Fossil Fuel Appliances Impact Air Quality More Than Power Plants; States Tackle Climate and Energy Challenges.

A new report from several nonprofits has found that fossil fuel-fired appliances in homes and businesses may have a bigger impact on air quality than all of the state’s power plants. Pennsylvania’s governor and climate-focused working group haven’t come to a public consensus on whether the state will remain in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, leaving its future unclear. Maine’s two investor-owned utilities have already spent over $29 million to beat down the public utility formation ballot initiative, and Vermont’s Vermont utility is asking state regulators to let it provide ratepayers with at-home batteries and to underground power lines to eliminate outages as it aims to impro grid reliability. New Jersey regulators grant almost $13 million to expand electric vehicle charging availability at hundreds of locations across the state. Rhode Island environmental reporter writes that the state’s fisheries and ocean-based tourism economy will suffer if southern New England’s coast continues to be among Earth’s fastest-warming marine waters.