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe,” Deepa Padmanabha, senior legal advisor for Greenpeace USA, said in a statement. “And while they also tried to distort the truth about Greenpeace’s role in the protests, we instead reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to non-violence in every action we take. To be clear, Greenpeace’s story is not the story of Standing Rock. Our story is how an organization like Greenpeace USA can support critical fights to protect communities most impacted by the climate crisis, as well as continued attacks on Indigenous sovereignty.”

The jury’s decision has raised alarms over the First Amendment, especially for climate and environmental protests.

“This jury verdict is obviously a huge and monumental milestone in the case because of what the implications are, not just for Greenpeace, but for other advocates,” Jennifer Safstrom, director of the Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic at Vanderbilt University, told NPR. “Advocacy defendants will now potentially face huge liability in possibly similar litigation.”

Greenpeace plans to appeal the verdict in the North Dakota Supreme Court and accused Energy Transfer of filing a SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) lawsuit. Thirty-five states and Washington, DC have anti-SLAPP laws, but North Dakota does not.

In February 2025, the organization warned that this lawsuit could lead it to bankruptcy, further silencing it from protests. At that time, Greenpeace reported that Energy Transfer was pursuing $300 million in damages, totaling 10 times Greenpeace’s annual budget. The final verdict of a liability of $660 million adds further strain.

“This case should alarm everyone, no matter their political inclinations,” Sushma Raman, the interim executive director at Greenpeace, Inc., said in a statement. “It’s part of a renewed push by corporations to weaponize our courts to silence dissent. We should all be concerned about the future of the First Amendment, and lawsuits like this aimed at destroying our rights to peaceful protest and free speech.”

Greenpeace International sued Energy Transfer in February 2024 in Dutch court under the European Union’s anti-SLAPP directive. The organization is seeking damages and costs incurred after over seven years of lawsuits from Energy Transfer.

“Energy Transfer hasn’t heard the last of us in this fight. We’re just getting started with our anti-SLAPP lawsuit against Energy Transfer’s attacks on free speech and peaceful protest,” Kristin Casper, Greenpeace International General Counsel, said in a statement. “We will see Energy Transfer in court this July in the Netherlands.”

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World Experienced 152 Unprecedented Climate Events in 2024: WMO Report

Posted on by March 19, 2025

According to the latest State of the Global Climate 2024 report from the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the world experienced 152 unprecedented and 297 unusual extreme events related to climate change last year. 

Topping the list of extreme events were heat waves, with 137 events, followed by extreme rain and wet spells (115 events), flooding (104 events), tropical cyclones (47) and drought (44). 

In total, these events were linked to 1.1 million people injured, 1,700 deaths and 824,500 people displaced. As The Guardian reported, the number of people displaced by extreme climate events in 2024 was the highest annual number since 2008, when the records began. These events also lead to worsening food insecurity and major economic losses as well as environmental devastation.

In addition, the report revealed that the Earth is now experiencing alarming climate extremes that may be irreversible for hundreds or thousands of years, with the rate of sea level rise doubling between when satellite records began to 2024.

According to the study, 18 of the lowest amounts of Arctic sea ice happened in the past 18 years, while in the Antarctic, the three lowest levels of sea ice extent happened in the past three years. Global glacier mass reached a record-high three-year loss in the past three years as well. Further, ocean heat reached a new record each year for the past eight years.

The amount of sea level rise and ocean warming could be irreversible for at least hundreds of years, WMO reported.

WMO also confirmed earlier expectations of 2024 being the warmest year in a 175-year-old record, noting that the global mean near-surface temperature was about 1.55 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial times.

“While a single year above 1.5°C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and to the planet,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a press release.

Although there has been a short-term breach of the 1.5 degree Celsius target outlined in the Paris Agreement, WMO reported that long-term warming is still below 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times. However, the Earth is nearing that limit, especially with carbon dioxide emissions reaching their highest level in 800,000 years and the 10 warmest years ever recorded happening in the last decade. According to WMO estimates, long-term warming is around 1.34 to 1.41 degrees Celsius compared to 1850-1900.

