Climate Politics
All Stories
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The Truck Stops Here
Speaking of the blue-green alliance, a coalition of labor and environmental groups, plus the trucking industry, filed suit yesterday to prevent the U.S. government from allowing some 30,000 Mexican trucks onto American roads. On Friday, the Bush administration is scheduled to sign regulations that would allow Mexican trucks to cross the border for the first […]
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Lies, Damn Lies, and Economic Analyses
In an unprecedented act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced yesterday that it would suspend work on about 150 congressionally approved water projects to review the economics used to justify them. The move follows last week’s decision by the Corps to suspend its deepening of the Delaware River to review the economic analysis, one […]
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Clear As Mud
President Bush rejected a U.S. EPA proposal that would have gone much further toward improving air quality than his pet Clean Skies Initiative, according to administration documents. To cite just one example, the EPA proposal would have limited sulfur dioxide emissions to 2 million tons per year by 2010; by contrast, the (so-called) Clear Skies […]
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Ill Duce
It’s one thing for lobbyists to ply governmental officials with policy requests (that’s what they do); it’s another thing for government officials to actively seek input from lobbyists when crafting national policy. But apparently, in the Bush administration, that’s what officials do: According to Energy Department documents (released following a lawsuit by the Natural Resources […]
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Catch the spirit of the Bush administration
Note: You’ll need Flash Player to watch the movie. If you don’t have it, download it now.
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We Lake It
In a blow to the property-rights movement, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday against Lake Tahoe property owners who had argued that they were entitled to monetary compensation from the government for restrictions placed on use of their land. The origins of the legal battle stretch back two decades, to when the Tahoe Regional Planning […]
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Monumental Pains
It might not reach Arctic Refuge-proportions in its intensity, but a battle being joined today by the Bush administration over national monuments promises to be a doozy. It will encompass debates about everything from oil drilling to dirt bike-riding, and will pit Western lawmakers, landowners, and the recreational-vehicle industry — all of whom generally want […]
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Letting the Gene Out of the Bottle
Delegates from almost 200 countries are meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, this week to discuss the future of genetically modified organisms. Their challenge is to strike a balance between the fondest hopes of the multi-billion dollar biotech industry and the deepest fears of environmentalists, who worry that GMOs could adversely affect ecosystems and human health. […]
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Read the resignation letter from Robert Martin, former national ombudsperson for the U.S. EPA
The following letter of resignation was submitted on April 22, 2002, by Robert Martin, the national ombudsperson for the U.S. EPA. Martin, who has held the post since 1992, was well-regarded by environmentalists for his handling of complaints about Superfund cleanups, but less beloved by higher-ups at the agency. He said his resignation was provoked […]
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My Favorite Martin
Robert Martin marked Earth Day by resigning yesterday from his position as ombudsperson for the U.S. EPA. Martin, who has held the post since 1992, was well-regarded by environmentalists for his handling of complaints about cleanups conducted under the EPA’s Superfund program, but less beloved by higher-ups at the agency. In November, EPA Administrator Christie […]
