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House Budget Cuts Would Impact Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
In our efforts to cut federal spending, we might want to question the notion that all government agencies are wasteful or can be easily privatized.
Read MoreO Give Me A Home, Where The Skies Are…Oh Never Mind
Which has a worse smog problem ? The car-choked sprawling megalopolis of Los Angeles? Or the wide open plains of Wyoming? If you guessed LA, you’d be wrong. It’s actually Wyoming. This depressing tidbit comes courtesy of the oil and gas industry, which is in the midst of a drilling boom that has left the…
Read MoreRoadless Rule Reinstated on the Tongass National Forest
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, adopted at the end of the Clinton administration, banned most logging and road-building on the last 58.5 million unspoiled and unprotected acres on the national forests. It was immediately challenged by states, timber companies and other interests in nine lawsuits, one of which is still awaiting final resolution. In Alaska,…
Read MoreTr-Ash Talk: Under the Influence
When members of the House of Representatives return to their districts for April recess, many should be called to task for supporting a budget rider that would kill a coal ash rulemaking designed to protect the health, homes and livelihood of their constituents. How, for example, can one explain the voting record of most of…
Read MoreFriday 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,…
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