“Our planet is issuing more distress signals — but this report shows that limiting long-term global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. “Leaders must step up to make it happen — seizing the benefits of cheap, clean renewables for their people and economies — with new National climate plans due this year.”

Additionally, WMO noted that investments in early warning systems will be essential in better protecting people from the worsening effects of climate change.

“We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster,” Saulo said. “Only half of all countries worldwide have adequate early warning systems. This must change.”

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Restored Grasslands Need 75+ Years for Biodiversity to Recover, Study Finds

Posted on by March 18, 2025

According to a new study, restored grasslands will require long-term management in order to bring back specialized pollinators and ultimately restore biodiversity.

The study, published in Journal of Applied Ecology, analyzed the pollination success of native plants for varying durations of grassland management at the ski slopes in Nagano Prefecture. The restored areas studied spanned between 2 and 75 years since grassland restoration, and researchers examined native plant pollination across 28 different pollination networks. Researchers also examined old grasslands in the area for comparison.

“There is no place better suited to survey restored grasslands with very different management durations within a relatively small area than ski slopes,” Gaku S. Hirayama, doctoral student at Kobe University and corresponding author of the study, said in a statement.

As explained by the study, land use changes like agriculture and development are causing rapid decline of grasslands. In 2021, a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) determined that 1.6 million acres of grasslands in the Great Plains of North America alone were lost in just one year. In 2022, this number increased to 1.9 million acres in this region. As BirdLife International reported, half of all grasslands on Earth have been degraded in some capacity.

But while restoration helps improve biodiversity lost to land use changes, previous research has shown that undisturbed grasslands with long-standing management practices (over centuries to millennia) have much higher levels of biodiversity and climate resilience compared to restored grasslands, emphasizing an importance in not just restoring but preserving existing ecosystems. 

“The finding shows that once valuable old grasslands are lost, their restoration cannot be achieved quickly,” Hirayama said.

Over the course of the study, the researchers examined over 10,800 pollinator visits from 294 different pollinator species to 79 flowering plants in 2021. In 2022, they observed over 19,690 pollinator visits from 297 pollinator species to 88 flowering plants. Overall, they determined that older grasslands had a greater range of native plant biodiversity than younger, restored grasslands. 

Further, the results showed that plants’ reproductive success, pollination function and pollinator network-level specialization were all worse in grasslands restored after deforestation compared to older grasslands. Overall, the study revealed that newly restored grasslands need at least 75 years for pollinator specialization and function and for plant diversity to even begin to compare to the biodiversity of older grasslands.

Pollinator specialization is important to improving plant reproduction. As Kobe University reported, younger restored grasslands still had pollinators, like flies and hoverflies, but they are more general in their pollination behaviors. By comparison, specialized pollinators are more likely to transfer pollen between plants of the same species for proper pollination.

The findings revealed that both preservation of existing grasslands and close management of restored grasslands will be important in reclaiming biodiversity.

Atushi Ushimaru, ecologist at Kobe University and a co-author of the study, explained, “It may also indicate that grassland restoration should not just be left to nature, but could require active human involvement such as by sowing seeds or by planting seedlings of native bee- and butterfly-pollinated grassland plants.”

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Cambridge, Massachusetts Bans Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers

Posted on by March 17, 2025

Cambridge, Massachusetts has joined a growing list of cities that have banned gas-powered leaf blowers. The city’s ban went into effect over the weekend, and officials noted this move was in the interest of public health and reducing emissions for the environment.

Cambridge first passed the Leaf Blower Ordinance back in December 2023, but the ban took effect starting March 15 to give property owners time to change to alternative equipment. The ban currently applies to private use of leaf blowers, and residents will need to use electric or rechargeable battery-powered leaf blowers rather than gas. The leaf blowers also need to meet sound level requirements in the city’s ordinance to reduce noise pollution.

On March 15, 2026, the ban will extend and begin applying to the use of leaf blowers in professional landscaping as well. The city has compiled a list of businesses that already meet the electric or battery-powered leaf blower requirements, which could be helpful for customers looking for a greener lawn care option.

However, some people have voiced concerns over increasing landscaping costs and lower power from electric models compared to gas. 

