The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released publicly available, annual data on 2021 emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and mercury from power plants in the lower 48 states. Emissions in 2021 were higher than 2020, EPA said because of a rebound in coal-fired generation as natural gas prices and energy demand increased. Worse emissions increased at rates much higher than the demand for electricity.
Compared to 2020, the 2021 data show a 6% increase in NOx emissions, a 20% increase in SO2 emissions, a 7% increase in CO2 emissions, and a 13% increase in mercury emissions. Ozone season (May 1 to September 30) NOX emissions increased by 5%. Overall, based on the first 11 months of 2021, electricity demand only increased by 3% compared to 2020. Compared to 2019, 2021 emissions fell between 3% and 11%, reflecting a longer trend of decreasing annual emissions. Continue reading
Majorities of Americans Say Union Membership Decline is Bad
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Majorities of Americans continue to see the long-term decline in the share of workers represented by unions as a bad thing for both the country and working people in the United States, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in January 2022. The share of U.S. workers who belong to a union has fallen since 1983, when 20% of American workers were union members. In 2021 10.3% of U.S. workers were in a union. Views of the impact of the decline in union membership on the country and working people have changed little since last year.
“In the survey, 58% of U.S. adults say the large reduction over the past several decades in the percentage of workers who are represented by unions has been somewhat or very bad for the country, while 61% say this has been bad for working people,” said Ted Van Green* of Pew Research. ( AutoInformed: Labor Day – Majorities of Americans Say Unions Good) Continue reading →