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Even as gas prices continued to rise across the United States, sales of electric vehicles fell in April. That is in contrast to strong growth elsewhere in the world, such as Europe. But American drivers are gravitating toward at least one more efficient powertrain: hybrids. 

Sales of new EVs fell roughly 18 percent from March to April, according to the latest data from Edmunds, an auto research firm. Another company, Cox Automotive, pegged the drop at closer to 6 percent. Either way, experts said it’s clear that high gas prices aren’t leading to a significant shift toward EVs. 

“There was a lot of window shopping,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, noting that searches for electrified vehicles on the company’s site were strong. “It did not translate to tire-kicking and purchases.” 

Price remains the steepest barrier for most people, said Drury. While electric vehicles can be less expensive to operate over the long-term — especially when gas prices are high — the upfront costs remain significant. The average transaction price for an EV in April was $6,214 higher than for vehicles with internal combustion engines, Cox reported.

“It’s still a cost hurdle,” said Stephanie Brinley, a principal automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility. “You don’t know how long it’s going to take to get that back.” 

At Thursday’s average gas price of $4.56 per gallon, an EV buyer would have to drive more than 40,000 miles to make up the difference with a car that gets 30 mpg. Savings on maintenance, like oil changes, could accelerate that timeline, but factors such as higher insurance prices and having to install a home charger could make the payback period even longer. If fuel prices fall, the advantage of an EV also shrinks. 

“It’s very difficult for people to wrap their head around, ‘Hey, if I spend this $55,000, I might over time save’,” said Drury. “It requires a bit more math than most people want to go through.” 

The calculus is much simpler for hybrid vehicles, which utilize batteries that can improve fuel economy by 25 to 45 percent without needing to plug in. A Honda CR-V, for example, gets around 29 mpg while the hybrid version gets 37. More and more popular models are only available as hybrids, a strategy that Toyota has perhaps embraced most notably. Last year, it ditched the gas-only version of the Camry sedan. The 2026 RAV4 followed suit.

Overall, Edmunds data shows that sales of hybrids are up 20 percent year-over-year and nearly 50 percent since February, when the U.S.-Iran conflict began. Sales of gas-powered gas are up about 11 percent over those same two months. 

“I think this is going to be a hybrid moment,” said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive. “There are a lot of options.”

Used EVs provided another somewhat bright spot, she said. The segment saw a 3 percent increase in sales from March to April and a price premium of only $1,096 over used internal combustion vehicles. Used EVs also sold faster than their used gas-powered counterparts. “They’re really selling efficiently,” said Valdez Streaty, who added that there should be a glut of EVs available throughout the year as leases end. “I don’t think the inventory will be an issue.”

With Iran maintaining its hold over the Strait of Hormuz and summer travel season looming, gas prices appear set to keep climbing — which would only make an EV more appealing. Other parts of the world have seen significant jumps in sales since the conflict began, with Europe experiencing a surge and China setting an export record in April, according to BloombergNEF. 

In the United States, though, it seems that only people already in the market for EVs are making the leap. “Edge-case people,” as Brinley called them. Dramatic pump readings “might nudge them because they were already in that direction,” she said. “But what we’re unlikely to see is a shift in current [internal combustion car] owners just fundamentally making that change simply because of gas prices.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Why hybrids — not EVs — are winning over US consumers on May 22, 2026.

About six years ago, law students at the University of the South Pacific convinced the government of the small island nation of Vanuatu to take the harms wrought by climate change all the way to the International Court of Justice, the world’s highest legal authority. Vanuatu, along with the students, waged a campaign to convince the court that climate change was a human rights issue and that countries have a legal duty to protect the planet for future generations. In 2025, the court sided with them unanimously. In a legally nonbinding advisory opinion, it ruled that the failure of countries to tackle climate change is a “wrongful act” and that other nations harmed by a warming planet may seek reparations. 

Now, the effort has notched another win. On Wednesday, an overwhelming majority of countries in the United Nations voted to adopt a resolution backing the court’s ruling. The historic decision signals the political support behind the court’s finding that countries have a legal responsibility to address climate change, reduce its impact, and offer reparations to those it has harmed. More than 140 countries voted in favor of the resolution. Just eight  — including the United States, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Russia — voted against (28 countries abstained from the vote).

“This must be a turning point in accountability for damaging the climate,” said Vishal Prasad, director of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change and one of the law students who campaigned to take the case to the International Court of Justice, or ICJ. “The journey of this idea from classrooms in the Pacific to The Hague and the United Nations gives us continued hope that when people organize, the world can be moved to act.”

The near-unanimous decision is a strong signal that multilateral cooperation on climate change has not completely unraveled. Over the past year, global unity on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has proven shaky. After Donald Trump’s administration announced it would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the United States has actively opposed climate action. Last year, it derailed countries that were close to setting a carbon tax on the shipping industry, which is responsible for about 3 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. A deal to regulate the industry’s emissions now seems uncertain. The U.S. has also helped kill a cap on plastics production and berated the International Energy Agency into projecting future energy demand under a scenario that climate action will stall out. 

“The unity and clarity expressed by the vote was striking,” said Nikki Reisch, director of the Center for International Environmental Law’s climate and energy program. Reisch said the resolution puts “political weight behind legal norms” and will help translate the international court’s conclusions into practical action. “It will become another pillar and proof of political backing for action and accountability.”

The Trump administration also mounted a campaign to block the United Nations from adopting the landmark international court ruling. In February, the State Department sent a missive to all consulates and embassies noting that it “strongly opposed” the U.N. resolution and that its adoption “could pose a major threat to U.S. industry.” In remarks ahead of the vote, Tammy Bruce, a former conservative radio host and now deputy representative to the U.N. in New York, said that the resolution is “problematic” and that “the United States continues to have serious legal and policy concerns” about it. 

“The resolution singles out certain groups for preferential treatment and makes alarmist political statements, such as the idea that climate change is an unprecedented challenge of civilizational proportions,” Bruce said. “Such hyperbolic statements are not appropriate in a resolution on an ICJ advisory opinion.” 