Keri Brown, co-owner of R&S Landscaping, one of the companies in the list of compliant businesses, told The Boston Globe that using electric leaf blowers can take about 20% to 50% more time to clear out leaves compared to gas but that this was “a sign of the times,” and “It was going to happen, sooner or later.”

Some landscaping experts also said that residents may need to relax their expectations for picture-perfect landscaping as the city transitions to electric leaf blowers.

“Prices will go up for maintenance in Cambridge if people want the same garden aesthetic that they have,” Catherine Brownlee, managing director of Landscape Collaborative, Inc., another company on the compliant list, told The Boston Globe. “It’s just going to take a lot more time.”

Brownlee told The Boston Globe that some residents of Cambridge have already complained when comparing to lawns that used gas-powered leaf blowers, but a city-wide move to electric leaf blowers could change some minds that are more accepting of less pristine lawns.

To lower the costs for businesses and, by extension, consumers, Massachusetts State Representative Michelle Ciccolo has submitted a petition for a law that would offer tax credits for the purchase of electric landscaping equipment, such as leaf blowers, for small landscaping businesses, Clean Technica reported. 

The proposed legislation would “reduce the business’s tax liability for that year by 40% of the cost of purchasing said low noise, low emissions equipment up to an annual total of no more than ten thousand dollars.”

While the initial cost to transition equipment could be high, Clean Technica reported that the long-term costs could be lower, with daily fuel costs lowering by up to two-thirds when there is no longer a need to buy gas.

According to the government of Cambridge, switching to electric or battery-powered leaf blowers could reduce noise pollution, improve air quality and minimize harms to the environment. The government noted that the noise is disruptive to humans and wildlife, and the stronger airflower from gas-powered leaf blowers can damage topsoil and plants. Further, the emissions from using a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour is nearly equivalent to the emissions from driving a light-duty passenger car for 1,100 miles, according to the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

“I wish the whole state would move to it,” Cambridge City Councilor Patricia Nolan told The Boston Globe. “It makes no sense that we would allow something to continue to be used that’s clearly harmful to wildlife, to the soil, and to plants, and also to public health and worker safety.”

Cambridge is joining many other cities — and the state of California — in enacting bans on gas-powered leaf blowers and other polluting landscaping equipment. As The Associated Press reported, Montclair, New Jersey; Portland, Oregon; Burlington, Vermont; and Evanston, Illinois have passed bans along with Washington, DC and Montgomery County in Maryland.

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Dangerous Climate ‘Wiplash’ Is Impacting Cities Globally, Report Finds

Posted on by March 14, 2025

In a new report, researchers have ranked global cities for flood and drought risks and determined that some of the biggest cities in the world are facing dangerous climate swings between dry and wet periods. Some cities have seen a total change in their climate, moving from typically dry regions to regions prone to flooding and vice versa, according to the study.

The report, conducted by non-governmental organization WaterAid in collaboration with researchers from the University of Bristol and Cardiff University, investigated the climate trends in the 100 most-populated cities globally as well as 12 cities where the NGO operates. 

In total, 95% of the observed cities were experiencing a shift toward wetter or dryer climates, as The Guardian reported.

According to the findings, 15% of the cities are experiencing climate “whiplash,” where they face periods of drought almost immediately followed by flooding. As The Guardian reported, the recent wildfires in Los Angeles were an example of such whiplash, with wetter periods both before and after the fires. 

The rainy period increased vegetation growth, which fueled larger fires. Now, after the fires, some people in Southern California are being evacuated amid wetter weather because of increased mudslide risks, ABC News reported.

“These are recent burn areas and are especially susceptible to heavy rain,” the Los Angeles Fire Department warned. These extreme back-and-forth patterns are happening to cities globally and could worsen, the new report warned.

About 20% of the cities in the study have shifted from more dry extreme weather to wet extremes, with 13% of these cities moving toward wetter climate extremes and 7% moving toward drier extremes. 

WaterAid

“Places that were historically wet are becoming dry and vice versa. Other places are now increasingly battered by both extreme floods and droughts. A deeper understanding of localised climate hazards can support more intelligent and bespoke planning in major cities,” Katerina Michaelides, co-lead scientist on the project and professor of Dryland Hydrology at the University of Bristol, said in a statement.

