Solutions
Accounting For Rural Energy Cost Burdens in Energy Affordability Policies
Authors: Jennifer Moon, PhD. and Arjun Makhijani, PhD. In conversations about energy affordability, the unique affordability challenges that rural communities face can be overlooked. Rural communities have lower median household income levels that make it harder to pay bills; are geographically isolated—creating challenges in energy delivery and access to assistance programs; and have higher rates…
Affording Our Energy Future: Perspectives to Power Change
Energy affordability has rocketed to the top of the American political agenda. At the gas station, filling up can easily cost over $50 per tank, and millions of people are barely scraping by after their monthly utility bills and rent/mortgage payments. But with all the attention, we have a unique opportunity to inform and influence…
One-Page Resource on Disparate Impact Changes
Disparate impact is a legal standard in federal civil rights law that allows policies that cause unequal harm to people to be challenged, even without proof of discriminatory intent. It was a key tool for challenging policies that disproportionately expose communities of color to pollution and climate risk, even without explicit discrimination. Because of changes…
Case Study: Oregon’s Hydrogen Public Notice Bill (SB 685)
The hydrogen blending controversy in Oregon first surfaced in West Eugene, where strong community outcry successfully halted a utility’s blending project. NW Natural, Oregon’s largest natural gas company, sought to begin blending hydrogen into residential pipelines in 2022. Soon after, residents in Southeast Portland discovered that NW Natural had begun blending hydrogen into their home…
Case Study: Door-to-Door Canvass in Northwest Indiana
Northwest Indiana has long been one of the most industrialized corridors in the country. The cities of East Chicago, Hammond, and Whiting, situated on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, are dominated by oil refineries, steel mills, and chemical plants. The BP Whiting Refinery, one of the largest in the U.S., anchors the area—bringing jobs,…
Case Study: Scattergood Generating Station – A Battle Over Hydrogen Greenwashing
The Scattergood Generating Station, located in Playa del Rey near Los Angeles International Airport, has become a defining case for understanding how fossil fuel industries are attempting to prolong the life of gas-fired power plants under the guise of “clean hydrogen.” The struggle around Scattergood illustrates both the power of grassroots environmental justice (EJ) advocacy…
Pathways For Action: Affording Our Clean Energy Future
Across the country, households are struggling to pay for mounting energy costs. From state to state, the costs of everything from mitigating wildfires to integrating new data centers loads are driving up utility bills. States now face an urgent need to address energy costs—and to do so in a lasting way that ensures long-term bill…
Community Solar: A Critical Tool for Energy Justice
Community solar projects can play a critical role in a just and equitable transition to cleaner electricity by allowing community members who could otherwise not install solar to participate in the renewable energy transition. Installing community solar has many benefits for community members as well as the grid. It can make a community’s energy system…
Adding Fuel to the Fire: How the Republican Spending Bill Guts Climate and Environmental Justice Programs and Compounds Harm to Communities Across the US
On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”: the massive spending bill that is expected to be the landmark legislative accomplishment of the first year of the President’s second term. The climate, environmental, and energy provisions of H.R. 1 are a concerted…
Know Your Rights During Disasters: FEMA & Immigration Enforcement
Recent changes in the federal government have renewed concerns and fears over potential immigration enforcement actions during disasters. This has raised questions among some community members about whether they should pursue emergency assistance during and following disasters. This document summarizes what we know now in a Q&A format about immigrant eligibility for emergency services. A…