Tammy Bruce, deputy representative of the United States to the U.N. in New York, said the resolution is “problematic” and “makes alarmist political statements.” John Lamparski / Getty Images

The resolution reiterates the International Court of Justice’s core findings and calls on countries to implement measures to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) while transitioning away from fossil fuels. It also affirms that nations must fulfill their climate obligations and that those countries harmed by others’ inaction are entitled to seek redress. Finally, the resolution calls on the United Nations’ secretary-general to submit a report next year on ways to comply with the international court’s findings. The resolution, like most U.N. resolutions, is not legally binding; rather, it’s intended to signal political priorities or views.

The U.N. vote comes as countries are cracking down on climate activism and litigation. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the government moved to amend climate laws to limit civil court proceedings against major greenhouse gas emitters for climate-related harm. 

Māori climate advocate Mike Smith is among those whose cases could be affected. Recent reports have found that land theft and colonization have exacerbated the effects of climate change on the Indigenous Māori people, who are more likely to be affected by extreme weather events. Smith is currently pursuing high court proceedings against six of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, and he describes the U.N. vote as a “major shift,” arguing it reflects a changing understanding of climate change not just as environmental damage, but as something with legal consequences. 

“We know as Māori that the islands are part of our journey across the Pacific that’s led us here to Aotearoa,” he said. “New Zealand has a responsibility to stand with Pacific countries like Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tonga, and Tokelau. Not just symbolically, but in supporting stronger legal and international action on climate harm.” 

Although the U.N. vote is a victory for Indigenous activists from the Pacific and beyond, they believe that many countries still must be pushed to uphold their climate obligations. 

“The law is clear that climate action cannot sit on the shelf, it must be turned into action,” Prasad said.

The Indigenous News Alliance contributed reporting to this story.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline In a rare show of global unity, countries adopt landmark climate ruling on May 22, 2026.

Good Food For All!, a European Citizens’ Initiative supported by a coalition of more than 300 civil society organisations across Europe, including ARC2020, is making important strides in amplifying the messages of the food sovereignty and agroecology movements. But the battle for hearts, minds and policies is still far from won.

Despite three decades of COP climate talks and a boom in renewables, global emissions continue to rise, rooted in capitalism’s relentless drive to expand energy use. Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations helps explain why renewable energy has grown without pushing fossil fuels out.

Nearly 60 countries launch coalition to accelerate the energy transition against the backdrop of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Solutions Enhance Grid Flexibility, Accommodate Energy Demand, and Lower Costs for Consumers

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced over $6 million has been awarded to seven projects to advance technologies that can help integrate electric vehicles efficiently into New York’s electric grid. Through the State’s Vehicle Grid Integration Program, the awarded projects will advance solutions to enhance grid flexibility, shift charging to accommodate energy demand, and lower charging costs for consumers.

NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “NYSERDA is proud to partner with forward-thinking companies that are pushing the boundaries of vehicle-to-grid innovation and demonstrating new ways to manage and deliver energy more intelligently. Advancing these technologies will help unlock greater value from electric vehicles, support a more flexible energy system, and create new opportunities to modernize how power is shared and utilized across the state.”

NYSERDA’s Vehicle Grid Integration Program competitively awards projects that are scalable and advance electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure through product development, technology demonstrations, or new business models. Technologies include bi-directional charging, energy storage, on-site energy generation, and EV managed charging.

The awarded projects include:

• Bringing V2G Technology to New York Refuse Trucks: More than $1.6 million was awarded to Roundtrip EV Solutions to demonstrate bi-directional, fast charging in four refuse trucks for two municipal fleets in Ulster County.
• Gravity VGI Platform: Nearly $1 million was awarded to Gravity to develop a bidirectional Vehicle Grid Integration (VGI) platform to reduce EV charging station installation costs and balance energy by allowing EVs to feed power back to buildings in Manhattan.
• Integrating Refrigerated Trailers and Thermal Storage into NY Power Grid: Nearly $1 million was awarded to Energy One to develop and demonstrate a platform that integrates electric refrigerated trailers (eTRUs) with building-based thermal energy storage at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in Brooklyn.
• Joint Planning of Charging Networks and Power Grids for Diverse EV Integration: More than $700,000 was awarded to New York University to develop a comprehensive EV planning software tool for utility stakeholders to address gaps in EV charging infrastructure deployment and power grid upgrade planning in New York City.
• Optiwatt Long Island EV – VGI Transformer Protection Demonstration: More than $600,000 was awarded to Optiwatt for demonstration projects on Long Island where customers can use an active EV managed charging platform that balances energy loads.
• Pvilion’s Solar Powered Integrated Structures (SPIS): $500,000 was awarded to Pvilion to demonstrate a portable, solar-powered off-road EV charging solution using its Solar Power Integrated Structure (SPIS) with electric construction equipment at Westchester Tool Rentals in Peekskill and with electric farm equipment at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Manufacturing Innovation Learning Laboratory in Troy.
• Wireless Static and Dynamic EV Charging Project: $1 million was awarded to Electreon Wireless to demonstrate wireless charging for electric shuttle vans that reduce grid interconnection costs, lower peak energy demand, and improve fleet operating efficiency in Buffalo. 

New York State Senator Kevin Parker said, “New York is proving that the transition to clean transportation is not just about putting more electric vehicles on the road it’s about building a smarter, stronger, and more affordable energy system for the future. Through the sustained leadership of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, which I am proud to chair, we have helped advance the policy framework and innovation agenda that made investments like these possible. By prioritizing vehicle-grid integration, supporting emerging technologies, and ensuring New York remains at the forefront of clean energy deployment, we are delivering real solutions that lower costs for consumers, strengthen grid reliability, and accelerate our progress toward a more resilient and equitable energy future. From Brooklyn to Buffalo, these projects reflect what is possible when government, industry, and research institutions work together to turn bold climate goals into practical action for working families across the state.”

