800px-Meade_and_Prettyman_Courthouse.jpg Tomorrow, we may see a court—the highest in the land—flout precedent for partisan ends in its ruling on President Obama’s signature health care law. However, in the meantime, we can rejoice that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit understands how to weigh complicated science-policy issues
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DeSmogBlog: Howarth and Ingraffea: Gas Industry Fracking Study So Biased it is ‘Almost Useless’
Picture 5.png Two of the largest gas industry lobbying bodies in the US, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and American Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), released a ‘study’ earlier this month claiming methane emissions from natural gas production to be 50 percent lower than the US Environmental Protection Agency’s 2011 estimates.
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Dirty Energy Industry Sues EPA Over Clean Air Initiatives
smoke-stack1.jpg In a blatant insult to the millions of Americans who would breathe easier under the EPA’s air pollution controls, the dirty energy industry, along with other groups, has sued the EPA to stop regulating toxic industrial air pollution. The Center for American Progress has the story: Two essential Environmental
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Media Helps Sell The Myth Of “Job Killing Regulations”
unemployment-numbers.jpg Repeat something often enough, and it becomes true. That phrase has been a common theme among think tanks and politicians for decades. And sadly, there is a lot of truth behind that statement. But the claim itself relies on the belief that people will not seek out the truth
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: House Republicans Go All In With Dirty Energy Industry Bonanza Legislation
Powerplant-and-EPA.jpg The dirty energy industry might experience Christmas in June if House Republicans have their way. Earlier this month, members of the House Energy Action Team (HEAT) unveiled a “package” of legislation that includes numerous bills that would give the industry everything that they’ve dreamt of for years. The legislative
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Fracking Industry Trying To Keep Doctors Silent About Chemical Dangers
doctor silence.jpg Polls conducted in recent years show that close to 80% of Americans trust their doctors. They believe, rightly so, that their personal doctors are looking out for their patients’ best interests, and that doctors will do what is necessary to get patients healthy. But what happens when a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Is The EPA Covering Up Oil Dispersant Dangers?
dispersant.jpg Less than two years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told BP that they had to stop using the highly dangerous and potentially toxic oil dispersant Corexit on the oil that was spewing from a blown out wellhead at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. BP refused, and
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: FreedomWorks Creates Error-Filled Site To Accuse EPA Of "Killing Jobs"
EPA Kills Jobs Facebook Ad.jpg FreedomWorks, the sister organization to the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP), has launched a new website and advertising campaign to convince American voters that the Obama administration and the EPA are out to destroy American jobs. FreedomWorks has been instrumental in creating the Tea Party in
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Oil and Gas Industry Moves to Silence Critics
shutterstock_49157602.jpg At an industry public relations conference last year, Michael Kehs of Chesapeake Energy described a Wall Street Journal op-ed to gathered oil and gas officials, saying it pointed out the industry's "credibility problem." “And I’m sure some of it relates to defensiveness,” Kehs added. (MP3 Audio) Small wonder. For years,
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Coal Ash Sites Posing Increasing Dangers To Water Supplies, Public Health
toxins-in-water.jpg The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) has once again put together a fantastic report regarding water contamination near coal ash disposal sites. Last year, the EIP released several reports showing that drinking water near coal ash disposal sites in states across America contained dangerous levels of heavy metals and other
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Coal Train to Boardman: EPA Warns of "Significant" Public Health Threats in Northwest Coal Export Proposal
110326007Paul_K_Anderson_Coal-copy1.jpg As demand for coal in the United States has cooled off in recent years, coal mining companies have been scrambling to deliver their dirty loads to customers abroad. But what does this mean for communities along the transportation routes, particularly at the ports and export terminals where the coal
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: ALEC’s Vision of Pre-Empting EPA Coal Ash Regs Passes the House
alec-exposed-600×400.jpg Authored by Sara Jerving of PRWatch.org and ALECExposed.org. Cross-posted with permission from the Center for Media and Democracy. The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment on April 18 to the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012 (HR 4348) that would effectively pre-empt the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating coal
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Spruce Mine Mountaintop Removal Coal Permit Restored
mine.gif In late March, a federal court ruled to open the Spruce No. 1 mine in Logan County, WV, to mountaintop removal coal mining. The EPA had originally vetoed the permit back in January of 2011, explaining that the destructive practices of mountaintop removal would endanger communities' health and access
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Experts Air Serious Concerns Before New York Fracking Decision
120111frack.jpg Two recent court decisions in New York state upheld the right of towns to use zoning laws to limit or even ban fracking within their borders. Other states and cities such as Dallas, Maryland, and North Carolina, are still trying to figure out whether, and if so how, to proceed with new drilling. But
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Here We Go Again – Republican Attacks On EPA Kick Off 2012 Agenda
business-anti-environment.jpg With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set to finally enact stricter air pollution standards in accordance with the Clean Air Act and two subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decisions requiring them to do so, powerful Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are working to make sure that the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Congressional ‘Scientific Integrity’ Hearing On Fracking In WY Is Quite Lacking In Scientists
120711_ECE03.JPG After starting the morning off with a little ritual stomping on the freedom of the press by ordering the arrest of Gasland director Josh Fox, the Republican members of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee got down to the real business of the morning: stomping all over the Environmental Protection Agency.
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Video of Josh Fox Being Arrested At House Energy Hearing, First Amendment Rights Ignored
Here is video footage of Gasland director Josh Fox being arrested by Capitol police earlier today. Josh Fox will be on the Ed Schultz show tonight on MSNBC at 8:45pm EST to talk about his arrest today. Fox released a statement about his arrest, which we reprint below (H/T Grist): read more
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Josh Fox Arrested For "Unlawful Entry" At Congressional Fracking Public Hearing, GOP Attacks 1st Amendment Rights
Josh Fox Arrested.png Earlier this morning, "Gasland" filmmaker and anti-fracking advocate Josh Fox was ejected out of the Energy and Environment subcommittee meeting on fracking after he attempted to film it. Claiming the First Amendment gave him rights to record, Fox refused to leave, so he was handcuffed, led out, and
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: EPA Comments On New York’s Environmental Impact Assessment: Hey…You Missed A Few Things
legoBiohazard01 resized.jpg On the heels of receiving over 40,000 citizen comments on their environmental impact assessment, it looks like the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is also getting flack from the EPA on their fracking proposal. The EPA's concerns echo those being shouted from the rooftops (or at
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: US Chamber of Commerce Jobs Plan Rehashes Old, Debunked Talking Points
US_Chamber_of_Commerce_logo-740806.jpg The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released its “The State of American Business 2012” plan this week, outlining their own vision of how to create jobs in America. There were no surprises in Chamber President Tom Donohue’s address to business leaders. He simply rehashed the same tired talking points that
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