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Let's Unplug Dirty, Old Coal Plants
Across the nation, old coal-fired power plants are gasping for their last breath, having survived long past their prime because of political favors and weak government regulations. They would have died decades ago if not for a fateful policy compromise in the late 1970s that exempted existing power plants from new air quality standards in…
Read MoreCongress Officially 'Friends' Coal Ash
Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is strongly denouncing a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives today, passing H.R. 2273, which would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from strongly regulating coal ash: “Nearly three years after the tragic spill of more than 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash in Kingston, Tennessee, it’s obvious that federally enforceable…
Read MoreCoal, Hard Facts
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper took a feel-good tour of a Colorado coal mine this week, bolstering his corporate-friendly cred in the southern part of the state. He talked about how great it was that the mine could co-exist with wildlife, and joked about the high-paying jobs. And for all of you self-serving Prius owners who…
Read MoreRepublicans Like Clean Air, Too
The title of this post isn’t a revelation. If it’s surprising at all, it’s only because there is one highly visible place where it just isn’t true: Congress. The Republican leadership is working hard to make the legislative branch of our government a kind of Bermuda triangle where clean air standards disappear mysteriously down a…
Read MoreFlorida Fish Die As Chamber Panders
Tr-Ash Talk: This is About Health, Not Jobs
The anticipated vote on H.R. 2273, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, will be upon us Friday. The bill (sponsored by Rep. David McKinley (WV-R)) would prevent the EPA from establishing a strong national rule to protect American’s health and drinking water from the nation’s second largest industrial waste stream: coal ash. There are…
Read MoreYes, We're Suing the EPA
Yes, we did it. For the past month several reporters have been asking us about our litigation plans following the EPA’s scrapping of a stronger ozone standard Sept. 2 as directed by the White House. Today we represent the American Lung Association, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council and Appalachian Mountain Club in a…
Read MoreEarthjustice Calls on EPA to Ban Chlorpyrifos
You’ve probably never heard of the dangerous pesticide chlorpyrifos. But, according to CDC data, you probably have chlorpyrifos in your body—because you probably have been regularly exposed to it since you were developing in the womb. Chlorpyrifos is part of a class of pesticides, the organophosphates, that are most frequently reported as the cause of…
Read MoreEnvironmental Costs of Gold Soar in The Americas
Many of us wear gold jewelry, and almost all of us use electronic devices that contain small amounts of gold. And of course, people who invested in gold have reaped a nice profit as the price of gold has almost doubled during the past three years. But do we ever think about what that gold…
Read MoreSharks Slaughtered in Gill Net off Texas Coast
It was the largest shark kill the Texas game wardens had ever seen. Last week, wildlife officials discovered an estimated 3,000 sharks caught and killed in an illegal gill net off South Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico. Gill nets hang underwater from floats to a lead-weighted bottom line like mesh curtains, often extending…
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