Environmental Protection Agency

Stories 161 - 180 | << Prev   Next >>

On Environment, White House Quick to Undo Bush Policies

Staff unearths years of shelved proposals

(Newser) - More than a dozen environmental initiatives that stagnated under former President Bush are moving forward under Obama, the Washington Post reports. In most of those cases, the decisions were based on reports drafted over several years that, in the face of opposition, were placed on the back burner to await...

EPA Warns of Global Warming, Spurs New Policy

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency sent the White House a message today that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are detrimental to human health, Reuters reports. The "endangerment finding" may open the door for Washington to curb emissions that cause global warming. "I think it's historic news," one...

EPA Expected to Start Limiting CO2 Emissions

Agency will act on ignored Supreme Court ruling

(Newser) - The EPA is expected to soon start regulating emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases for the first time, reports the New York Times. The agency is under an order—ignored by the Bush administration—to decide whether CO2 is a pollutant that endangers the public. Obama administration officials...

Obama to Back Strict New Fuel Standards Today

Prez plans to grant California rules stalled by Bush

(Newser) - In a dramatic reversal of his predecessor's policies, President Obama will ask federal regulators to approve an application from California and 13 other states to impose fuel efficiency standards stricter than those required by federal law, reports the New York Times. The measure will force the auto industry to adapt...

W. Virginia Torn Over Coal Mining

Small town split on pros and cons of clearing mountains

(Newser) - As the mining industry clears mountains in Appalachia, a nearby town finds itself in a conundrum over the future of coal, writes John McQuaid in Smithsonian magazine. With prices and energy demands soaring, mining sites are multiplying—and while some  residents see the state’s oldest and most profitable industry...

Court Reinstates Bush Clean Air Rule

Federal judges reverse position on clean air rule, giving Obama time to replace it

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has decided that a flawed clean air law is better than no clean air law, the New York Times reports. Reversing an earlier judgment, the court ruled to temporarily reinstate the Clean Air Interstate Rule—which limits emissions from coal-fired power plants in 28 states—while...

Obama Unveils Energy Team
Obama Unveils Energy Team
Dec 15, 2008 5:24 PM CST

Obama Unveils Energy Team

Green leaders will help America kick the oil habit, fight global warming, he says

(Newser) - Promising to end America's oil addiction and combat global warming, Barack Obama rolled out his environment and energy team today, the Boston Globe reports. He chose Nobel laureate Steven Chu for energy secretary; New Jersey official Lisa Jackson for EPA; Los Angeles deputy mayor Nancy Sutley to lead a White...

EPA Pick Has Toxic Record, Critics Charge

Jackson promised NJ cleanup effort, then didn't follow through

(Newser) - Lisa Jackson, Barack Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, will bring some controversy with her, ProPublica reports. Critics say that after promising to speed efforts to clean up toxic waste sites as New Jersey’s top environmental official, Jackson failed to follow through. A defender says Jackson...

Obama to Pick Corzine Aide as EPA Chief

Many tout Jackson's record; others say pick too industry-friendly

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency is a trained scientist praised as open-minded, though her history of accommodating business gives some environmentalists pause, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Lisa Jackson, who would be the first African American in the job, is currently chief of staff to New...

Gore-Obama Meeting Fuels Job Rumors

But former veep says he wants to keep working from 'outside'

(Newser) - Barack Obama and Joe Biden will meet today with Al Gore just as the transition team is set to choose the key environmental appointments of energy secretary and EPA chief, CNN reports. The meeting in Chicago has triggered speculation that Obama may be considering Gore for a slot in his...

Farmers Raise a Stink Over Fees for Flatulence

EPA brands livestock odor air pollution

(Newser) - Farmers' noses are out of joint over proposed regulations that would fine them for their  livestock's flatulence, reports AP. Operations with herds over a certain size would be charged per animal to offset the amount of greenhouse gasses contained in their rather voluminous belching and farting, according to the EPA...

Obama Plans to Erase Bush's Environmental Mark

EPA, Interior Dept. to be put to work fighting climate change

(Newser) - Whoever Barack Obama picks for the top posts at the EPA and the Interior Department will likely be put straight to work reversing the course those agencies have been on for eight years, the Washington Post reports. Obama has made it plain that he plans to undo many of the...

EPA to Loosen Clean-Air Rules in National Parks

Bush moves to allow coal-fired plants nearer US land preserves

(Newser) - Polluting facilities like coal-fired power plants could soon be allowed to operate closer to national parks, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. Rules being finalized by the EPA—against strong objections from several officials—will weaken Clean Air Act protections by averaging out emission counts over a year,...

Bush's EPA Gutted Toxic Chemical Protections
Bush's EPA Gutted Toxic Chemical Protections
ANALYSIS
Nov 11, 2008 4:15 PM CST

Bush's EPA Gutted Toxic Chemical Protections

Military-use substances were deemed less toxic, key reviews stalled

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency program that rates the toxicity of chemicals used in the US, and around the world, has been manipulated in favor of industry and the military under the Bush administration, Rebecca Claren reports in Salon. Budget-cutting directives from the White House have allowed outside organizations, including the...

Biofuels' Green Cred in Dispute

Some say producing more of the greener fuel makes world less green overall

(Newser) - Biofuels, once hailed as a planet-saving alternative to gasoline, are now savaged as much the opposite, the Wall Street Journal reports, with critics charging the “ripple effect” on land use globally actually adds climate-harming carbon. The EPA has signaled plans to modify biofuel emissions measurements to reflect that, but...

EPA Won't Limit Rocket-Fuel Ingredient in Water

Contaminant perchlorate is linked to thyroid problems

(Newser) - The EPA has decided not to set limits for a component of rocket fuel that contaminates drinking water, according to an agency document reviewed by the AP. Perchlorate, linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and babies, enters the water supply through improper disposal by rocket test sites and chemical...

Bayer Knew Pesticide Killed Bees, Critics Charge

(Newser) - A German prosecutor is investigating allegations that chemical giant Bayer CropScience knowingly sold a pesticide that kills honeybees, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The investigation follows complaints from German beekeepers and environmentalists that the company covered up incriminating data on chlothianidine. In the US, meanwhile, an environmental group sued...

Safety of US Tap Water Remains Murky
Safety of US
Tap Water Remains Murky
Aug 19, 2008 12:58 PM CDT

Safety of US Tap Water Remains Murky

Consumers, experts worry over effect of drugs present in supply

(Newser) - As critics pan bottled water as wasteful and frivolous, many Americans are turning back to tap water—only to find a debate of equal concern waiting at their kitchen sinks. The Wall Street Journal examines the controversy over tap-water purity, and why many argue the federal government isn’t doing...

Calif. Sues EPA for 'Wantonly' Ignoring Earth

Suit seeks to force EPA action on emissions from ships, planes, industry

(Newser) - California is suing the EPA for "wantonly" shirking its duty to protect the environment, reports Reuters. The lawsuit is aimed at forcing the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ships, planes, and industrial equipment, said Attorney General Jerry Brown. He said previous efforts to get the agency to...

EPA Staffers Told to Keep Quiet in Memo

Environmental experts suspect politically charged 'gag order'

(Newser) - In what some officials fear is a sign of secrecy and political meddling, an email to Environmental Protection Agency staff asked that they not answer questions from journalists, the Government Accountability Office, or its own inspector general, CNN reports. In the email, which an environmental workers’ group called a “...

Stories 161 - 180 | << Prev   Next >>