The cities facing varying climate extremes face risk of infrastructure that cannot keep up with the shifts in wet or dry weather events. As explained by WaterAid, extreme flooding threatens water sanitation and waste systems, which can lead to disease spread. On the other hand, extreme drought puts strain on water resources.

South and southeast Asia and north and east Africa were highlighted as two particularly vulnerable regions to the extreme climate whiplash, with the cities facing the highest risks including Khartoum, Sudan; Faisalabad, Pakistan; Lahore, Pakistan; Baghdad, Iraq; Surabaya, Indonesia; Nairobi, Kenya; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“As the nature and intensity of natural hazards change, their impacts on urban communities will be significantly shaped by social and infrastructural vulnerabilities,” said Sean Fox, associate professor of global development at University of Bristol who provided research for the report. “In other words, risk isn’t just about the chance of a flood or drought occurring, it’s also about how prepared communities are to deal with these hazards.”

To improve equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services and make infrastructure better prepared for changing climate and extreme weather, WaterAid is recommending for governments to prioritize climate and water actions and provide plans for adapting to climate; for developers, banks and the private sector to increase investments in climate-resilient water infrastructure and services; and for all parties involved in water services and infrastructure to prioritize the most vulnerable communities.

“We urge the UK to show leadership and maintain its influential role in tackling global climate and health challenges — essential to creating a secure world free from poverty,” Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid UK, said in a statement. “Now, we need to turn commitments into action — for leaders to build and invest in systems worldwide that can withstand extreme weather and keep clean water flowing globally.”

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Medical Infusion Bags Can Release Microplastics Into the Bloodstream, Research Finds

Posted on by March 13, 2025

Microplastics are entering the human body through the ingesting of seafood, drinking water and even by inhaling particles in the air. These plastic particles have been detected in the human gut, blood, lungs and brain.

Now, a team of researchers has found another potential pathway for microplastics to enter the bloodstream: medical bags used for infusions. According to a new study published in Environment & Health, a single 8.4 ounce (250 milliliter) medical infusion bag could release 7,500 microplastic particles — sized 1 to 62 micrometers long — into a person’s blood.

Medical infusion bags can be used to provide intravenous (IV) fluids such as water, nutrients, electrolytes or medicine, as the American Chemical Society reported. Previous research from the 1970s found that these infusion bags may contain solid particles, which prompted researchers of the newly published study to investigate whether these particles could be microplastics. 

Medical infusion bags are typically made from polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic elastomers(TPE) or ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). PP is one of the most common materials, because it seals well, holds up to impacts, is resistant to chemical corrosion and is transparent.

To determine whether medical infusion bags may release microplastics, researchers tested two different brands of commercial infusion bags, both made from PP, containing IV saline solutions. They allowed each bag to drip from an infusion tube into separate glass beakers, which were covered with aluminum foil to prevent outside particles from interfering.

After collecting the liquid, the team filtered and condensed the samples in order to count and analyze the plastic particles detected under a microscope. They used this total to then estimate the amount of microplastics for each entire medical infusion bag.

The samples collected from both brands included PP microplastics, and based on the analysis, the team determined that one bag could release around 7,500 microplastic particles into the bloodstream during an infusion. When more fluids are needed to treat ailments such as dehydration or during procedures such as abdominal surgery, this total could increase substantially.

Heat illness, nausea, diarrhea and similar instances that require IV fluids could lead to a release of around 24,375 to 30,000 microplastics. With severe dehydration requiring about 4.2 to 5.6 liters of water infusion for a person weighing an average 60 to 80 kilograms (132 to 176 pounds), medical infusion bags could release 31,500 to 42,000 microplastic particles into the blood, the study determined. These findings become more concerning as the world continues to break heat records and risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths rises.

In some cases, such as an abdominal surgery, higher IV fluid requirements mean that as much as 52,500 microplastics could be released into a patient’s bloodstream.

The study authors noted that additional analyses will need to investigate any differences in microplastic presence among a wider range of brands, different batches, batches made in different facilities, bags made from different materials or even differing qualities of PP, storage conditions and other factors. Additionally, more research is needed to further evaluate the health risks of microplastics.

