tarsands protests.jpg This year, a deal between TransCanada and the U.S. government almost allowed one of the most disastrous plans in energy history to win aproval. The deal would have allowed TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline across the U.S. border to carry an exceptionally dirty form of oil
Continue readingTag: EPA
DeSmogBlog: The Year In Dirty Energy: The Koch Brothers
Kochtopus money bags.jpg Over the last 12 months, DeSmogBlog contributors have helped spread the word about some of the most dastardly deeds of Charles and David Koch. Here are some of the biggest stories we covered this year on the issue of corruption and dirty energy money. It is impossible
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Report: Arsenic From Coal Ash Disposal Sites Leaching Into Groundwater
toxic water 2.jpg The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) has released a startling report showing that coal ash dumps near coal-burning power plants are leaching arsenic and other toxic chemicals into water supplies. The new report identifies 20 new sites in 10 different states where coal ash is contaminating water supplies.
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: North American Air Pollution Statistics Will Take Your Breath Away
coal-power-plant-pic1.jpg Two separate reports released this week offer a grim look at the state of air quality in North America. The continent already produces 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants, resulting in an array of health and environmental problems. According to a joint report by
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: House Republicans Working On Huge Polluter Giveaways
House-Republicans-Boehner-Pence-Cantor.jpg The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is playing hardball with President Obama’s proposal to extend a payroll tax cut extension, and now they’ve found a way to use the extension as a means to grant their polluter friends everything on their holiday wish list. According to Reuters, Republicans in
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: EPA Connects Dots Between Groundwater Contamination and Fracking in Wyoming
niobrara-shale-map1.png The tables turned on the gas industry today with the release of a new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) connecting the dots between fracking and groundwater contamination in the state of Wyoming, located in the hear tof the Niobrara Shale basin. The report is sure to leave many
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Bowing to Republican Pressure, EPA Eases Boiler Emission Standards, Threatening U.S. Economy and Health
boiler emissions.jpg The U.S. EPA has bowed to pressure from Republican members of Congress and relaxed the proposed rules for boiler emissions. By allowing utility industry companies to make “upgrades” to existing boilers, rather than replacing them with lower-emission boilers, corporations will save an estimated $1.5 billion in their attempts to
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: ACCCE Doesn’t Want To Pony Up For Life-Saving, Job-Creating New Emissions Standards
scrooge-mcduck-make-it-rain.jpeg The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is apparently trying to show the EPA its empty pockets as a new set of standards capping mercury, arsenic, acid gases, and other toxic chemicals is about to go forward. Although the new laws will save thousands of lives, the coal
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Koch Brothers Behind Push To Dismantle EPA
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During last week’s Americans For Prosperity (AFP) event, a common theme kept creeping into the speakers’ presentations: Dismantle the EPA. And as the major funders of…
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Hilarious (or Scary) Anti-EPA Campaign Video
Bette Grande, a North Dakota Republican running for Congress, says she’ll “padlock the doors” of America’s Environmental Protection Agency. Watch her bizarre campaign video:
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: New Lake Michigan Coal Ash Spill Raises Old Concerns
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On Monday, a bluff surrounding a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based power plant collapsed, sending a cascade of debris and coal ash waste from the power plant into Lake Michigan. No in…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Koch Brothers "Secret Sins" Exposed In Bloomberg News Investigation
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Bloomberg has released a whopping 21-page investigative and historical essay on the many crimes of the infamous Koch Brothers, their company Koch Industries and its …
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: As The World Warms, Environmental Protections Put On The Back Burner
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After a year that has so far produced record-breaking snowstorms, droughts, floods, and violent hurricanes and tornadoes, environmental protections are once again being scaled…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: John Stossel Tells EPA To Pack Up Shop
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Fox News host John Stossel says that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has passed its prime, and is no longer useful. After the Obama Administration last week overruled t…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Death Of A Talking Point? Regulations Actually Create Jobs
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For years, the Republican Party in America has been on a crusade against what they call “job killing regulations.” A quick Google search for the phrase “job kil…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Breaking: State Department Calls Keystone XL Environmental Impact "Limited," Ignoring Evidence
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The State Department just released their Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The 27-page document does not flag any significant en…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Canada Right On Target, To Miss 2020 Emissions Targets
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According to Environment Canada’s peer-reviewed July report on Canada’s Emissions Trends [pdf], government action to date is not putting the country on track…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Make Money Having Fun, A Company That Makes Money Contaminating Water Supplies
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An Oklahoma coal fly ash disposal company has found themselves in hot, contaminated water over their practice of using oil and gas wastewater brine in the disposal of fly ash. Acco…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Fracking’s ‘Ominous’ Cost To New York’s Roads
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A draft discussion paper [pdf] from the New York State Department Of Transportation (NYSDOT) projects costs that unconventional gas and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) will…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Communities At Risk from Gas Industry Air Pollution – Interview with NRDC’s Amy Mall
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The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is busy trying to figure out why communities near gas production facilities are experiencing life-threatening levels of hydrogen sul…
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