PSE Quarterly Newsletter | Winter 2023

Lee Ann Hill Presents Methane and Health Research at COP28

As a society, we often overlook the risks methane emissions pose for public health. On December 9th, PSE’s Director of Energy and Research Lee Ann Hill joined the Mitigating Methane: A Global Health Strategy event at COP28 in Dubai to share PSE’s developing science-based strategies that protect both climate and public health.

Bringing Science to Communities

Communities often lack access to scientifically rigorous and regionally relevant information on the local impacts of energy systems and climate change. PSE is launching a Community Consulting Center to help fill this gap. In this Q&A blog, PSE scientists share how this center is helping bring science to communities.

Examining Industrial Pollution Impacts in Georgia

PSE recently completed research analyzing the environmental and public health burdens of industrial pollution within the Greater Central Savannah River Area in Georgia. Conducted for GA WAND, a community-based organization operating in the region, the study evaluated cumulative impacts related to air pollutants and Clean Water Act permit violations, and includes recommendations to mitigate and limit further burdens on environmental justice communities in the region.

Continued Stove Research in Europe. Participants Needed!

PSE and Stanford University will be conducting further research investigating the health impacts of natural gas – this time in Europe. The team will be collecting samples from gas stoves in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Milan, Italy, in the first two months of 2024. Participants are required in both locations; if you live in or nearby either city, or know someone that does, you can learn more and sign up at the study webpage. Any questions can be directed to the team email at naturalgasstudy@psehealthyenergy.org 

AGU ’23

In December, eleven PSE scientists joined the American Geophysical Union’s annual conference in San Francisco, CA. PSE staff presented five posters and one oral presentation during the week on ongoing research topics including emissions from landfills, petrochemicals, orphaned oil and gas wells, gas super emitters, combustion from stoves, and atmospheric pollutants from oil, gas, and coal operations.

PSE and Stanford Sampling Stoves in the United Kingdom

This past October, PSE scientists Drew Michanowicz, Jackson Goldman, and Gan Huang joined Stanford University to collect gas and stove samples throughout the U.K.. The team collected over 50 samples across Edinburgh, Manchester, St. Neots, and Greater London. Additionally, they met with local government officials to share preliminary results and discuss building decarbonization strategies.

With climate change causing more extreme weather events, households that struggle to pay utility bills  have a greater need for weather or health-related protections from utility shutoffs. A new blog from PSE examines inequities and risks that exist due to the current lack of protections in Virginia.

Recent headlines have made many Americans aware of research linking gas-burning stoves to hazardous air pollutants and adverse health impacts. In our latest blog, we examine over 50 years of research on gas stoves to see how science has shaped our current understanding of their impacts for public health and climate change.