Clean Cars

Electric buses coming soon to L.A.

The nation’s second-largest city took the lead on clean transit in July, when the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board of Directors voted to convert its entire fleet of buses to electric vehicles by 2030.

“For every compressed natural gas bus that we replace with a clean, electric bus, we save up to 170,000 pounds of carbon emissions each year,” said Environment California Research & Policy Center’s Michelle Kinman. “With more than 2,200 buses in operation, Metro can save more than 382 million pounds of carbon annually with a 100 percent electric bus fleet.”

The decision in favor of electric buses was a victory for Environment California Research & Policy Center, our members and our allies, and sends a clear signal to transit agencies across the country that Los Angeles is accelerating toward a clean energy future. Together, we convinced Metro to get on board with clean transit.

Clean Energy

One step closer to 100 percent renewable electricity

Environment California and our national network are pushing for 100 percent renewable energy across the country, and in May, we celebrated when the California Senate passed a bill that put the Golden State on the path to 100 percent clean, renewable electricity.

Senate Bill 100, authored by Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, would accelerate California’s current mandate to achieve 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2026, and would further establish that California generate 100 percent of its electricity from zero-carbon sources by 2045.

“We applaud Senator De León’s vision of a rapid, steady transition from the dirty electricity that has been polluting our environment and our communities for far too long, to clean, renewable electricity,” said Michelle Kinman, Environment California’s clean energy advocate. “Now more than ever, California must go big on clean, renewable energy and set a strong example for other states to follow.”

Litigation

Your support is bringing polluters to justice

Over the past 25 years, Environment California and our partners have found dozens of cases where companies have dumped illegal amounts of pollution into our air, rivers, bays and harbors.

In April, our sister group, Environment Texas, secured a $19.95 million penalty against ExxonMobil after filing an environmental “citizen suit” against the oil giant for violating the Clean Air Act on more than 16,000 days at its Baytown, Texas, petrochemical complex. A federal judge found that Exxon had profited to the tune of $14 million by delaying pollution control measures, and released more than 10 million pounds of illegal emissions into the air, including carcinogens and other toxic air pollutants.

Our lawsuits have resulted in more than $250 million in court-ordered penalties and pollution reduction actions. And with the Trump administration giving a free pass to polluting industries, we’re launching an Environmental Enforcement Initiative to hold polluters accountable. With support from our members, we’ll continue taking illegal polluters to task when they break the law.