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The Latest by Trip Van Noppen

Former President

May 21, 2009

In Obama's Hands: The Future of the Arctic

By Trip Van Noppen

The Beaufort Sea, off Alaska’s northernmost shores, and the Chukchi Sea, which separates Alaska from Russia, are home to one in five of the world’s remaining polar bears. These icy waters are crucial feeding and migration zones for bowhead, beluga and other whales, seals, walruses and migratory birds; for thousands of years they have also …

April 27, 2009

A Global Warming Story You Haven't Heard

By Trip Van Noppen

John Kerry and Barbara Boxer are two of the greenest members of the Senate. Jim Inhofe is the Senate’s chief global warming denier. But last week—on Earth Day, no less—they came together to introduce a bill requiring the EPA to look at ways to control a dangerous pollutant that kills millions worldwide and accelerates global …

April 22, 2009

Born in Wartime, Earth Day Unified the Nation

By Trip Van Noppen

The first Earth Day, 39 years ago today, was a godsend for a country mired in war and riven by racial, political and cultural issues. Arriving suddenly—as a gift whose time had come—it offered folks something to unite around: the idea of an entire planet, our home, in peril. It was a time when industrial …

April 3, 2009

Clean Water Restoration Act Provides Hope

By Trip Van Noppen

On February 17, Earthjustice called on Congress to introduce and pass legislation that would fix a glaring loophole punched in the Clean Water Act during the Bush years. The Supreme Court, with Bush administration backing, held that only "navigable" waterways could enjoy protections of this law. Today, I am glad to report, the Clean Water …

March 19, 2009

Time to Applaud the "New" EPA

By Trip Van Noppen

One year ago in this column, I called on Environmental Protection Agency chief Stephen Johnson to resign for letting politics, not science, guide his agency’s decisions. Nor was I alone—10,000 EPA employees were in open revolt for the same reason. Johnson was defying the Supreme Court’s ruling that his agency should move forward on climate …

February 17, 2009

Fixing the Broken Clean Water Act

By Trip Van Noppen

The Clean Water Act, despite being one of our nation’s most potent environmental protection laws for three decades, has an Achilles’ heel—a one-word weakness that the U.S. Supreme Court has expanded into an enormous loophole. In decisions handed down in 2001 and 2006, the Supreme Court seized on that word—"navigable"—to make rulings that neither friend …

February 15, 2009

Grumblers Can Cheer Longer Lives

By Trip Van Noppen

This column by Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen appeared in Alternet. Americans who love to grumble about regulations now have some they can cheer about. The New England Journal of Medicine is reporting that we now live an extra five months, thanks to regulations that have cleaned up air pollution over the last few decades. …

January 22, 2009

Optimism — For the First Time in 8 Years

By Trip Van Noppen

I joined Tuesday’s huge crowd in Washington to witness the inauguration of our 44th President. The people who traveled from all over the country had worked to elect Barack Obama and create a community of hope, optimism, and readiness to tackle the challenges, and that spirit pervaded the Mall. For me, as for so many, …

January 20, 2009

Dancing and Cheering in D.C.

By Trip Van Noppen

Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is blogging from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the inauguration of Barack Obama and events surrounding the inauguration. The very cold weather this morning doesn’t seem to bother anyone—crowd dancing, waving, cheering, hugging. Everyone is part of something much bigger than they ever expected. The city is crackling with …

January 20, 2009

The Magic of this Inauguration

By Trip Van Noppen

Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is blogging from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the inauguration of Barack Obama and events surrounding the inauguration. This inauguration coincides with the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s 80th birthday, and the connections between his work and vision and the election of Obama are everywhere: an opening ceremony …