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Tr-Ash Talk: A Dangerous Trojan Horse
Today, Sens. Hoeven (R-SD), Conrad (D-SD) and Baucus (D-MT) introduced a new coal ash bill, the “Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act” This is an amended version of the disastrous vehicle filed last October by Conrad and Hoeven. The improvements, however, are marginal, and most are nothing more than window dressing. The 43-page bill contains…
Read MoreUnplugged: Where’s EnergyGuide?
When the Government Accountability Office studied energy efficiency labeling in 2007, it found a surprising number of products on display in appliance stores were missing required labels. A year later, the Federal Trade Commission conducted a similar study. It likewise found that significant numbers of products were missing labels. In both cases, labels for many…
Read MoreEPA Rules Would Give Teeth To TSCA Law
Last week we spoke about the weaknesses in the current law protecting Americans from toxic chemicals. Today we submitted comments to EPA urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with health protections that would regulate polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) which are a group of toxic flame retardants. The health-protective actions we are urging…
Read MoreTr-Ash Talk: The Summer of Coal Ash
Summer on Capitol Hill has been a hot one—especially for coal ash. The 11th hour removal of a devastating coal ash provision tacked onto the federal transportation bill gave hope to thousands of communities that Congress would not turn its on public health and the environment. When the smoke cleared and President Obama signed a transportation bill…
Read MoreFriday Finds: Greenland’s Meltdown
Greenland's record ice melt blows scientists' beakers.
Read MoreToxic Law's "Unsafe" Flaw
At a Senate hearing about the EPA's authority to control exposures to toxic chemicals, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cali.) wondered aloud: what would Americans say if asked whether they thought products containing poisonous chemicals are tested before being sold.
Read MoreThe New Math
Bill McKibben,  who first alerted the non-scientific world to global climate change two decades ago with The End of Nature has a new piece in Rolling Stone that he says is the most important thing he’s written in the past 20 years, and he’s written hundreds of articles and books during that period. It’s titled “Global…
Read MoreDaryl Hannah Making Splash For Mountain Heroes
Daryl Hannah is best known as an actor in films such as Splash, Blade Runner, Roxanne, Wall Street, and Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2. But outside of the studio, she is a vocal environmental activist who dedicates herself to raising awareness of climate change, sustainable farming energy solutions, and of course, mountaintop removal. For…
Read MoreWho likes coal dust? Pretty much nobody
(Editor’s Note: This is the third blog in an ongoing series about proposed coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest. Upcoming blogs will examine the potential impact coal export terminals could have on the region’s health and environment.) Portland General Electric—a utility that operates power plants and supplies about half of Oregon’s electricity—thinks a coal…
Read MoreSurprises Arise at Clean Air Public Forum
“This morning’s testimony was so moving, I wish I’d had tissues with me,” said one speaker. “It never occurred to me that I would need them at an EPA public hearing.”
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