Browsing the "epa" Tag

Obama’s Retreat on New Smog Rule

In a surprise move, president Obama calls a halt on planned EPA regulation tightening ground-level ozone standards, delighting his opponents while mystifying his environmental supporters.

President Obama’s Decision on Ozone: Bad Policy and Bad Politics

Why is the President now siding with polluters? The White House claims clean air protections would be too expensive. But this is a farce. Letting the polluters off the hook won’t save lives, won’t create jobs and won’t fuel innovation. It will, however, endanger the health and lives of children and seniors.

EPA Admin Lisa Jackson on John Stewart

“We have to remind the American people that environmentalism isn’t a spectator sport.”

That’s what Lisa Jackson told John Stewart Thursday night on the Daily Show.

Budget deal: What got spared, what gets cut

The deal – to cut a total of $39 billion – was announced Friday, but those devlish details had to be worked out. Negotiators worked nonstop through the weekend and late into the night last night, and released the plan this morning.

Budget deal kills gray wolves AND the endangered species act

Last week we learned that a deal had been struck and the government wasn’t going to shut down. This week, we learn about the collateral damage: What ugly things were agreed to in the process.

Item #1: Gray wolves are being stripped of their status as an endangered species across most of the northern Rockies.

Govt Shutdown: GOP backs down from its war on the EPA?

There may be good news on the government shutdown front for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Yesterday, it looked like the House Republicans, in thrall to their “cut EVERYTHING” Tea-Party wing, were going to allow the government to shut down over their intransigence on two items: Slashing the EPA (as well as blocking it from acting on climate change), and slashing funding for Planned Parenthood (which gets money for women’s health services – NOT abortion).

GOP Votes to Repeal Climate Science

Well, the House went ahead and did it today, voting 255-172 to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of any possible option for fighting climate change and global warming.

The Tea Party wing of the GOP (which is pretty much everyone at this point) argued that the science isn’t settled yet. They argued that the EPA went too far. They argued that it would kill jobs. They argued that it should be Congress that sets policy, not “unelected bureaucrats” (although it was the Supreme Court and a bunch of states that reminded the EPA during the Bush years that they had to enforce the Clean Air Act, which was pretty clear on the issue).

EPA Vote: Senate Democrats about to screw things up on climate change again

After 20 years of dithering about climate change by the politicians in Washington, the EPA finally acted. Now the politicians are voting to return to another two years of dithering.

The Senate is set to vote today on a group of bills, all of which would in one way or another cut of the EPA’s carbon regulation at the knees. The Senate Republicans – who nearly to a man don’t believe in climate change – will be joined by a group of Democrats who don’t seem to believe in much of anything.

Newt Gingrich: Eliminate the EPA

Not content with cuts, perennial Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is now calling for the complete elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency. Gingrich made the call at the Conservative Political Action Conference as he pandered to the Tea Party in a play for votes in the CPAC straw poll. It didn’t work – Ron Paul […]

EPA and Cali Coordinate New Auto Emission Standards

California has long been the pace-setter on fuel emission standards for cars. But unlike the Bush years, when the state actually had to take the Environmental Protection Agency to court to get anything done, now the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are coordinating with California to make things happen. Until today, California had […]

Coal Company Refused Changes That Would Have Cost $0.55 a Ton

Fifty five cents a ton. That’s how little the changes would have cost Arch Coal company to implement – changes that would have slashed the environmental impact of its mountaintop removal (MTR) Spruce Mine in half. Now that the Environmental Protection Agency has pulled its permit the company is crying foul, but a newly released […]

Harmful Chemicals Found in Pregnant Women

Pregnant women need to eat right to provide the right nutrition for their babies… and to avoid harmful chemicals. But a new study shows that may not be good enough, as some nasty long-banned substances persist in the environment… and in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. The […]

EPA In Dallas Hears Citizens Say Hell Yes, Mess With Texas

“EPA, you come on in and mess with Texas. We need your help,” said Allison Silva with the No Coal Coalition in Dallas Friday. And Dallas County Treasurer Joe Well told the EPA, “The federal government has to do it because the state government has failed.” “It” is the Environmental Protection Agencies policy of working with […]

EPA Vetoes Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine

It’s official. After 13 years of negotiations, studies, and court battles, the Environmental Protection Agency is protecting the environment by telling Arch Coal Company that its Spruce No 1 “mountaintop removal” coal mine is terminally bad for the environment. As such, the agency is vetoing it. The mine would have been the largest ever, and […]

Courts Say Yes, EPA Can Mess With Texas

A Federal Court told Texas today that – surprise, surprise – it has to follow the law. If Texas has a mess, it’s okay for the EPA to step in and clean it up. This is the third time the courts have told Texas they won’t block the EPA from implementing greenhouse gas emissions to […]