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 readingTag: Government Policy
DeSmogBlog: 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 readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Endangered Species Legislation Wrong Approach
Trying to protect endangered species is simply the wrong approach to protecting wildlife. What we do is allow open season on development/destruction of wildlife habitat unless it contains endangered species. Then we make a half-hearted token attempt to protect those species, often while still allowing the development/destruction of the habitat
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Dirty Energy Lobby Wins In EU – Shale Gas Now Considered “Green Energy”
lobbyist-payoff1.jpg In a headline that would appear to be ripped off the pages of The Onion, The Guardian UK this week reported “Gas rebranded as green energy by EU.” After billions of dollars spent in lobbying efforts over the years, the dirty energy industry in the European Union has managed
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: The Meaning of Tropical Storm Alberto–and a 2012 Hurricane Rap Session
800px-Atlantic_hurricane_tracks.jpg Uh oh. Hurricane season has started early. On Saturday (the 19th), when Tropical Storm Alberto spun up off the Carolina coast, forecaster Brennan of the National Hurricane Center had this to say: ALBERTO IS EARLIEST–FORMING TROPICAL STORM IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN SINCE ANA IN 2003. THIS IS ALSO THE FIRST
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: House Republicans Attempt To Nix Military’s Clean Energy Initiatives
20090217-army-solar-panel.jpg Republicans on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee have decided that the military’s push for clean, renewable energy has gone far enough, and have proposed for next year’s budget that the Pentagon not spend a dime on renewable energy sources that cost more than traditional dirty energy. This news
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Canadian Environmental Groups Black Out to Speak Out Against Government Threats to Nature & Democracy
Blackoutspeakout.png With full page ads in the Globe and Mail and La Presse national newspapers, a major coalition of Canadian environmental non-profits have come together to launch the Black Out Speak Out campaign (Silence, on parle! pour la Francophonie.) CPAWS, David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Equiterre, Environmental Defence, Greenpeace, Nature Canada, Pembina
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Fracking Disclosure Proposals: Way Too Little, Much Too Late
frackingfluids.jpg The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finally decided to do something about the lack of oversight regarding fracking fluids. A new proposal by the agency would finally require the fracking industry to disclose the chemical cocktails they are injecting into the ground at fracking well sites. The
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: New Poll: American Voters Very Concerned About Global Warming Pollution, Support Taxing Dirty Energy
global climate change.jpg A new poll released today shows that American voters take global warming pollution very seriously and want to see action from government and the private sector to curb emissions and support clean energy solutions. The new Yale-GMU survey found that 76% of Americans believe that regulating CO2 emissions
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Justice Department Files First Criminal Charges In BP Oil Disaster Probe
bp_oil-leak.jpg The U.S. Department of Justice has filed its first criminal charges into their investigation into the cover up of BP’s oil geyser in the Gulf of Mexico. The charges have been filed against Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP, for allegedly destroying evidence related to the oil flow
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Who Is Monitoring Fracking Wells And Pipelines? Nobody
see-hear-speak-no-evil.jpg As we here at DeSmogBlog have been covering in exhaustive detail for quite some time now, there is virtually no safe way to perform hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for unconventional oil and gas. Fracking has been linked to numerous problems, including the release of radioactive molecules that cause an array
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Conservatives versus Science: A New Scientific Validation of the Republican War on Science (and Republican Brain) Thesis
rwos.jpg For a while now, I’ve been aware of a powerful new paper that directly tests the central argument of my 2005 book The Republican War on Science—and also validates some key claims made in my new book, The Republican Brain. I’ve had to keep quiet about it until now;
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Fact Checking The New Paul Ryan Budget on Energy and Environment
ryan_620x350.jpg Representative Paul Ryan (R–WI) has released his budget for fiscal year 2013. To almost no one’s surprise, his outline is filled with too many falsehoods and outright lies to count. After analyzing just one section of his proposal – the section on energy and the environment – more than
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: China Looks To Stephen Harper For Lessons In Dirty Energy Exploitation
oilyleaf.jpg Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in China this week to meet with Chinese leaders about how both countries can profit big by exploiting China’s shale gas reserves, as well as by importing Canadian tar sands oil. Harper is scheduled to meet with both Chinese officials, as well as
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: Rupert Murdoch’s Newspapers Mislead Public On Climate Change and Environment
Rupert Murdoch 2.jpg When it comes to climate change misinformation, arguably no single person has done more to spread false information to confuse the public than Rupert Murdoch. With his vast media empire that spans the globe, Murdoch has helped misdirect the public, as well as to openly advocate against
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Fracking Earthquakes Becoming Serious Cause for Concern
Fracking-illustration-001.jpg For the fracking industry, 2012 is off to a shaky start…literally. On New Year’s Eve 2011, a 4.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Ohio, one of the largest fracking-related quakes to date. According to reports, the quake was felt across hundreds of square miles in the state of Ohio,
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: What We Didn’t Learn From The Deepwater Horizon Disaster
oil-rig.jpg Almost 20 months have passed since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. And to this day, the lessons we should have learned from that disaster remain completely ignored. In spite of an intense battle involving a moratorium
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