February 2022 Alumni Update
In this update…
Public Interest Network program updates: Read about campaign work across the country.
Alumni news: Baby, new jobs and awards!
Public Interest Network program updates
Photo credit: Walmart via Flickr, CC Y+BY 2.0
‘Big, flat and panel-ready': Report identifies vast solar potential on superstore rooftops
Big roofs mean big potential for clean energy, and we've got the research to prove it. According to “Solar on Superstores,” a report released on Jan. 20 by Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group, the rooftops of big-box retail and grocery stores could generate enough electricity to power 8 million homes. That much solar power would cut global warming pollution by the equivalent of taking 11.3 million cars off the road. The report also identifies companies — Walmart, Target, The Home Depot — with vast solar potential and recommends ways to harness that potential. Environment America supporters have submitted 14,000 petition signatures urging Walmart to go solar. Read the report.
Photo credit: Steven Conry via Flickr, CC BY-2.0
Biden administration establishes long-term protections for Minnesota's Boundary Waters
A beloved wilderness area is now safe from toxic mining. On Jan. 26, the Biden administration canceled mining leases next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. This welcome move came after more than 17,000 Environment America supporters submitted public comments calling for protecting the special place, and hundreds of others – including alumni like Samantha Chadwick more recently and MPIRG organizers back in the 1970s – fought for this protection. The Boundary Waters is a million-acre environment where hundreds of miles of river and more than 1,000 lakes support a diverse ecosystem of iconic animals, such as otters and moose. For years, a company has sought to open a copper and nickel mine on the wilderness' doorstep. The Boundary Waters' interconnected waterways would have allowed toxic pollutants leaked from the mine to spread throughout the entire ecosystem. Read more.
Photo credit: Staff
New Jersey advances bee-saving protections
Bee-killing pesticides have driven bee populations down for decades. But not for much longer in New Jersey, where thousands of citizens succeeded in standing up for our best pollinators. On Jan. 10, the New Jersey Assembly passed legislation to restrict the use of a harmful class of bee-killing pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or “neonics.” As bee populations plummet across the country, restricting neonics is one key to saving these pollinators from extinction. That’s why, in the summer preceding this vote, Environment New Jersey canvassers went door to door gathering support for a bill that would restrict neonics in the Garden State. Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill into law on Jan. 18. Read more.
Photo credit: Picasa 3.0 via Flickr CC BY-2.0
Illinois PIRG coalition testifies in support of Right to Repair
Farmers, consumers and hospitals are joining together to call for one thing: the right to repair the things they own. On Jan. 6, the coalition urged an Illinois House committee to pass Right to Repair legislation to end repair restrictions that manufacturers place on products including cell phones and tractors. Right to Repair legislation would ensure the owners of these products can fix them on their own or through independent repair technicians, rather than being forced to rely on the manufacturer. Illinois households produce 429,000 tons of electronic waste per year, which adds toxic heavy metals like lead, mercury, and cadmium into state landfills. Illinois PIRG research has found that repair could save Illinois families $1.6 billion each year. Read more.
Alumni News
Averett
Baby!
Erin Steva and her family welcomed Averett into the world in October 2021.
Movers & Shakers
Matt Baker was appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom as director of the Public Advocates Office at the California Public Utilities Commission.
Carrie Cihak has a new role as the evidence and impact officer for King County in Seattle.
TJ Cawley won re-election last fall as Mayor of Morrisville, North Carolina, ranked the 10th best place to live in America by Money magazine.
Samantha Gibb has a new job as world oceans coordinator at The Ocean Project. Sam sends her thanks to Environment America Oceans Campaign Director Kelsey Lamp, who introduced her to Bill Mott at The Ocean Project, and is excited to collaborate with Kelsey and the Student PIRGs as she starts her outreach work.
Richard Kassel reports a major victory after a 20 year campaign he helped lead with NRDC. Last summer, the UN Environment Program announced it is no longer possible to buy a gallon of leaded gasoline anywhere in the world. Richard shares that the road to cleaner vehicles worldwide started on Temple Place in Boston, when Doug Phelps and Susan Burmingham first hired him at MASSPIRG. He is extremely grateful for the advocacy foundation that he first learned at MASSPIRG, U.S.PIRG, and NJPIRG (shoutout to Ken Ward!) in the early `80s.
Ken Kimmell has been appointed vice president of development for offshore wind at Avangrid Renewables.
Jim Leahy will be inducted this month into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame. Jim was a four year starting goalkeeper for the men’s soccer team at Brandeis in the ‘80s. While pursuing his advocacy profession, he went on to have a storied career coaching youth soccer, including coaching several of the teams his beloved late son Tommy played on. Read more here.
Alana Miller is the new Colorado climate and clean energy director at NRDC, working to reduce greenhouse gasses from utilities, transportation and buildings.
Dena Mottola is the new executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action.
Michelle Toering Sanders is taking on the role of acting director general of environmental policy at Transport Canada.
Winston Vaughan has been keeping busy with his work as the Massachusetts director for climate solutions at Healthcare Without Harm as well as advising local and state candidate campaigns on their climate solutions platforms.
Daniel Vice has a new role as assistant general counsel at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