New York State Assemblymember William Magnarelli said, “I am pleased to see these funds being allocated to build our electric vehicle infrastructure. These projects are important to making the electric vehicle transition affordable and practical.”

Alliance for Transportation Electrification Executive Director Philip B. Jones said, “Across the country, we are achieving much greater scale in EV adoption and infrastructure as consumers prefer to purchase EVs as a superior technology. Vehicle grid integration solutions can unlock more savings for all at this greater scale. I am delighted that these innovative programs have been recognized by NYSERDA and that they can move forward now.”

Vehicle Grid Integration Council (VGIC) Executive Director Zach Woogen said, “New York continues to demonstrate national leadership in vehicle-grid integration by supporting innovative projects that move these technologies from concept to real-world deployment. Investments in managed charging platforms, bidirectional charging solutions, and charger-paired distributed energy resources help unlock EVs as a critical grid resource. These solutions enhance system reliability, community resilience, grid utilization, and energy affordability for all users of the electric grid, not just EV drivers.”

New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) Consortium Executive Director Dr. William Acker said, “The efficient integration of electrified transportation with the electric grid creates an opportunity to improve reliability and affordability.  NY-BEST applauds NYSERDA’s vehicle grid integration program which is advancing key technologies like bi-directional charging and the use of energy storage to improve grid utilization and flexibility, directly impacting ratepayer cost.”

Today’s announcement builds on New York State’s investments in technologies, new products, and solutions to address energy costs and demand and support a reliable electric grid. NYSERDA invests over $96 million per year through its innovation and research programs to attract world class energy innovators, reduce risk for private investors, and remove barriers to clean energy adoption in New York State, leveraging $15 in additional investment for every $1 spent. NYSERDA has partnered with over 900 companies that have helped make more than 300 products commercially available for consumers, businesses, and utilities.

Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State is investing nearly $3 billion in zero-emission vehicles and expanding access to clean transportation to benefit all New Yorkers, including those in low-income or disadvantaged communities. In addition to the Drive Clean Rebate Program other state initiatives include the EV Make Ready, Charge Ready 2.0, EVolve NY, the New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program (NYTVIP), the New York School Bus Incentive Program and the Direct Current Fast Charger Program.

Funding for this initiative is through the Clean Energy Fund (CEF).

New York State’s Climate Agenda
New York State’s climate agenda calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments, and directs a minimum of 35 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation and waste sectors.

NYSERDA
Since 1975, NYSERDA has been working to advance New York’s energy system and economy. As a public benefit corporation, NYSERDA has served as an objective source for information and technical expertise to drive innovation and investment. NYSERDA professionals have worked to protect the environment and help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, save money, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. To learn more about NYSERDA’s programs and funding opportunities, visit nyserda.ny.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram. 

Rebecca Jane Morgan’s account of the fight for legal recognition for trans people in the UK offers a valuable resource to contemporary activists, writes Kit Heyam

The post Deviants and trailblazers – review appeared first on Red Pepper.

Like many Yemeni farmers, Salem Abdallah first bought solar panels to power a well pump to irrigate his fruit and vegetable crops. Now, he has a new use for the surplus electricity they generate – a Chinese-made electric pickup truck.

“The roads between villages are rough and my farms aren’t all in one place, so the power and height give me a real advantage,” the 60-year-old told Climate Home News as he charged his plug-in hybrid Geely Riddara in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, where nearly a dozen charging stations have sprung up in the last two years.

Prices for Abdallah’s Riddara model run from $25,000 to $40,000 – out of reach for all but a few in the impoverished country, where more than a decade of civil war has shattered the economy and made fuel supplies unaffordable for many.

The conflict has also taken a heavy toll on the national grid, which only 12% of Yemenis rely on for electricity, according to the World Bank. 

Many homes and businesses have instead installed off-grid solar systems to confront frequent blackouts and patchy coverage in rural areas, and this improbable solar boom has caught the attention of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brands.

Solar boom stirs Chinese interest

China’s BYD, Geely and Jetour have opened dealerships in Yemen in recent years, betting that enthusiastic solar uptake, coupled with high fuel prices and shortages, will lead to rapid growth in the nation’s small and incipient EV market, at least among those able to afford the initial outlay.

At the other end of the scale, electric two-wheelers are also starting to make inroads in Yemen among delivery services and salaried employees.

Mohammed Ali, 25, an accountant at an exchange office in Sanaa, said the $1,050 he spent on a Chinese-made electric motorcycle was “the best decision I ever made”.

“I charge my electric motorcycle at work and it saves me transportation expenses and time,” he said.

• May 20, 2026 Energy Electric car sales race ahead in SE Asia and Latin America amid oil supply crisis The energy squeeze caused by the Iran war is making the economics of electric cars more attractive, the International Energy Agency says Read more
• Nov 3, 2025 Clean Energy Frontier Self-taught mechanics give second life to Jordan’s glut of spent EV batteries As EV sales boom in Jordan, a lack of formal infrastructure for dealing with end-of-life batteries is leading to some innovative solutions Read more
• Apr 2, 2026 News Nepal’s EV revolution pays off as oil crisis causes pain at the pumps Import subsidies, abundant hydropower and charging investments have spurred EV adoption, with electric vehicles now making up about three-quarters of new car sales Read more

But even as the global energy shock caused by the Iran war spurs the shift to electric transport in some lower-income countries, buying an EV still remains an impossible dream for most of Yemen’s 40 million people, said Mustafa Nasr, head of the Yemen-based Centre for Economic Studies and Media.

“Most Yemenis can barely secure their basic needs,” Nasr said.

Shrinking incomes, rising prices

Yemen has been gripped by civil war since 2014, plunging it into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. 

Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is projected to fall to about $384 this year, according to estimates from the International Monetary Fund – less than a quarter of what it was when the war began.

At the same time, petrol and diesel for transport and to power generators have become increasingly out of reach. A litre of petrol in Sanaa costs the equivalent of $0.94 – close to what many Yemenis earn in a day.

