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We Don't Need More of the Same…
The Washington Post editorialized yesterday about the expiration of the congressional ban on offshore drilling. I certainly agree that "we need alternative sources of energy to help cure our addiction to imported oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions." But I do not believe we have to drill for oil in environmentally sensitive areas. We need…
Read MoreBush Plans for Enviro Legacy? Really?
The headline in an e-newsletter trumpeted: "Bush Plans for Environmental Legacy." And apparently it wasn’t a joke. Bush is being pressed to protect the largest underwater canyon on Earth and some scattered atolls in the Pacific as national monuments. Bush may think it’s OK to protect America’s environment as long as it’s in the ocean…
Read MoreAfter the Circus Leaves Town
What’s happened in Congress during the last two weeks on energy and drilling issues could send us several major steps backwards on the road to a clean and prosperous energy future. As I write this, Congress—instead of passing measures to further increase fuel efficiency and reduce oil demand—is capitulating to the "drill, baby, drill" drumbeat.…
Read MoreBattle Over Peace River Phosphate
The phosphate mines in Florida are so damaging that their ugly scars on the planet can be clearly seen from space. Florida’s public rivers, lakes, streams, and coastal waters pay the price for these corporate strip mines, year after year. Attorney Monica Reimer in Earthjustice’s Florida office has filed an important lawsuit that challenges federal…
Read MoreRegional Air Victory has National Implications
We found it curious when the DC-based National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) sued a local air pollution board in California. Why would a big national trade association care about a local air pollution rule? Well it turns out, NAHB had hoped to stop "Indirect Source Review" rules from spreading to other jurisdictions across the…
Read MorePut That Shirt Back On
Earthjustice has been accused of being many things, including preferring birds over people (which reminds me of a fine old quote. Charles Callison, a stalwart of the Audubon Society, was once asked whether he liked people or birds better. He said, "I like the people who like birds."). We’ve been called elitist. We’ve been accused…
Read MoreHow About Bailing Out the Atmosphere?
I heard Al Gore on "NPR Science Friday" a few weeks back talking about what it would take to get us out of the climate catastrophe that’s bearing down on us. The biggest single step, he said, would be to convert the entire U.S. vehicle fleet to electricity. He said that is possible within 10…
Read MoreAssault on Earthjustice and the Law
On Wednesday, Congressman John Shadegg (R-Arizona) attacked Earthjustice in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, and called on Congress to prevent environmental organizations from suing to prevent expansive offshore oil drilling. Here is the response from Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen. Congressman Shadegg’s misguided opinion of environmental laws is unfortunate, yet not entirely unexpected. His recent…
Read MoreA Comity of Errors
Judge Clarence Brimmer of the federal district court in Wyoming must feel a bit under siege. He’s doing battle with two other federal district court judges, one in San Francisco, the other in Washington, DC. Judges are encouraged to respect each other’s opinions—it’s called comity, otherwise known as courtesy or deference—and comity is taking a…
Read MoreTrees and Global Warming
Forests are helping reduce global warming, but global warming is killing forests. Global warming sometimes can seem like a faraway thing in the American West. Glaciers? We really don’t have many. Except in that national park in Montana. But those will all be gone in 20-30 years or so. Polar bears? Not in our neighborhood. …
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