To limit the amount of microplastic breakdown, the authors wrote that temperature and UV light exposure should be highly considered when storing the medical bags, as higher temperatures and more light exposure can degrade the PP material.

“Potentially effective measures include the use of highly efficient micrometer- or submicrometer-level filtration systems during intravenous infusion and enhanced monitoring across the medical device and pharmaceutical supply chain to meet stringent safety standards,” the authors concluded. “Additionally, innovative infusion system designs using materials resistant to MP shedding and optimized closed systems may significantly minimize external contamination.”

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New Scorecard by NRDC Ranks States by Transportation Policies

Posted on by March 12, 2025

The second edition of the “Getting Transportation Right” scorecard from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has ranked all 50 states (and Washington, DC) in the U.S. based on their transportation policies. States with policies that emphasize greener, more equitable transportation ranked higher in the list, while those with policies that favor highway expansions or that lack sustainable transportation policies ranked lower.

States were ranked on 21 metrics total, with opportunities to accumulate points based on factors such as equitable public transportation access; targets to reduce transportation emissions by 2035; EV charging infrastructure; rebates or grants for low-income residents to purchase EVs; spending toward bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure over highway expansions; maintenance spending; and bid preferences or targets to hire minority- and women-owned small businesses for state-funded transportation projects.

“Progress will fundamentally depend on whether states choose to spend their transportation dollars on new road and highway expansion projects that will increase carbon emissions and air pollution while leaving drivers trapped in interminable traffic — or on clean and equitable solutions for all,” Samantha Henningson, senior transportation advocate at NRDC and project manager of the scorecard, said in a statement. “This report shows which states are leading the way.”   

According to the latest edition of the scorecard, the top 10 states with policies that emphasize sustainable transportation include Vermont in the No. 1 spot followed by California, Oregon, Washington, Maryland, Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington, DC, Rhode Island and New York.

NRDC

Several states have much more room for improvement, as they have instead focused on more polluting policies such as highway expansions over cleaner transportation options. Texas ranked last on the list, preceded by Kansas, Arkansas, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Nebraska, Idaho, Louisiana and Kentucky.

“Even without the current actions of the Trump administration, too many states are using the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund projects that will not reduce emissions or improve access to affordable clean modes of transportation,” Henningson said.

As the report authors pointed out, these rankings were based on 2024 data during the former administration that had a higher priority for funding clean and equitable transportation projects. With the Trump administration prioritizing fossil fuels, reversing climate policies and freezing funding to states that was provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, states will need to continue to fight and lead the way for more sustainable transportation.

The authors also noted that their findings could help positively influence policies and programs amid negotiations for the next transportation infrastructure bill.

“States have always led on transportation policy, but their role is more important now with the Trump administration moving federal transportation policies back to the bad old days of gridlock and pollution,” Henningson said. “Given the harmful direction from Washington, it’s more important now than ever before that state transportation policies deliver for their residents.” 

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Only Seven Countries Meet WHO Air Quality Guidelines on PM2.5: Report

Posted on by March 11, 2025

Most countries around the world have air quality that is worse than the guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the latest World Air Quality Report by IQAir.

The seventh-annual World Air Quality Report collected data from 40,000 air quality monitoring stations across 138 countries, territories and regions. The results revealed that only seven countries meet the annual average guideline for fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, of 5 micrograms per cubic meter (5 µg/m3) as set by WHO. The countries that meet this target include Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Estonia, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand.

Further, the report found that just 17% of all cities globally meet WHO’s air pollution guidelines with Mayaguez, Puerto Rico topping the list of cities with the cleanest air. The city had an annual average of 1.1 µg/m3 of PM2.5 levels for 2024. 

In terms of regions, IQAir found that Oceania had the world’s cleanest air, with 57% of cities in this region having 5 µg/m3 or less annual average PM2.5 levels.

The report also detailed countries and cities with the poorest air quality levels. The five countries with the worst air quality included Chad with 91.8 µg/m3, Bangladesh with 78 µg/m3, Pakistan with 73.7 µg/m3, Democratic Republic of the Congo with 58.2 µg/m3 and India with 50.6 µg/m3. 