A billboard advertising electric car and truck models over a large avenue in Sanaa, Yemen (Photo: Hashed Mozqer) Charging stations spring up

But for those able to buy them, EVs are proving a revolutionary solution to Yemen’s road transport woes. Sustained fuel price rises and solar adoption could push a gradual widening of the market, particularly if EV and battery prices continue to fall, Nasr said. 

For large-scale farmers like Abdallah who already own solar installations generating between 60 and 80 kilowatts, built to run irrigation systems, charging an EV at night is a no-brainer.

EVs started appearing on the streets of Sanaa and the southern port city of Aden in late 2024, when the first charging point was installed by Al-Raebi Company, which holds the concession to build charging infrastructure in Sanaa and several other provinces and also sells electric Farizon trucks and Riddara pickups.

Al-Raebi’s sales manager, engineer Mundhar al-Farran, said the company has sold hundreds of electric vehicles this year to farmers, traders and institutions. Like Abdallah, many of them say EVs’ simpler construction reduces breakdowns, while the immediate torque of electric motors suits Yemen’s mountainous terrain, he said.

Riddara plug-in hybrid vehicles for sale at the Al Raebi car agency in the Jadr neighbourhood in Sanaa, Yemen (Photo: Hashed Mozqer)

There are now 11 charging stations in Sanaa, and one each in Aden, Dhamar, Ibb and Hodeidah. On long inter-provincial routes there is one station per corridor, al-Farran said.

The price per kilowatt at a public charging station is 120 Yemeni rials ($0.22). According to economic expert Ali al-Tuwaiti, this translates to a per-kilometre cost of about 18 rials for an EV – two and a half times less than for a fuel-efficient petrol car.

“The absence of charging infrastructure was the biggest obstacle at the start,” al-Tuwaiti said. “Al-Raebi’s initiative was the first turning point in this sector.”

Al-Raebi is also working to bring fuel station operators into the transition, offering to cover half the cost of installing solar-powered charging equipment and financing the rest, al-Farran said.

Solar power backbone

Such efforts seek to leverage the country’s investments in solar generation. Over recent years, the country has imported solar systems totalling more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity, representing an estimated investment of about $250 million, al-Tuwaiti said.

That accounts for almost a quarter of Yemen’s current electricity needs of 4,500 megawatts, he added.

It has also given an unexpected boost to the climate-vulnerable country’s efforts to further shrink its tiny carbon emissions. Al-Tuwaiti estimates that solar generation now displaces the equivalent of 7,800 barrels of oil and more than 1.2 million litres of diesel per day.

Recent estimates show Yemen contributes only around 0.03%-0.06% of global emissions, with most energy-related emissions coming from transport and power generation.

Chinese electric trucks in the Farizon showroom at the Al Raebi car agency in Sanaa, Yemen (Photo: Hashed Mozqer) China’s BYD starts with hybrids

Yemen’s nascent EV market comes amid faster-than-expected transport electrification in some emerging countries, where Chinese manufacturers are seeking to attract buyers with lower prices in markets seen as having unlocked potential.

China’s EV giant BYD mostly sales hybrid models at its dealership in Aden for now, but it also offers repayment plans for its popular battery electric Seagull car model, which retails for about $13,000. 

The dealer also sells several other models that are available as plug-in hybrids, which tend to be popular in places with limited charging infrastructure and erratic power supplies.

One recent buyer, food trader Amin, 50, paid $50,000 for his new BYD model.

“It’s powerful, has four-wheel drive, and a better launch than modern conventional cars,” he told Climate Home News outside his home, adding that the air conditioning runs efficiently even when stationary – a serious consideration in Aden’s sometimes sweltering heat.

“It’s wonderful … it has all that I want in a car,” he said.

This story was published in collaboration with Egab. 

The post Chinese EV brands woo Yemen’s wealthy elite as war prompts solar boom appeared first on Climate Home News.

Climate defeatism and moral abdication Channel Comment brendan 22nd May 2026 Teaser Media

• In the short term, U.S. fossil fuel companies are the biggest winners from President Trump’s war on Iran, thanks to higher and higher fuel prices. In the long run, though, more countries will pursue energy independence with help from China, spelling the end for American hegemony, much like the coal-driven British empire a century ago. (The Guardian)
• Mother Jones shows once again why suspending the federal gas tax wouldn’t help drivers much, but would blow a huge hole in transportation funding.
• The president of Amtrak, Roger Harris, is stepping down at the end of July. (Trains)
• How did 15-minute cities become the latest right-wing conspiracy theory? (Car Free America)
• As far as raw totals, California has the most pedestrian deaths in the country, mostly because of L.A. (Los Angeles Magazine)
• Drivers hit an astonishing 21 pedestrians on Knoxville’s North Broadway last year, but the city is planning changes. (News Sentinel)
• Transit ridership in Pittsburgh rose 50 percent for the NFL Draft, totaling more than 400,000 riders over three days. (Axios)
• Orlando is raising parking rates, which of course is freaking out business owners who don’t consider that if parking is too cheap, their customers won’t be able to find a space. (Click Orlando)
• A lot of disinformation is also going around about the Colfax Avenue bus rapid transit line in Denver and its supposedly “devastating” impact on businesses. (Westword)
• Dallas is considering expanding streetcar lines, but some council members have concerns about the cost. (KERA)
• Legal and political challenges continue to slow down Austin’s Project Connect transit plan, and meanwhile costs continue to rise. (Texas Tribune)
• The Texas DOT will not let Austin keep a Black Lives Matter mural or a rainbow crosswalk, not even a crosswalk honoring the University of Texas. (KUT)
• Portland’s $1 billion climate change fund — which has funded converting parking lots into community gardens, among other things — could serve as an example to the rest of the country. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• The Central City District in Philadelphia installed modular curbs to protect bike lanes on 13th Street. (Voice)
• Construction on Salt Lake City’s S-line streetcar extension will start this summer. (ABC 4)
• The Kansas City streetcar’s Riverfront extension will make it easier for soccer fans to get to Current games. (Star)
• The District of Columbia is a great place to go running. (Greater Greater Washington)

The shutdown of Spirit Airlines didn’t just ground flights. It exposed a deeper weakness in America’s transportation system: tens of millions of people rely on affordable travel, and we still don’t provide enough of it.

