A state board unanimously approved new refinery safety rules in California that will make a real difference for tens of thousands of California workers and residents.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas and it is much more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Natural gas distribution systems around the country are leaking methane. Repairing those leaks will create quality jobs for workers, while addressing climate change. Taking Stock: Opportunities and Challenges in California’s Natural Gas Distribution System reveals best practices for repairing and replacing leak-prone natural gas pipes in the state.

The turning point in the effort to ensure safe workplaces for refinery workers happened four years ago in Richmond, California. A pipe carrying fuel oil ruptured and released flammable vapors that ignited into a massive fireball. By sheer luck alone, 18 workers lived to tell the tale.

After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan was officially published in the Federal Register, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Executive Director Kim Glas

In California, the BlueGreen Alliance worked with labor unions and environmental organizations to help enact SB 1371, which compels the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) to improve leak identification, repair, and avoidance, as well as better account for the climate change impact of natural gas leaks in the state’s natural gas distribution systems.

What do Boston, New York, Indianapolis and Syracuse all have in common? They’re all cities part of the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) methane leaks interactive data map of where the methane leaks are located in a given city.

The BlueGreen Alliance’s California Director JB Tengco applauded California Governor Jerry Brown’s call to come together and tackle California’s longstanding infrastructure challenges in the State of the State address.

The Apollo Alliance Project of the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation recognized government, business, community, environmental and labor leaders at their annual The Right Stuff Awards Dinner.

A group of labor and environmental leaders today lauded Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of a bill that will require utilities to address the growing issue of natural gas leaks in distribution pipelines.

A new bill passed by the California State Legislature will require utilities to reduce environmental and public health impacts of methane gas emissions.

BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster released the following statement on the retirement of Congressman Henry Waxman (CA).

The Pacific Coast Collaborative, three West Coast governors and the Premier of British Columbia, released an historic climate pact agreement, setting a price on carbon and investing in clean energy and climate-resilient infrastructure.