mcha63
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Building a clean energy economy that benefits everyone
New book offers a model for tackling climate change while supporting workers and communities in the transition to renewable energy
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In the Central Valley, residents fight against California policies that incentivize pollution marketed as renewable energy
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies J. Mijin Cha is skeptical of a state funding program to build digesters that produce methane fuel from cow waste. “Any time you build this new infrastructure, you’re entrenching us even further into the fossil fuel economy,” she said.
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Trump administration dismisses nearly 400 scientists working on congressionally mandated national climate report
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Mijin Cha was one of hundreds of expert authors on the National Climate Assessment who were recently dismissed from that work by the Trump Administration. “I’m worried who will do the NCA moving forward and putting something forward that is false,” she said. Additional coverage in the Washington Post and…
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Environmental Justice? Not if Project 2025 Has a Say.
Mijin Cha, a professor of environmental studies at University of California, Santa Cruz, says Inflation Reduction Act grant programs could be improved by providing benefits more directly to underserved people. “The federal government gives money to a third party, and then that third party distributes the money,” says Cha. “Is it not more efficient to…
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Chicago teachers demand climate solutions in their next contract
As heat and extreme weather become more prevalent because of the climate crisis, J. Mijin Cha, an environmental studies professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said it makes sense that climate demands are turning up in union negotiations. “If you want a green school, you have to really think about what the challenges of…
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In 2023, organized labor became core to the climate movement
Grist interviewed Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies J. Mijin Cha about how labor organizing and the renewable energy transition can work together.
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J. Mijin Cha testifies on solutions to energy poverty before congressional subcommittee
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies J. Mijin Cha shared her insights on solutions that could make electricity more affordable for low-income families across America.
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Why Climate Advocates Demand a ‘Just Transition’ Away From Fossil Fuels
Bloomberg interviewed Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies J. Mijin Cha to help explain the concept of a "just transition" away from fossil fuels.
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The UAW ratifies a contract — and labor’s road ahead in the EV transition
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Mijin Cha told Grist that labor organizing efforts within the renewable energy transition must not be framed as obstacles to progress on climate change. “The greed of the fossil fuel industry is what’s stopping the energy transition, not the fact that people want to make a decent wage,” she said.
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GM concession bolsters EV proponents amid auto strike
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Mijin Cha spoke with The Hill about the UAW union's efforts to unionize battery plants. “[F]ighting for EV battery manufacturing to be union is really important to show that green jobs can be good jobs and that there is no conflict between addressing climate change and supporting workers,” she said.
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Democrats flock to picket lines where workers worry about their electric vehicle push
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Mijin Cha spoke with The Boston Globe about how electric vehicles relate to the United Auto Workers strike. “It’s really important that we don’t say it’s workers versus the environment,” she said. “They’re not against an electric vehicle transition; they just don’t want to be left behind.”
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How the shift to electric vehicles is fueling the UAW strike
Grist interviewed Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies J. Mijin Cha about how working conditions at EV battery factories relate to the current United Auto Workers strike.