For students, workers, and families, low-cost travel isn’t a luxury. It is what keeps them connected to education, jobs, loved ones, and opportunity. When a carrier built around affordability disappears, the impact lands hardest on those with the fewest alternatives.

The lesson from the Spirit demise isn’t that affordable travel is fragile. It’s that we have not built a system designed to reliably support it.

Affordable travel is still too often treated as a compromise, rather than a core part of broader mobility.

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Maintaining affordability requires intentional design. Transportation modes must work together to increase competition and expand access. That means treating air travel, intercity buses, trains, and local transit as parts of a single mobility network rather than separate systems operating in parallel. When these intermodal connections are seamless for travelers, they expand options and protect freedom of choice. When they do not, the system effectively shrinks.

The gaps are most visible in how uneven and fragmented those connections are across the country. Outside major hubs, travelers often rely on whichever mode exists — not necessarily the one that best fits their needs. Some regions have limited air service. Others lack rail. And in too many places, moving between modes adds friction, cost, or uncertainty that discourages travel altogether.

This comes at a time when transportation costs are rising across the board, making low-cost options more essential, not less.

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Ground transportation is one of the most scalable ways to close that gap. Intercity buses already connect communities airlines have left behind, linking small towns to major cities year-round at prices that remain accessible even as airfares rise. But their impact is limited when they operate in isolation.

Improving affordability is not just about the availability of service. It’s about whether people are able to easily access it.

We need multimodal hubs where buses, trains, airports, and local transit connect in simple, intuitive ways. We need collaboration to create more stations that are safe, modern, and conveniently located. And we need transportation planning that treats intercity buses and other ground options as essential infrastructure and part of the transportation ecosystem, not an afterthought.

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The economic stakes are real. Transportation costs have risen sharply, and many households no longer have room to absorb higher prices.

For millions of Americans, the choice is not between a cheaper seat and a more comfortable one; it is between traveling and not traveling at all. When lower-cost options disappear, participation in work, education, and family life becomes harder to sustain.

A resilient mobility system does not depend on any single mode. It depends on multiple affordable options that reinforce one another. That is how access to opportunity becomes less dependent on income or geography.

The shutdown of Spirit Airlines is a reminder that affordability is not a niche concern. It is central to how Americans move through their lives, and it underscores the need for a transportation system built as a connected intermodal network rather than a set of isolated parts. Affordable travel is not a fallback. It is what makes broad mobility possible.

Diversity Makes America Great.

Thousands of potentially unsafe, addictive, and cancer-linked chemicals have been introduced into the nation’s food supply through “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) pathway loopholes including voluntary notification. This allows food and chemical companies to self-determine the safety of food chemicals without premarket review by the Food and Drug Administration. Of the 756 voluntary GRAS notifications submitted to the FDA since 2000, just 10 chemicals underwent federal review. Yet, experts estimate that hundreds of other additives entered the food supply without federal notice.

As federal inaction continues, nurses and communities across the country are pushing for regulation and oversight. These grassroots movements have led to twenty-eight states introducing or passing bills banning cancer-linked food chemicals including Red 3, potassium bromate, and propylparaben.

Pressure is mounting on federal legislators to act. Recently, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing to review legislative proposals for food chemical regulation and oversight. Witnesses and lawmakers raised concern that FDA lacks sufficient staffing, funding, and authority to evaluate chemical harms and emerging risk factors. However, proposed legislation like the FDA Review and Evaluation for Safe, Healthy, and Affordable Foods (FRESH) Act of 2026 aims to correct the issue by limiting states’ ability to act and further undermining FDA’s premarket review authority. 

This continued and rampant addition of unvetted chemicals to the food supply directly harms our community’s health. The burden falls on those already facing higher health risks and deepens inequities that nurses confront every day. That is why nurses are urging Congress to strengthen FDA’s oversight of food chemicals and support clear, science-based safeguards that translate into healthier outcomes in the communities they serve.

Author

Short-form

Hailey Kufner, RN, is a critical care nurse and student at the University of Maryland. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metro area, with her partner, three cats, a school of fish, and an extensive plant collection.

Long-form

Hailey Kufner is a registered nurse and student at the University of Maryland. Her diverse professional background spans public health, marketing and communications, and critical care nursing.

She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metro area, with her partner, three cats, a school of fish, and an extensive plant collection. In her free time, Hailey enjoys exploring the many natural hiking and biking trails the region has to offer.

The post House Committee on Energy and Commerce Health Hearing: Healthier America: Legislative Proposals on the Regulation and Oversight of Food appeared first on ANHE.

06-04 * 13:00 - Security Webinar (Bea)

05-28 * 13:00 - Meeting of collaborating networks 2027 gathering RD (Bea)

Nestled between the welcome warmth of early spring and the lurking heat of summer, the second week of April is by far my favorite time of the year. Along with the ramp-up of spring migration, this...

APEN’s Youth Leaders in Richmond have been at the forefront of our campaigns – protesting, gathering signatures, and giving testimony at city council meetings.

Audrey Min Thiphakhinkeo Paun is a vocal youth leader who has been heavily involved in the community input process to hold Chevron accountable to its Polluters Pay campaign promises. 

Today we hear from Min directly about the connections she’s making between the media, her experience with APEN, and her family’s history. 

Have you seen Pixar’s most recent release, Hoppers? It’s about environmental justice and some APEN Youth Leaders and I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the work we do in Richmond and the themes of the movie.

The main character is Mabel. She’s an Asian American kid who develops a deep appreciation for nature through her grandmother. When the glen and stream she shared with her grandma is threatened by developers, Mabel tries to organize to fight back.

Mabel is characterized by everyone in the town as a troublemaker. But really she’s a passionate activist who keeps fighting to protect the environment! Like Mabel, APEN Youth Leaders like me know what it is like to organize to protect your city from harm.

