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How OMB Is Ruining the Earth’s Vacation
Tucked into the climate plan that President Obama unveiled today is an incomprehensibly large number that deserves some attention. The president has set a goal that energy efficiency standards for appliances and federal buildings set in his first and second terms combined will reduce carbon pollution by at least 3 billion metric tons cumulatively by…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Coal Ash Pollution and the Frankenbill
There is a running joke in my hometown about the glowing green fish and three-headed salamanders in Lake Julian. Nestled in the center of Arden, North Carolina, and surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, this lake was once the picturesque centerpiece of the quaint Southern town. But thanks to the pollution from Progress Energy’s nearby…
Read MoreEngineers of the San Pedro River
And there’s a surfer among them
Read MoreWill Bold Deeds Follow Bold Words?
President Obama is good at bold words, and he’s delivered quite a few of them on the need for action on climate change in the last nine months. There was his speech upon being re-elected; his 2013 State of the Union (in which he promised to act unilaterally on climate change if Congress wouldn’t); and…
Read MoreStrike Three: CRS Makes Key Call on McKinley’s Coal Ash Bill
In advance of an upcoming vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, the nonpartisan think tank, Congressional Research Service (CRS), delivered a frank memorandum evaluating HR 2218, the latest effort by Rep. McKinley (R-WV) to prevent the EPA from completing its coal ash rule. CRS exposes HR 2218’s superficial “fixes,” concluding that…
Read More"All of the Above" Fails in Face of Climate Change
In recent weeks we have continued to experience extreme and destructive forest fires, droughts, and floods. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached new and dangerous levels. Despite this, President Obama’s pledge to address climate change with meaningful actions has stalled. Since the stirring words of his Inauguration and State of the Union…
Read MoreNarrowing the Chances of Gray Wolf Recovery
Federal agency proposes handing protections to the states
Read MoreEliminating a 4-Letter Word: Smog
A registered nurse in the Sacramento region, Robin Kristufek sees a disproportionate number of children living in poverty afflicted with asthma and bronchitis—some die of lung disease. Their health problems come from living near busy roads and freeways, without trees or green spaces to help filter out particulates. They are forced to breathe in toxic pollution.
Read MoreGrassley's Plan to Block 3 Court Nominees
Given the shrill sounds rising from Washington these days, the news wasn’t easily heard: After years of partisan obstruction and delay, the United States Senate confirmed a judge. To what’s widely regarded as our second-highest court. Unanimously. And last week, recognizing that the D.C. Circuit’s “judicial crisis” has yet to be cured, President Obama sent…
Read MoreLosing a Champion for Air, Water and Land
There was a time that airline travel exposed passengers to a deadly peril: secondhand cigarette smoke. Not so for more than 25 years now, thanks to the dogged persistence of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who pushed for and successfully passed a smoking prohibition on flights which led to smoke-free workplaces and other areas. Last week Sen.…
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