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Keeping Consumers In The Dark
The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it will delay a requirement for manufacturers to provide more detailed information on light bulb packaging. The commission also carved out an exception for inefficient 75-watt incandescent bulbs, which are being phased out in 2013. The best thing one can say about the announcement is that it could…
Read MoreTr-Ash Talk: Coal Ash "Mr. Smiths" Go to Washington
Members of Congress are going to hear from coal ash activists this week. But it’s going to be more than just phone calls and emails; 45 citizens from nine states are flying to Washington D.C. to tell their coal ash stories to elected representatives and administration officials. It’s been nearly a year since the Environmental…
Read MoreNews: Climate Impacts of Gas As Bad Or Worse Than Coal
Natural gas has been touted as a more responsible energy source than coal in the face of climate change, but a new study conducted by researchers at Cornell University argues otherwise. The study, which is scheduled to be published in the journal Climatic Change Letters, argues the advantages that gas produced from fracking has over…
Read MoreNew Yorkers: "No Fracking Way"
Hundreds rally in Albany in April 2011 to warn about dangers of toxic gas drilling. Speaking to a sea of folks in blue Water Rangers t-shirts, a full line-up of state lawmakers were on hand to assure rally-goers that they would not let allow the oil and gas industry to do to New York what they’ve done in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and, now, Pennsylvania.
Read MoreCongrats to Hilton Kelley, 2011 Goldman Award Winner
Port Arthur, Texas is home to a high density of oil refineries, chemical plants and hazardous waste facilities that have made the Gulf Coast city one of the most polluted in America. Asthma and cancer rates in the largely African-American neighborhood known as West Side—which sits at the fenceline of Port Arthur’s heavy industry—are among…
Read MoreFriday Finds: Coffin' Up Green
Consumers dying to snatch up wooly coffins Eco-conscious consumers looking for a greener afterlife can now be buried in woolen coffins, reports Time magazine. Recently, a hundred-year-old family run mill in West Yorkshire, England, started making the wooly coffins in an effort to find new revenue sources amidst Britain’s diminishing textile market. So far the…
Read MoreIt's No Secret: Power Plants Can Clean Up Their Dirty Ways
When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed last month to clean up the toxic air emissions of coal-fired power plants, it wasn’t a surprise. The date actually had been set for about a year, thanks to a court-ordered deadline won by Earthjustice and other groups. And for years prior to that deadline, a back-and-forth legal…
Read MoreWhy I Fight For Our Forests: Earthjustice's Rebecca Judd
National forests are the single largest source of clean drinking water in the United States, serving 124 million Americans. Rebecca Judd, legislative counsel for Earthjustice, based in Washington, D.C., discusses her work to protect forests.
Read MoreShut Down the Government So They Can Blow Up Mountains?
[Update: Amid hurried negotiations late Friday to avoid a government shutdown, House sources indicated that a possible deal has been reached to prevent weakening the government’s regulation of mountaintop removal mining and climate change emissions. The uncertainty of this deal makes it all the more important for citizens to contact the White House and their…
Read MoreThe U.S. Asthma Epidemic
People who suffer from asthma often say an attack feels like breathing through a pool of water or with a pillow covering their face. Unfortunately, millions of Americans know all too well what that’s like. In the United States, asthma is a bona fide public health epidemic: 17 million adults and 7 million children suffer…
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