Climate Clips: Maryland’s first electric garbage truck comes to Hyattsville

This week, the first electric garbage truck in the state of Maryland has been added to the City of Hyattsville’s vehicle fleet. The zero-emissions truck will save on fuel costs and reduce the fumes inhaled by garbage collectors on the job.

See the full story at The Hyattsville Wire.

More DMV News

A Fancy New Recycling Machine Helps Prince George’s County Recycling More Plastic
DCist
Prince George’s County, Md. has a fancy new piece of equipment — an optical sorter — to better separate different plastics, ensuring that more things actually get recycled, and creating a more valuable product that can be marketed more easily.

Landmark EJ Ruling Sparks Legislative Reckoning in VA
E&E News
More than a year after a watershed federal court ruling, Virginia is becoming a case study of whether environmental justice protections can get enshrined into law, or be stymied by legislative and regulatory fights.

Virginia Advocates Hope New Commuter Train Marks Start of Transportation Shift
Energy News Network
A new Richmond-to-D.C. line is the first project under the state’s $3.7 billion, 10-year program called Transforming Rail, which aims to expand and streamline commuter, passenger and freight rail systems.

Report Tallies Number of Days With Elevated Air Pollution in Md
Maryland Matters
The Washington D.C., area, which includes Frederick, Rockville and Bethesda in Maryland, had 28 days of elevated air pollution last year.

National and International News

White House Proposes Restoring Key Parts of Landmark Environmental Law, Reversing Trump
The Washington Post
The White House proposed restoring parts of one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws Wednesday, requiring agencies to conduct a climate analysis of major projects and give affected communities greater input into the process.

Cutting Climate Programs May be Harder Than Other Things as Biden Trims His Bill
NPR
As moderate and progressive Democrats negotiate where to cut down a broad $3.5 trillion bill containing most of President Biden’s domestic priorities, he is talking more and more about incremental progress.

Biden Administration Releases Agency Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plans from Across Federal Government
The White House Briefing Room
The Biden-Harris Administration released plans developed by more than 20 federal agencies that outline the steps each agency will take to ensure their facilities and operations adapt to and are increasingly resilient to climate change impacts.

EPA Strategic Plan Touts Climate, Environmental Justice Goals
E&E News
EPA released its draft strategic plan that will help the agency chart its course over the next several years. While emphasizing action on climate and equity, the plan also pays respect to EPA’s history and seeks to build upon it.

Can the World’s Most Polluting Heavy Industries Decarbonize?
Inside Climate News
Two emerging technologies are advertising themselves as the “solutions” to decarbonizing problem industries. One is carbon capture and storage (CCS), and the other is “green hydrogen.”