In Richmond we organize against Big Oil. We rally outside Chevron’s gates to demand a Just Transition away from fossil fuels. Like Mabel, we’re not troublemakers. We’re changemakers!

Mabel spends time trying to get signatures for a petition, in efforts to stop the city from building an illegal and environmentally devastating beltway. But she gets rejected at every turn.

APEN Youth Leaders have experienced this when we canvass, too. We face immediate rejections and often more failures than successes. 

 It might take longer to convince people in our community but we’ve realized it’s important that we do not give up: change takes time and work! 

Another similarity between us and Mabel is that she repeatedly holds the mayor of her town accountable for his illegal and harmful infrastructure project.

We know what it is like to hold local elected officials responsible. 

APEN Youth Leaders have given testimony at key council meetings and rallied outside of city hall to demand change.

Last year, a grassroots coalition in Richmond that we are a part of, fought and won the Polluters Pay campaign. This win ensured that Chevron invested $550 million back into Richmond! Now, it’s time to deliver on the promise of the Polluters Pay campaign for the people of Richmond.

We want to make sure that these funds are invested back into the community.With these new resources, we can fund essential services and infrastructure – like safe, walkable streets, bike lanes, public hospitals, and neighborhood parks. 

We can invest in our local economy, reduce our dependence on Chevron, and plan for a Just Transition. The families and workers who have been most impacted by Chevron’s pollution must have a real voice in deciding how the funds are spent.

As changemakers, all of us Youth Leaders in Richmond are taking time to learn about the war in Iran and how it relates to environmental justice.

Right now, the U.S and Israel are spending billions of our tax dollars to terrorize the people of Iran, Lebanon and Palestine.

My mom immigrated to Richmond from Laos because of the Secret War, an often overlooked conflict during the Vietnam War.

During that time, the U.S. dropped 270 million bombs on a country about the size of California, making Laos the most heavily bombed nation in history.

As Asian immigrants and refugees, our families know devastating war and imperialism can be. 

That’s why I’m dedicated to learn and fight alongside my fellow youth leaders. 

APEN Youth Leaders are going to continue to do the work, hold electeds accountable, and live up to our responsibilities as change makers. 

I hope you’ll donate today so we can reach our spring campaign fundraising goal. You can help resource the work APEN is doing in LA, Oakland Chinatown, and of course, Richmond. 

You can join the change makers! Give today!

The post What’s next for APEN Youth Leaders? appeared first on Asian Pacific Environmental Network.

Radical Democracy & Autonomy series * Volume 1: Radical Democracy: recovering the roots of self-governance & autonomy

by Peter Baye

published in the July & September, 2017 issues of The Calypso, newsletter of the
Dorothy King Young Chapter of the California Native Plant Society
reprinted with permission

Part 1 – Wigeongrass and Sago pondweed

Last April (2017), our local public radio station (KZYX) ran an excellent “Ecology Hour” program interviewing world-renowned oceanographer John Largier from University of California, Davis Bodega Marine Lab. Marginal to the discussion of the physical processes that influence the Mendocino Coast river estuaries was a reference by some callers and hosts, to “algae” in the river.

That was an unintended cue for this botanical gem column on the trio of native submerged aquatic vascular plants that variably dominate our estuarine rivers. They are not algae themselves, but can become covered by algae at some stages, and at a distance, are mistakenly identified as nuisance algal blooms. Nothing could be farther from the truth, since native submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds are the standard of high estuarine habitat quality sought all over the world – qualifying as both ecological and botanical gems. But aquatic plants species, especially submersed species that complete their life-cycles under water, are also out of sight and thus out of mind for many observers. They are thus easily mistaken, by prejudice, for algae when visible at the water surface. That prejudice can lead to misguided demands for getting rid of falsely perceived “nuisance” algae.

So before we have to defend our pristine native SAV beds, let’s introduce two of a trio of revered dominant underwater plant species that cohabit Mendocino Coast river estuaries: wigeongrass, Ruppia cirrhosa and sago pondweed, Stuckenia pectinata (syn. Potamogeton pectinatus). The linear-leaved eelgrass, Zostera marina is the third species and it will be discussed in the Sept-Oct, 2017 issue of the Calypso. [below] Thick beds of wigeongrass, Ruppia cirrhosa, mantle upstream brackish reaches of the fully tidal Albion River estuary. Long frond- like shoots sway back and forth with each ebb and flood tide. July 1, 2017

WIGEONGRASS, Ruppia cirrhosa, is the most widespread and abundant of Mendocino’s estuarine SAV species: it occurs in every estuary, whether fully tidal or summer lagoon, in DKY’s [Dorothy King Young Chapter of the California Native Plant Society] territory. In some rivers, like Navarro, Albion and Big Rivers, it extends for miles. That fact makes it all the more astonishing that the genus doesn’t even appear in the Mendocino Flora (Smith & Wheeler 1992), and there are no reported herbarium or checklist records of it from Mendocino in the Consortium of California Herbaria or Calflora databases! There isn’t even a record of its close relative (even a synonym in some taxonomic treatments of Ruppia), R. maritima. “Underrepresented” is an understatement for this botanical omission – the estuarine equivalent of omitting redwoods from the Mendocino flora.

Emergent erect spike of Ruppia cirrhosa, on still water of Navarro River lagoon. July 18 2013

Our estuarine riverbed wigeongrass consistently produces long, wiry coiled peduncles, which is the diagnostic characteristic for Ruppia cirrhosa. R. maritima is the typical wigeongrass in salt marsh pools worldwide, which are shallow, warm, and more saline than seawater. Contrary to some descriptions of Ruppia, the male inflorescences of our R. cirrhosa often form erect spikes that emerge above the water surface, and release masses of pollen that make a whitish film on the water that winds can blow into piles of decaying scum in late summer.

