Climate Politics

Signing of the Times

In a sign of the increasing political importance of environmental issues, close to half of the U.S. Senate called on the Bush administration yesterday to postpone implementing proposed changes to the New Source Review rules under the Clean Air Act, pending a complete analysis of the potential impact on air quality and public health. A […]

The White House Effect

Beltway green groups need to turn up the heat

Inside the Beltway, the climate movement is comatose. During the Clinton-Gore years, while the U.S. dragged its feet in international climate negotiations, the major national environmental groups allowed themselves to be used by the administration. Seduced by the former vice president’s rhetoric, the groups watched their issue disappear from the political arena when Al Gore […]

Tackling climate change at the local level

Sister Evelyn Mattern had two goals in mind as she stood vigil recently with a Protestant colleague in a gas mask, singing, “This Air is My Air!” at the North Carolina statehouse. Her short-term aim was to lend support to stricter regulations for the state’s coal-fired power plants. Yet she also had a loftier, long-range […]

Wheezy Riders

Motorcycles and gas-powered recreational boats could become substantially cleaner if emissions cuts proposed by the Bush administration late last week are enacted. The proposals call for halving emissions from motorcycles (which are, on average, 20 times more polluting per mile than a new car) and reducing boat emissions by 80 percent. The new standards would […]

Born to Be Wild

In a blow to property-rights advocates, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service said yesterday that wild salmon should continue to be protected under the Endangered Species Act even though hatchery-born salmon are thriving. Last year, in a lawsuit brought by opponents of salmon protection, a federal judge told the agency to go back to the […]

Unsettling

The Bush administration is asking a federal judge to put the kibosh on a settlement that it reached 19 months ago with environmental groups to protect endangered manatees off the coast of Florida. The feds last year agreed to tighten procedures for issuing permits for waterfront development plans that might affect manatee habitat; they also […]

Look for the Onion Label?

It’s not quite like a pie in the face or mashed potatoes on the cafeteria ceiling, but Oregonians can still expect a food fight come November. The state seems poised to be the first in the nation to vote on a labeling law for genetically modified foods, now that the backers of the initiative, Oregon […]

Caterpillar Metamorphoses Into Beautiful Lobbyist

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and a coalition of Republican colleagues, manufacturers, and trucking industry reps are pressuring the Bush administration to postpone a strict new anti-pollution standard for diesel trucks. Why? Because Illinois-based Caterpillar, Inc., one of the leading manufacturers of 18-wheel diesel tractor-trailers and a significant Republican campaign contributor, could face millions […]

Kenny Get Your Guinn

President Bush signed into law yesterday the measure approving Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as the nation’s nuclear-waste burial ground, which was approved two weeks ago by Congress. The signing, closed to journalists and attended by only a handful of allies who were instrumental in brokering the bill’s passage, marks the official end of Nevada’s legislative fight […]