Reports

Report | Environment Texas Research & Policy Center

Danger in the Air

All Americans should be able to breathe clean air.  But pollution from power plants and vehicles puts the health of our nation’s children and families at risk.  Ground-level ozone, the main component of smog, is one of the most harmful and one of the most pervasive air pollutants.  According to the American Lung Association, nearly half of all Americans – 48 percent – still live in areas with unhealthy levels of smog pollution. 

Report | Environment Texas

Getting Off Oil: A 50-State Roadmap for Curbing Our Dependence on Petroleum

America’s dependence on oil inflicts a heavy toll on our environment. There are many technologies and policy tools, however, that can curb America’s dependence on oil.

Report | Environment Texas Research & Policy Center

Summer Gas Prices: Beating the Heat with Clean Cars

Rapidly rising gas prices across the country are shining a spotlight on the dire consequences of America’s dependence on oil. Our continued use of oil puts our environment, our health, and our national security at risk, and with prices across the country exceeding $4 per gallon, it is putting an incredible burden on our economy and on American families.

Report | Environment Texas

Citizen's Guide to Energy Efficiency

America’s homes are like cars that only get 10 miles to the gallon. Buildings consume 40 percent of America’s energy, and much of that energy is literally flying out the window rather than heating or cooling our homes and businesses. What’s worse, energy-wasting buildings are responsible for nearly half of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Report | Environment Texas

Dirty Energy's Assault on our Health: Ozone Pollution

Dirty energy pollutes the air we breathe, threatening our health and our environment.

When power plants burn coal, oil or gas, they create the ingredients for ground-level ozone pollution, one of the main components of “smog” pollution. Especially on hot summer days, across wide areas of the United States, ozone pollution reaches levels that are unhealthy to breathe, putting our lives at risk. In 2009, U.S. power plants emitted more than 1.9 million tons of ozone-forming nitrogen oxide pollution into the air.
In order to better protect public health, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should issue a new air quality standard to reduce ground-level ozone pollution. To achieve these reductions in pollution, the United States should increase pollution control technologies for power plants and accelerate the transition to clean electricity sources, including wind and solar power. In addition, the United States should reduce ozone-forming pollution from mobile sources.

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