Waterspirit is ever-committed to educating communities about the environmental implications of hydrogen energy and the role of hydrogen hubs in the U.S. energy transition. In the coming years, Waterspirit will continue to focus on raising awareness about the risks associated with hydrogen hub development, particularly in drought-prone and environmentally vulnerable areas. Our ongoing concern about hydrogen hubs is that the continued use of fossil fuels and copious amounts of fresh water for hydrogen production would exacerbate environmental degradation in communities already burdened by pollution and drought. In this Environmental Health News double article “Hydrogen hubs test new federal environmental justice rules,” each of the potential areas across the land are represented. Waterspirit’s Public Policy & Justice Organizer, Rachel Dawn Davis, speaks from experience with the MACH2 Hydrogen Hub as to the failure of federal efforts to fully uphold Environmental Justice (EJ) principles, emphasizing the importance of transparent, inclusive decision-making in energy infrastructure planning:
“There hasn’t even been an identification of locations so there haven’t been proper notifications of any of the residents that are going to be affected by any of this and by the time anything might be approved, it’ll be too late.”
“The general areas that have been identified are drought prevalent areas. That is a tremendous red flag. There are opportunities to prevent co-pollutants. This would only increase them; that is wildly inappropriate. There needs to be a charge to uphold EJ principles. It may be talked about as Justice40; it’s not being done.”
Waterspirit will continue to collaborate with local organizations and affected communities to challenge the assumptions driving hydrogen hub expansion, which could perpetuate co-pollution and increase health risks. May we all amplify the voices of environmental justice advocates, ensuring that the needs and concerns of vulnerable communities remain central to the conversation of a livable future.
URGENT: To help the Turtle Clan of the Ramapough Lenape Nation protect against raging fires, please consider making a donation through the NJ Highlands Coalition here