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Friday Finds: Walmart Extinguishes Flame Retardants
Walmart blazes trail in banning flame retardants Fed up with feds dragging their heals on banning a controversial flame retardant, retail giant Walmart recently enacted its own ban, reports the Washington Post. Known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, this class of chemicals is found in everything from pet supplies to furniture and electronics, and…
Read MoreOil and Gas Lobbyists Claim The Sky is Falling
Again, the pollution lobby warns that stronger standards will cause massive disruption.
Read MoreThe New Majority: We Can't Go Backwards Fast Enough!
“Doh!” should be the motto of the new majority in the House, but here’s one from House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) that might work as well:Â “The New Majority – Plasticware Is Back.” Boehner tweeted this, or should I say taunted this, on Monday, boasting about a move orchestrated by him and his GOP colleagues in…
Read MoreAmbre Energy Gets Coal Export Permit Via Deception
With many older coal-fired power plants going offline in the United States and construction of new plants significantly slowed, Australian-based Ambre Energy has a new game plan: send U.S. coal to China. The company has proposed building a shipping terminal in Longview, Wash., which would be the first West Coast port to transport coal, the…
Read MorePettiness Isn't Biodegradable
About three years ago I visited a friend who works for Henry Waxman, the Southern California congressman who was such a magnificent thorn in the side of the Bush administration. My friend proudly took me to lunch in the cafeteria. This was soon after the Democrats reclaimed the House and voted in Nancy Pelosi as…
Read MoreYou've Read the Headlines
You’ve probably read news stories, or seen reports on TV, or heard reports on the radio about how House Speaker Boehner has allowed dozens of amendments to come to the House floor to be voted on, congratulating himself on his transparency (is that his liver I see in there?) and openness. In response to this invitation,…
Read MoreTr-Ash Talk: Dam Shame
If you live in Indiana, it’s best not to live below one of the state’s 53 coal ash dams. The state’s laissez-fare attitude toward these deadly structures has created a potentially disastrous public hazard. Recent dam breaks in Indianapolis should have sounded the alarm, but apparently it takes more than 30 million gallons of toxic…
Read MoreRadioactive water being dumped into our rivers?
The recent New York Times investigation into the dangers posed to our air and water by fracking is a must-read. The meat of the investigation deals with radioactive material in wastewater from the fracking process and its possible migration into our lakes and rivers. The paper’s findings are alarming to say the least, here are…
Read MoreEPA On Clean Air Act: 160,000 lives saved last year
Despite the House GOP majority attempting to quash our clean air, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is serious about our right to breathe. Today, the agency released a report that champions the Clean Air Act as a lifesaver, health protector – and economic bolster. The report analyzed effects of the Clean Air Act on the…
Read MoreThanking House Leaders Who Stood For Clean Air
 This week has been a welcome reprieve from the madness in the House of Representatives last week. Among the many environmental amendments passed in the House budget plan is one that blocks regulations of mercury and other air pollution emanating from cement plants. Despite the calm after the storm, we’ve got continued movement from…
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