In what is becoming an annual tradition, Republican Representative Paul Ryan has put forth his budget plan for the coming fiscal year. Ryan’s previous budget proposals were approved by the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, but rejected along party lines in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate. Not unlike his previous budget
Continue readingAuthor: Farron Cousins
DeSmogBlog: EPA Accused Of Blocking Scientific Advancement of Corexit In BP Cleanup
Oil Spill Eater International (OSEI), through the Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference group, issued a press release this week saying that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) effectively blocked or otherwise delayed scientific advancement in the cleanup of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster by refusing to acknowledge the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: The Environmental Impact Of The Sequester Cuts
The failure of elected officials in Washington, D.C. to reach a deal on the “sequester” led to an automatic $85 billion cut to the federal budget on March 1st. And, unfortunately, environmental initiatives and other projects were the first to be placed on the chopping block. Environmental programs within the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Industry Funded Front Group Attacks Government Estimates Of Oil Drilling Revenues
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a report detailing the many ways in which expanded oil exploration and drilling in federally protected areas would not yield an overall economic benefit for the United States. The CBO report says that the revenue generated by these operations would take too long to
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Record Fines For BP In Gulf Disaster Deal
After a ruling earlier this week by a federal judge in New Orleans, BP now holds the record for the largest criminal penalty in U.S. history. The penalty, totaling $4 billion, is strictly related to the criminal conduct of the company that led to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Mystery Company Posts Job Opportunity For Anti Wind Power Protesters
Earlier this week, a Craigslist posting popped up that had that fresh stink of industry astroturf. The posting, listed for New York City, was from a mysterious company known only as “Ovation,” who was looking to hire “volunteers” to protest the construction of wind farms in Scotland and England. The
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Renewable Energy Capacity Surging, But America Betting On Shale Gas
A report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Energy Projects says that, in 2012, the capacity for renewable energy electrical generation accounted for almost 50% of all new installations for energy projects in the United States. This includes solar, biomass, geothermal, and water-based generation capacity. On top of
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: National Climate Assessment Delivers Dire Warning On Climate Threat
A draft version of the 2013 National Climate Assessment is making headlines this week, and not because it is so uplifting. According to the report, the effects of climate change are becoming alarmingly visible throughout America and the rest of the world. The 1146-page report reads less like a government
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Poll Shows Strong Bipartisan Support For Healthy Environmental Choices From Congress
While politicians in America have been slow to react to both the threat of climate change and the need for expanded renewable energy resources, the American public has made their priorities clear: Give us clean energy that protects our health, our environment, and our resources. According to a new poll
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: RFK, Jr. & Bill McKibben: Time To Act On Climate Change
Originally published on Ring of Fire New reports have come out this week showing us that 2012 was officially the hottest year on record. North America alone was plagued with hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods, blizzards, and numerous other forms of weather that have almost all been linked back to anthropogenic
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Dirty Energy Lobby Optimistic About Obama’s Second Term
Despite the years that they have spent attacking President Obama, the dirty energy industry is incredibly optimistic that the White House is going to give the oil and gas industry everything they want in Obama’s second term. Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute (API), said that his group
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Citizens Take Action Against Coal Company For Clean Water Act Violations
A citizens group in Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against Emerald Coal Resources LP (ECR) for polluting waterways in their state. ECR operates a coalfield in Waynesburg, which is the focus of the suit. The suit is being handled by The Center For Coalfield Justice, and alleges that ECR committed
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Shell’s Kulluk Rig Grounding Proves Folly of Arctic Oil Drilling, Again
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell spent a good portion of 2012 defending allegations that the company wasn’t “arctic ready.” The disaster that occurred with their offshore drilling rig Kulluk on New Year’s Eve only served to prove that the company is not to be trusted. Tug crews towing the floating
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Wind Tax Credit Avoids The Fall Over The Fiscal Cliff
The U.S. government has managed to postpone financial calamity for a few months with the passage of a so-called “fiscal cliff” deal. While the deal is hardly anything to celebrate in the larger scheme of things, it did provide a one-year extension for a critical clean energy mechanism – the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Group Sues Obama Administration Over Offshore Oil And Gas Leasing Program
A lawsuit has been filed against the Obama administration over the economic claims that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) made in their 5-year plan to open up new areas around the United States to offshore oil and gas leasing. The suit, filed by the Center for Sustainable Economy
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Republican Groups Tell Obama To Back Off Fracking Rules
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) along with the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) sent a letter to President Obama today [PDF], telling him that the federal government should abandon a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposal to create more transparency for natural gas fracking operations. The proposal that the RGA and
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Senator Boxer Creates First U.S. Climate Change Caucus
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, announced earlier this week that she would be taking the initiative to form the first Climate Change Caucus in the U.S. Senate. Boxer, long considered a champion of environmental causes, said that she decided to form the committee
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Internal BP Emails Could Expose Extent Of Corporate Cover-Up Of Gulf Oil Disaster
Attorneys for Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP, claim that a spate of previously unreleased emails will “exonerate” their client in the current criminal case being pursued against Mix. Mix is the first person in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and leak to be brought
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Oil Connected Judge Shields Dispersant Maker From Gulf Lawsuits
A federal judge in Louisiana has dismissed lawsuits against Nalco, Inc., the makers of the oil dispersant Corexit, effectively shielding the company from liabilities that stem from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and the resulting oil leak that poisoned the Gulf of Mexico. Judge Carl Barbier, a member
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: CNN Lends Credence To Serial Climate Misinformer Marc Morano
CNN’s Piers Morgan has fallen into the same “balance trap” that ensnared PBS several months ago, when he decided to “balance” an interview on climate change with Bill Nye by giving a microphone to Marc Morano. Morano is a longtime skeptic of climate change, and a former communications director for
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