Is dam removal in the offing on the Lower Snake River?
For most of two decades, environmentalists have sought removal of four federal dams on the Lower Snake River for the sake of the northwest's wild salmon runs. So far, they have been stymied by the agencies that operate the dams -- the Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration -- and local utility and industry interests. But now, Ken Olsen writes in High Country News, the political tides may be shifting. Some of those formidable obstacles to dam removal re...
CONTINUE READINGNominee for key USDA post
President Obama has nominated Homer Lee Wilkes, a career employee of the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service and currently the head of NRCS's Mississippi office, to become undersecretary for natural resources and environment. That's a key post for environmental policy because it oversees the US Forest Service as well as the much smaller NRCS. The pick has surprised many observers. High Country news describes the nominee as "an effective unknown . . . who lacks ...
CONTINUE READINGClimate bill has votes to get through key House panel, says Waxman
Breaking news: Greenwire (via the New York Times) and Grist.com are reporting that Rep. Henry Waxman said tonight he "believe[s] we'll have the votes for passage" to move his climate bill through the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Rep. Waxman "expects" to have sufficient votes but takes a tone of skepticism.) Waxman plans to introduce the bill tomorrow, and the committee is expected to take up the bill right away. G...
CONTINUE READING“Smoking gun” OMB memo on EPA climate change rulemaking is not what it seems
As Dan has mentioned, there has been a bit of a dust-up over a document in EPA's rulemaking docket relating to EPA's recent finding that greenhouse gases pose an endangerment to public health and welfare. As Dan notes, the memo, apparently originating at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is harshly critical of the EPA's endangerment finding, based largely on policy considerations that the Supreme Court has already ruled wold be impermissible to rel...
CONTINUE READINGBreaking News: Interior Nominee Blocked
HuffPost reports: Republicans have blocked President Barack Obama's pick for the No. 2 job at the Interior Department because of a flap over oil leases in Utah. In a 57-39 Senate vote, Democrats fell short of the 60 votes they would have needed to advance the nominee past GOP obstacles. It's the first time Republicans have blocked an Obama selection. This is a real shame. It's hard to imagine anyone better qualified than David Hayes, a former Latham & Watkins par...
CONTINUE READINGGoing to the Dogs? Unfair Attacks on Cass Sunstein
A lot of environmentalists are uncomfortable about Cass Sunstein's appointment as "regulatory czar" at OMB. Reasonable people may differ about the validity of those concerns. But now he's been attacked from another direction -- conservatives eager to paint him as an animal-rights fanatic who wants to ban hunting. For instance, For one particularly colorful attack, we turn your attention to a speech from the National Rifle Association's fiery Wayne LaPierre at the a...
CONTINUE READINGEnvironmental Hypocrisy
Recently, CBS's 60 Minutes ran a story on the current environmental damages litigation 30,000 Ecuadorians are bringing in that country's courts against Chevron. The case arises out the toxic oil wastes a Chevron subsidiary left behind in the Ecuadorian rain forest following decades of oil production deep in the headwaters of the Amazon. The plaintiffs, represented by American lawyers, are seeking $27 billion in damages to clean up and compensate for the abandoned was...
CONTINUE READINGDitching cap and trade (the phrase, not the proposal)
Looks like the White House is taking note of the same polling data Dan blogs about here on the public's antipathy toward, or misunderstanding of, the phrase "cap and trade". This from the LA Times, in a story generally chronicling the administration's efforts to figure out the best language and framing for its climate policies: It seems clear that the White House is absorbing some of these messages. During Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, his website included a sec...
CONTINUE READINGPika next test for the ESA?
If you think the polar bear wrangling has been fun, stay tuned. FWS has announced that it will review the status of the American pika to determine if listing is warranted (hat tip: EarthJustice). The pika, also known as the "rock rabbit," is a cute little creature found in the mountains of the western U.S. and Canada. The key threat to the pika is global warming While Obama's Interior Department has disappointed biodiversity advocates with its decision not to revoke the...
CONTINUE READINGRagging on Climate Change
An White House document surfaced today relating to EPA's proposed finding of endangerment. The document is unremittingly critical of EPA. Some of the criticisms relate to fairly narrow points such as whether EPA should have addressed six greenhouse gases or only four. Other issues are more basic. The document displays stunning ignorance of or disdain for law. It suggests that the EPA should hold back from making an endangerment finding on the ground that "an...
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