Further, IQAir noted that of the 138 countries, territories and regions surveyed, 126 (or over 91%) surpassed the WHO guideline for fine particulates.

The city with the most polluted air in 2024 was Byrnihat, India, which reached an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 128.2 µg/m3. In the U.S., Los Angeles was the most-polluted major city, while Ontario, California was the most-polluted city of any size overall in the country.

Based on the findings, IQAir highlighted the importance of expanding air quality monitoring sites to collect more data that can inform policies to curb pollution.

“Air pollution remains a critical threat to both human health and environmental stability, yet vast populations remain unaware of their exposure levels,” Frank Hammes, Global CEO of IQAir, said in a statement. “Air quality data saves lives. It creates much needed awareness, informs policy decisions, guiding public health interventions, and empowers communities to take action to reduce air pollution and protect future generations.”

As The Guardian reported, there is no determined safe level of PM2.5. Fine particulate matter can come from fire smoke, smoke from wood-burning stoves or fireplaces, vehicle exhaust, industry processes and more, according to Environment Protection Authority Victoria. Because of the small size of the particles, PM2.5 can enter the lungs and bloodstream. Over time, exposure to high levels of PM2.5 can lead to negative health impacts — including impaired cognitive functioning and reduced lung functioning in children and increased risk of worsening heart disease, increased risk of lung cancer, and impaired cognitive functioning in adults — and has been linked to premature death, as reported by the American Lung Association.

“Air pollution doesn’t kill us immediately — it takes maybe two to three decades before we see the impacts on health, unless it’s very extreme,” Hammes told The Guardian. “[Avoiding it] is one of those preventative things people don’t think about till too late in their lives.”

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U.S. National Parks Saw Record Attendance in 2024, but Staff Were Told Not to Publicize the Achievement

Posted on by March 10, 2025

In 2024, the U.S. National Parks received a record-high visitor turnout, even higher than the previous record set in 2016. But based on an internal memo shared by the group Resistance Rangers, which is made up of current and former National Park Service (NPS) workers, NPS staff have been told not to share external communications about the record number of visits.

The information is publicly available on the NPS Visitation Statistics Dashboard, which shared that there were 331.9 million visits to National Parks sites in 2024, up from the previous record of 330,971,689 set in 2016. This number also increased by 6.36 million visits, or 2%, compared to visits in 2023.

Yet according to the internal memo shared by Resistance Rangers, NPS workers were advised that there would be no external communications rollout. The internal memo noted that parks could share the visitor number info on their websites if “that is the park’s standard process (e.g. parks that post monthly visitation reports), but should not issue a press release or other proactive communications, including social media posts.”

Further, staff was advised to respond to reporters by simply stating the numbers and redirecting them to the Integrated Resource Management Applications (IRMA) website. As SFGATE reported, this memo was different from previous years, when NPS has put out both reports on the number of visitors and on how these visits can economically benefit the areas surrounding national park sites.

Kati Schmidt, communications director for National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), told SFGATE that the annual visitor reports typically involve a lot of external outreach for NPS and individual parks.

“The silence is a little weird,” Schmidt wrote in an email to SFGATE.

As the parks reach record-high attendance, both Resistance Rangers and NPCA have pointed out that NPS is under threat with recent mass firings and planned NPS office closings.

“At the same time, 1,000 probationary employees were fired last month and have not been reinstated, despite a federal court ruling finding the firings illegal. At least 700 employees have taken the deferred resignation (‘fork’) option,” Resistance Rangers wrote in a press release. “Phase 1 Reduction in Force plans are due on March 13, despite the NPS being critically understaffed even before the recent cuts. This leaves national parks critically understaffed as they approach the busiest time of year, despite being more popular than ever.”

As NPCA reported, the current administration has planned to close at least 34 NPS facilities, including eight visitor centers, climate-controlled facilities with sensitive artifacts and emergency facilities.

“These moves by the administration are pushing our parks past the point of no return,” said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of NPCA. “For over a century, Americans have loved and fought to protect our national parks. This administration’s actions are a betrayal of that legacy. The American people expect leaders to protect our parks, not dismantle them.”

