Getting Serious About Toxicity Testing
Most of the products we use everyday contain chemicals that have never undergone meaningful health and safety testing. That statement is hardly controversial; most folks on all sides of the continuing debate over chemical policy reform accept it as accurate. Yet there is controversy over whether such testing should be required as a routine matter for all or some chemicals in commerce. I've been to a number of conferences and meetings regarding chemical policy refor...
CONTINUE READINGWhen Will Congress Act? Our Poll Results
During Obama's second year in office 43% During Obama's third or fouth year 29% During Obama's first year in office 20% Never 6% After the 2012 elections 1 3%...
CONTINUE READINGCass Sunstein Has Lost His Mind
I'm in the middle of reading Sunstein and Thaler's Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, and a lot of it is illuminating, if somewhat predictable for those who have followed behavioral economics over the last few years. But so far, by far the worst chapter has been the one on the environment, which has Sunstein's fingerprints all over it. Large chunks of the chapter are devoted to cap-and-trade or carbon tax schemes for climate change. which all...
CONTINUE READINGThey’rrreee Off and Running!!!
Today, U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman released a discussion draft of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES). See http://energycommerce.house.gov/. This is a major development, for several reasons. First, ACES represents the 111th Congress' first foray into the details of proposed climate change legislation--though the newly-released draft is truly an omnibus bill, covering renewable energy, green ...
CONTINUE READINGWhen Will Congress Act on Climate Change?
I hear a lot of different answers to that question, ranging from "soon" to "never."Â I thought it would be interesting to see what our readers think about this. [polldaddy poll=1457402]...
CONTINUE READINGAnother one bites the dust (RIP Cannon nomination)
Ann touted the nomination of Jon Cannon to be EPA Deputy Administrator here as "a great appointment," but last week he became the most recent Obama nominee to fall. Here's the WSJ coverage.  His withdrawal is being met with real sadness in many quarters.  At a conference of public and private bar environmental lawyers in Los Angeles on Friday, Cecilia Estolano, CEO of the LA Community Redevelopment Agency and someone who had worked with Cannon as part ofÂ...
CONTINUE READINGIn Mexico, Life Goes On
A sign protests the proposed La Parota Dam As President Obama announced plans to move National Guard troops to the Mexican border and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton traveled to Mexico City to discuss a new relationship between the two nations in light of accelerated drug wars, representatives from various nations were also in Mexico City this week to talk about ways to get new electric transmission lines and other infrastructure projects up and running. Delegates...
CONTINUE READINGHUD and DOT, sitting in a tree…
The two federal agencies that should go together like peas and carrots are finally making moves. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a new joint task force to identify strategies to link affordable housing with transportation and to create sustainable communities. The task force will set a goal to have every major metropolitan area in the country conduct integrated housing, transportation, and ...
CONTINUE READINGLubchenco on scientific integrity
Shortly after her confirmation as NOAA administrator, Jane Lubchenco sat for an interview (subscription required) with Science and Nature. Asked about her priorities, she listed science at the top (others include ending overfishing, getting NOAA's satellite program back on track, establishing a National Climate Service, and protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems). When pressed to expand on what it would mean to make science a priority, she explained: It's my belief t...
CONTINUE READINGEPA asserts itself on mountaintop removal mining
EPA is finally flexing its muscle on mountaintop removal mining, taking on the Corps of Engineers and stepping in for states that have been reluctant to attack the practice. Mountaintop removal mining involves blasting the tops off of mountains, typically in Appalachia, to get at coal. The ecological problems are less about removal of the mountaintops than about the filling of valley streams with the excess spoils. The practice has been going on for more than 20 years w...
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