Ruppia cirrhosa mats drape over limbs of downed alders as the Navarro River lagoon draws down in summer. July 18, 2013

Wigeongrass is a stealthy plant: when it grows underwater, it is barely detectable. When the fronds reach just below the water surface, they branch and proliferate, and drag on the water surface, heralding themselves by flat water surface areas, outlined by wind-waves and ripples around them where there is no wigeongrass. Finally, the fine linear leafy branches expand into floating mats that completely cover the water surface. Ducks and geese push through the floating mats as they feed on the leaves and invertebrates that live in them, leaving trails. Steelhead jump all around the food-rich wigeongrass canopies at dusk and stickleback move in abundance under the canopies themselves. During heat waves, stickleback fish kills occur when the dense tangled floating mat interior overheats, and stickleback can’t escape in time.

Sandpipers foraging on a thick floating Ruppia cirrhosa mat on the lagoon of Navarro River. August 6, 2016

Wigeongrass grows from perennial rhizomes, but it also colonizes new substrate very rapidly by seed and by vegetative propagules. Unlike eelgrass and sago pondweed, it regularly colonizes gravel estuarine river beds like an annual, apparently from seed. In late summer, it spreads over sandy bottoms near the river mouth by creeping rhizomes and stolons, forming prostrate turf across the bed, which later develops vertical shoots. It even can form unusual short zig-zag lateral branches with pre-formed short anchor roots, which readily detach, disperse and sink to the bed as instant, ready-to-grow vegetative propagules.

Wigeongrass can grow in both seawater and fresh water, and appears to tolerate switching back and forth. The primary production of wigeongrass in our estuaries is huge. So is the density of shoots under the floating mats: a single hand-grab of a tangled shoot mass can be heavier than a person can lift out of the water.

SAGO PONDWEED, Stuckenia pectinata (syn. Potamogeton pectinatus), is another nearly cosmopolitan aquatic plant species. It has less salt tolerance than wigeongrass, usually occurring in freshwater or fresh-brackish water.

Flowering and fruiting spikes on floating mat of sago pondweed, Stuckenia pectinata, Navarro River lagoon (closed nontidal freshwater estuary phase). July 18, 2013

Salinity about half seawater strength (3.5 % salinity, 35 ppt) is enough to severely inhibit its growth or kill it. Sago pondweed has similar fish and estuarine invertebrate food-chain support value as wigeongrass, but it has even more food value for dabbling ducks and diving ducks. The fruits (drupes) and pea-sized, seed-like vegetative propagules it forms in fall (turions; overwintering detached “buds”), as well as its rhizomes, are eagerly consumed by waterfowl. The foliage is also consumed. Sago pondweed colonies in our river estuaries are usually patchy, far less extensive than wigeongrass. But they can also rebound in “boom” years and actually overtop and surprisingly replace dominance by wigeongrass over extensive areas, at least temporarily.

Flowering spikes of Stuckenia pectinata with anthers. July 2013

Wigeongrass can be distinguished from sago pondweed easily when they are flowering or in fruit. Sago pondweed has thick, elastic peduncles terminating in spikes with whorls of flowers or swollen brown, nearly round drupes. Wigeongrass has slender-peduncled inflorescences (wiry and coiled in R. cirrhosa), terminating in 3 or more terminal branchets with asymmetric pointed fruits, or a short spike of whitish male flowers (mostly anthers). Vegetatively, both species have very narrow linear leaves, but wigeongrass has tiny teeth along the blade margins, and long sheaths that pull themselves away from the shoot, at their bases. Sago pondweed sheaths enclose their stems tightly, like a tube with overlapping margins where they enfold the stem. Sago pondweed is far more difficult to distinguish from linear-leaved pondweeds in the genus Potamogeton, in which it was traditionally placed as P. pectinata.

W.L. Jepson was so enamored of sago pondweed as a waterfowl food in early historic Suisun Marsh (San Francisco Estuary) that he wrote a popular article about his first-hand observations for Sunset Magazine, “Where Ducks Dine”, in 1905. (yes, it’s found online!). When canvasback ducks can’t feed on sago, which makes their flesh sweet and nutty, they eat clams that make their meat taste fishy and gamy. Canvasback hunting has lost popularity as sago pondweed wetlands have declined in California.

Fully elongated fruiting spike of Stuckenia pectinata. August 2011

Sago pondweed is reported in the Mendocino County flora from inland ponds, but only one coastal pond complex (Hunter Lagoon and Davis Lake, Manchester) and two estuaries: Pudding Creek (above the dam, however) and Big River. In fact, it is intermittently abundant and extensive at Ten Mile River, near the head of navigation on Albion River, and in the Navarro, Garcia (P’dhau), and Gualala estuaries.

There are basically three types of coastal river estuaries in Mendocino County that predict the location and mix of our native SAV plant species composition. Perennial tidal estuaries, intermediate (choked) tidal estuaries, and seasonal estuaries forming non-tidal summer lagoons.

Perennial fully tidal estuaries include the Albion River and Big River. Their mouths are sheltered from Pacific swell and large coarse-grained barrier beaches by rocky headlands that form quiet embayments, keeping their mouths from closing (by barrier beaches) or choking up with sand. Fully tidal estuarine rivers are home to a gradient of all three species. Ten Mile River estuary is usually tidal all year, but with flows that can become choked and reduced when the barrier beach and shoals grow across the mouth in summer.

Floating, fruiting canopy of Stuckenia pectinata over a bed surrounding the riparian woodland and marsh island above the mouth of Navarro River

The Gualala and Navarro River Estuaries, in contrast, are usually tidal only when river flows force their high coarse-grained barrier beaches to breach and open a tidal inlet. When freshwater flows diminish in spring or summer, the tidal inlets close, and form deep freshwater to fresh-brackish lagoons (saltier at the bottom; “stratified”), with water levels well above high tide. Eelgrass cannot compete or survive in non-tidal brackish to freshwater lagoons, but wigeongrass and sago pondweed can thrive in them, and do.