As SFGATE reported, the memo to not share record visitor statistics externally raises concerns over directives coming from the administration, not NPS, amid the recent firings and planned facility closures.

“The suppression of this data would not be coming from anyone in the NPS, which proudly displays the numbers every year (just look back at the last 20 years!),” Jonathan Jarvis, former director of NPS, told SFGATE. “This decision would be forced on NPS by the DOI politicals or DOGE, worried about the high visitation numbers, the economic value, and the bad press coming from firing so many NPS employees.”  

According to NPS data, 2024 visits expanded across the board, with new visitation records set at 28 parks and more visitors coming to park sites throughout the year (not just during peak seasons). Thirty-eight parks also had visitor numbers higher than the 10-year average for every single month of 2024.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area had the highest number of visits, nearly 17.2 million, of any NPS site, while the Great Smoky Mountains was the most-visited National Park with 12.2 million visits. Other top-visited National Parks included Zion (4.94 million visits), Grand Canyon (4.91 million), Yellowstone (4.74 million) and Rocky Mountain (4.15 million).

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London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone Expansion Has Effectively Reduced Air Pollution, Report Finds

Posted on by March 7, 2025

In London, the implementation and expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has reduced air pollution by decreasing amounts of nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter and carbon emissions, according to new data by City Hall reviewed by independent air quality experts.

In total, air quality in London is improving at a faster rate compared to the rest of England, and the ULEZ has reduced enough carbon emissions to equal the impact of removing 3 million one-way passenger trips from Heathrow Airport to New York City, according to the report.

The Ultra-Low Emission Zone was first implemented in 2019, when it became the first low-emission zone to operate 24/7. In February 2023, a peer-reviewed study by the London mayor’s office showed that the zone was working after an initial expansion to include inner London. At that point, the zone had led to a 21% decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels in inner London and a 46% reduction in these emissions in central London. That report also found a decline in fine particulate matter and carbon emissions both inside the ULEZ and across London entirely.

In August 2023, the ULEZ was expanded again to cover the entire city, with expectations that this move would improve air quality for 5 million more people living in London’s outer boroughs. The ULEZ is now the largest low-emission zone globally.

Now, new data proves the expanded low-emission zone has made serious improvements to the air quality in and around the city, including a 27% decline in nitrogen dioxide levels, across London.

“When I was first elected, evidence showed it would take 193 years to bring London’s air pollution within legal limits if the current efforts continued. However, due to our transformative policies we are now close to achieving it this year,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement. “Today’s report shows that ULEZ works, driving down levels of pollution, taking old polluting cars off our roads and bringing cleaner air to millions more Londoners.”

The report revealed that fine particulate matter levels were 31% lower in the outer boroughs of London than they would have been without the expansion, and air quality has improved at 99% of city-wide air quality monitoring sites since 2019.

According to data from Transport for London (TfL), the number of ULEZ-compliant vehicles in London is now 96.7%, compared to just 39% in February 2017 and 91.6% in June 2023. There are about 100,000 fewer non-compliant vehicles per day on average in London as of September 2024 compared to June 2023, just before the ULEZ was expanded to cover the entire city. 

Officials noted the transition to cleaner vehicles is in part thanks to the ULEZ scrappage program, which offered a total of £200 million ($258.37 million) in grants for people who wanted to either retrofit non-compliant vehicles, scrap them with goals of buying a cleaner vehicle, or donate the older vehicles to Ukraine. The program received over 54,000 applications.

For critics concerned over economic impacts of the ULEZ on local tourism and businesses, officials noted that retail and leisure spending weren’t impacted by the expansion, and visitor footfall even increased nearly 2% since the zone was expanded to cover the outer boroughs.

To further improve London’s air quality, the city is also adding more “zero-emission” buses, offering free and discounted public transportation opportunities, expanding cycling networks and installing more EV charging infrastructure. The mayor has set a target for at least 80% of trips in the city to be made by walking, cycling or riding public transportation by 2041.

“Improving air quality through initiatives like the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London is crucial for protecting public health and reducing the burden of disease,” Dr. Maria Neira, director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a statement. “Cleaner air leads to healthier communities, lower rates of respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, and a better quality of life for all residents.”

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