Articles Written by Russell Zerbo

Guest author Russell Zerbo volunteered with Rebuilding Philadelphia Together and was able to learn more about Pennsylvania Housing and saving energy. Find out how in his story today. Clean Air Council’s ongoing lawsuit with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over lax building standards...

Ever wonder what local environmental orgs do to help push for a cleaner Philadelphia? Clean Air Council's Russell Zerbo shares with us today as guest blogger about a recent meeting with PA State Representative Curtis Thomas. A Day in the Life of Clean Air Council Part of my initiatives in the Clean Air Council is to improve energy efficiency working with local government officials. Pennsylvania's once innovative Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard to encourage renewable sources is now way behind the times. We (Clean Air Council) sat down with Solar States’ Akil Marsh and State Representative Curtis Thomas to discuss how Pennsylvania can support solar power and other energy issues. Find out more, after the jump!

We’ve heard the buzz: July 2013 was the 341st consecutive month where temperatures have been over the 20th century global average. Since 1880, average global temperatures have rose about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit causing an average 8 inch sea level rise. Sea level rise has gone up from approximately 1 millimeter per year to almost 3 since 1900. With impacts from climate change, Pennsylvania has been declared a disaster area 14 times since 2000. It’s estimated by 2100, average sea level rise is conservatively projected at 2 feet. 10 sq kilometers of Philadelphia is only 1 meter above sea level, placing it underwater in the next century - low lands around the airport succumbing before that. Find out about the upcoming Carbon emissions limits on coal plants and the battle with the EPA, after the jump.

But in the late 1950s, the National Weather Service began measuring the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, with the worry that rising levels might someday disrupt the fragile balance that makes our planet so hospitable.  And what they’ve found, year after year, is that the levels of carbon pollution in our atmosphere have increased dramatically. That science, accumulated and reviewed over decades, tells us that our planet is changing in ways that will have profound impacts on all of humankind. - President Barack Obama, 6/25/13 President Obama gave a speech on Climate Change yesterday at Georgetown University. Here's the full transcript on the Wall Street Journal. Guest blogger Russell Zerbo of the Clean Air Council shares his remarks on the speech and the impact on our nation.