Pollution & Health
The BP Oil Spill and the Disappearing Louisiana Coast
The fact is that even before the BP Oil Spill, the Gulf Coast and the Gulf of Mexico itself were under siege from damage to wetlands, a poorly regulated oil and gas industry, rising seas, an immense marine “dead zone,” invasive species, and damaged ecosystems.
CONTINUE READINGEPA vetoes mountaintop removal mining permit
Cross-posted at CPRBlog. If EPA is afraid of the new Congress, you wouldn’t know it from today’s news. Assistant Administrator Peter Silva issued the Obama administration’s first veto of a Clean Water Act section 404 permit. This veto, which has been working its way through the cumbersome process for more than a year (see here, …
Continue reading “EPA vetoes mountaintop removal mining permit”
CONTINUE READINGSix Myths About Climate Change and the Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act is a broad statute that provides sensible remedies for anything which goes into the air and later causes harm. There’s nothing inappropriate about using the statute to address greenhouse gases.
CONTINUE READING“Cementing” the GOP’s Environmental Policy in Place
EPA’s cement rule would save roughly one life per year for every job lost. You have to wonder about the value systems of the folks who oppose the rule.
CONTINUE READINGPlenty of blame to go around
The Oil Spill Commission has released a chapter from its upcoming report on the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Commission describes this chapter as containing the report’s “key findings”. The chapter focuses on the operations immediately preceding the explosion. According to the Commission, BP, Halliburton, Transocean, the oil industry as a whole, Congress, and multiple presidential …
Continue reading “Plenty of blame to go around”
CONTINUE READINGThe Legal Underpinnings of EPA’s Climate Rules
The Clean Air Act is a formidably technical and complex statute — I often tell my students that it’s like the Internal Revenue Code except not as clearly written. But even those who know the statute may have been surprised by a couple of provisions that EPA is using to address greenhouse gases.
CONTINUE READINGThe Incoming Congressional Freshmen
Politico has a nice posting about the incoming freshman GOP in the House and their views on environment and energy issues. The bottom line: House Republican freshmen looking to make names for themselves on energy issues in the next Congress have some goals in common: Ramp up domestic energy production, roll back the Obama administration’s …
Continue reading “The Incoming Congressional Freshmen”
CONTINUE READINGObama, the GOP, and the Environment
The NY Times has a Christmas Day editorial about the need for the President to take a strong stance in defense of EPA: Republicans in the next Congress are obviously set on limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate a wide range of air pollutants — even if it …
Continue reading “Obama, the GOP, and the Environment”
CONTINUE READINGHappy Birthday, EPA!
Forty years ago, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency by Executive Order. Here are some of the achievements that EPA lists on its EPA@40 website: [W]e’ve reduced 60% of the dangerous air pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, lead poisoning and more. clean air innovations like smokestack scrubbers and catalytic converters in automobiles have …
Continue reading “Happy Birthday, EPA!”
CONTINUE READINGA big news week for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
This has been a significant news week for California’s delta. On Wednesday, California’s Natural Resources Agency endorsed a plan for a water tunnel system to bypass the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, coupled with a habitat restoration plan for the Delta. Bettina Boxall’s story in today’s Los Angeles Times has the details. Many environmental groups …
Continue reading “A big news week for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