In all three estuary types, a highly variable mix of wigeongrass and sago pondweed beds occur. They dominate tidal estuaries in their more brackish to freshwater tidal river reaches, overlapping with eelgrass, but dominating above the upstream reach of eelgrass. In non-tidal summer lagoons, wigeongrass and sago pondweed vary greatly in relative abundance and position, with a mix of persistent old perennial beds, and rapid new colonization responding to changed estuary conditions.

The next time you drive over one of the Mendocino County estuaries on Highway 1, and see “algae”, think about running down to the shore and looking for beached samples of one of our native SAV species. And if you overhear discussion of “algal blooms” in our estuaries, help educate about what native vascular plant species lie underneath and attached to those epiphytic algal mats, and what they indicate about environmental health and water quality. This region is an estuarine sanctuary compared with most of the California Coast, and we can boast of some of the most healthy, beautiful and diverse estuarine SAV in the state.

Part 2 – Eelgrass, Zostera marina

Of the three submerged aquatic plants occurring in coastal Mendocino and Sonoma counties, eelgrass, Zostera marina, is a true seagrass that occurs in soft sediments (mud or sand) of fully tidal bays and estuaries with high transparency, allowing light to penetrate to the bottom. Wigeongrass (Ruppia cirrhosa), and sago pondweed (Stuckenia pectinata, syn. Potamogeton pectinatus), the two other estuarine species in our area, were treated in Part 1, July-August, 2017 issue of the Calypso. [above] Zostera marina at low tide, lower Albion River estuary, on rising tide with seawater flooding into the estuary. Unidentified marine algae grow as epiphytes on the blades. July 1, 2017.

It has flat, broad linear grass-like blades on long, supple flexuous shoots that sway with tidal currents. Like all seagrasses (marine flowering plants), it completes its life-cycle in seawater, flowering, fruiting and establishing from seed or clonal (vegetative) growth under water. It can grow in the lower intertidal zone, but it flourishes in shallow subtidal water, especially in cohesive muddy or sandy mud sediments where its rhizomes can anchor. In tidal rivers, it has to be able to tolerate full marine salinity seawater on rising (flood) tides, but also freshwater pulses on low tides in winter when river discharge is high.

The floating canopy of Zostera marina beds a half mile upstream from the mouth of the Albion River, Aug 6, 2014. Little epiphytic algae grows on the blades some drought years

Eelgrass beds provide ecologically important fish habitat: nurseries and foraging (feeding) habitat for small estuarine fish (including anadromous salmon and steelhead) that move through their canopies or feed around their edges, where they have access to visual cover from predators. They also help bind and stabilize sediment and store carbon in sediments. In the Ten Mile estuary, eelgrass canopies are crawling with juvenile Dungeness crabs in spring some years, moving up-estuary on flood tides. Waterfowl, especially brant, consume the shoots.

Zostera marina canopy floating at the water surface, vertical shoots rising in the water column below. Big River July 18, 2012.

In summer, eelgrass leaves develop epiphytic algae: marine or estuarine algae that grow on their leaves. Heavy covering of algae on eelgrass can trigger seasonal decline or even seasonal dieback, especially when temperatures warm in choked, brackish tidal estuaries. Turbid water, due to either suspended mud or algae, also can cause eelgrass decline by reducing light penetration in the water. Eelgrass thrives best in transparent cool, saline water with daily tidal flows and strong tidal circulation.

Zostera marina growing upstream of its usual limits, mixed with Ruppia cirrhosa in brackish tidally choked estuarine conditions, upstream of Hwy 1 bridge, during a major drought with low freshwater river outflows. Aug 14, 2015

Our native estuarine SAV dominant plants are grossly under-documented. It is particularly remarkable that the robust, extensive eelgrass beds of the Albion estuaries have escaped the attention of researchers and our state and federal resource agencies, as well as our floristic database records. There is only one reported Mendocino County locality of the species, Big River, in Calflora and Consortium of California Herbaria. There are no botanical records of the magnificent Albion eelgrass beds, or the highly elastic Ten Mile River eelgrass beds that vary between mile and mere yards long.

Zostera marina colonizes our tidal estuarine river beds upstream during droughts, following seawater mixing – salinity – gradients. A new colony is growing here in an upstream reach under freshwater willow swamp drought year, Ten Mile River, 2013

Eelgrass occurs only in tidal estuary (daily tidal flows) reaches where seawater influence is strong, at least during flood tides that deliver salty, clear water.

There are basically three types of coastal river estuaries in Mendocino County: perennial tidal estuaries, intermediate (choked) tidal estuaries, and seasonal estuaries forming non-tidal summer lagoons. Perennial fully tidal estuaries include the Albion River and Big River. Their mouths are sheltered from Pacific swell and large coarse-grained barrier beaches by rocky headlands that form quiet embayments, keeping their mouths from closing (by barrier beaches) or choking up with sand. Fully tidal estuarine rivers are home to a gradient of all three species.

Zostera marina beds grow in a distinct zone the tidal channel below brackish tidal marsh, Big River. Sept 6, 2014

Eelgrass occurs in these fully tidal estuary (daily tidal flows) reaches where seawater influence is strong, at least during flood tides that deliver salty, clear water. Eelgrass also occurs in our choked, intermediate tidal estuary, Ten Mile River. Ten Mile River estuary is usually tidal all year, but with flows that can become choked and reduced when the barrier beach and shoals grow across the mouth in summer. The Garcia River is also subject to choked tides, but its mobile gravel bed all the way to the mouth seems to exclude stable eelgrass.

This year, unexpectedly, the Navarro River mouth sustained an open tidal inlet through the summer, and changed from its normal freshwater above-tide lagoon condition, to a tidal brackish estuary that could support eelgrass if the unprecedented tidal lagoon condition returns in future summers. Is this unprecedented event a random fluke, or a harbinger of the future? Could eelgrass expand its range in Mendocino County as sea level rises and climate changes? Eelgrass and its associated Mendocino lagoon/estuary aquatic plants should be informative “sentinel” species for climate change here.

All photos by Peter Baye

For more information, see:
Gualala Estuary: Native Aquatic Vegetation versus Algal Blooms