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Friday Finds: Pesticide Trials and Errors
EPA proposes strict rules on pesticide testing The EPA recently proposed strict rules meant to keep pesticides manufacturers from paying people to eat or drink pesticides, enter pesticide vapor “chambers,” or have pesticides sprayed in their eyes, reports FairWarning. The proposal, spurred on by a 2010 court settlement between Earthjustice clients and the EPA, will…
Read MoreCongress V. The Environment: A Friend to Clean Air
Let’s hear it for the champions of clean air! We at Earthjustice have spent the past several weeks countering one clean air attack after another as several elected leaders have aligned themselves with dirty polluters. But there are some in Congress who are not thinking of lining industry’s pockets and instead thinking of protecting their…
Read More'Keep Your Hands Off My Clean Air Act Standards'
Alex Allred is a wife, mother of three, author, former Olympic bobsledder (!), and passionate advocate for clean air. Years ago, she and her family moved to Midlothian, Texas. Said Allred, “We moved here partly because we thought it would be a great place to raise our three kids.” Shortly after the move, however, Alex’s…
Read MoreCalifornia Supreme Court Stands Up For Consumer Rights
The California Supreme Court last week sided with consumers and their ability to rely on product labels, allowing a case to go forward against the makers of products falsely labeled “Made in the U.S.A.” Defense lawyers, supported by self-styled “tort reformers”, had sought to dismiss the case by arguing that consumers are not injured by…
Read MorePower Plants: Unrivaled Sources of Mercury Air Pollution
When it comes to mercury pollution, coal-fired power plants are king. Two recent reports—one from the Environmental Integrity Project, the other from Environment America—take a look at the scope of the problem. EIP has meticulously tracked mercury pollution from power plants for years in their Dirty Kilowatts reports. But this year is an especially important…
Read MoreCongress V. The Environment: Who Can We Trust?
Early last evening, Reps. Fred Upton and Ed Whitfield, along with Sen. James Inhofe, released a draft of the latest bill in Congress taking aim at air pollution protections. This wasn’t a surprise, as they’ve been talking to press about their toils on legislation that would reverse current limits on carbon dioxide pollution. They are…
Read MoreIn Wake of Gulf Oil Spill, Shell Quits Arctic Drilling For Summer
You can blame Earthjustice, our clients, Alaska Native allies, and a little thing called the Gulf oil spill for Shell Oil’s just-announced decision to not drill this summer in offshore Arctic waters. Work by Alaska Natives, with aid from our advocacy and legal efforts kept Shell from drilling last year in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, and stalled…
Read MoreDoes Weather Influence Your Belief In Climate Change?
Two monster storms are pounding different parts of the planet right now, and it looks like both could influence how people think about climate change. Since folks tend to think of it in terms of today’s weather, you can guess how both of these storms are likely to play. Way off in the Pacific, Australians…
Read MoreAmerica to EPA: Do More, Not Less
Sixty-three percent of Americans want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “to do more to hold polluters accountable and protect the air and water.” This according to a new survey conducted at the end of January by ORC International. Rep. John Carter (D-TX)—fast becoming a household name around here—isn’t part of that 63 percent. In early…
Read MoreEPA Pledges to Clean Up Drinking Water Taps
At a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to discuss clean drinking water, today, Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that the agency would be setting the first-ever standard to limit perchlorate in our water. Perchlorate is a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that is especially harmful to fetuses, babies and young children. Jackson said between 5…
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