The U.S. Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the Clinton administration's clean air standards for ozone and particulate pollution, ending a five-year campaign by industry groups to have the standards overturned. To the chagrin of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Trucking Associations, and others, the court ruled that the U.S. EPA did not exceed its authority in setting the standards and that the standards were neither arbitrary nor unreasonable. The Bush administration said it would develop a proposal by this summer to implement the standards. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman, seemingly alluding to occasions when the administration has been, shall …

The word is out that U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham met only with energy industry executives and no environmental or consumer groups as he helped to write the Bush administration's energy policy last year. But only now is the extent of that exclusive access becoming clear. On Monday night, after a court-ordered release of 11,000 pages of documents relating to the drafting of the energy policy, the Department of Energy announced that Abraham met with 36 industry representatives -- a figure that was picked up in most press accounts. But the secretary actually met with 109 industry representatives from late …

Roughly 40 miles from the rubble of the World Trade Center, U.S. Navy cutters patrol the chilly waters of the Hudson River. Military planes circle overhead. On the ground, members of the National Guard stand ready. The Indian Point nuclear power station, which churns out electricity to nearly 2 million homes around New York City, is defended by land, sea, and air. Safety Dance Part One Part Two Help Wanted, a sidebar Yet many people -- and especially people in the small town of Buchanan, N.Y., where the power station is located -- still worry that terrorists could turn Indian …

Amid heated controversy over the Bush administration's plans to weaken air pollution regulations, two environmental organizations and a large New Jersey utility are releasing today a new study ranking the worst polluters in the power industry. The study, "Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Generation Owners in the U.S. -- 2000," tracked company emissions records for four of the sector's most toxic compounds: sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide (which contribute to acid rain and haze), mercury (which is toxic to humans), and carbon dioxide (which contributes to global warming). It concluded that a handful of companies account for …

The Bush administration has announced plans to hire more scientists for its regulatory review office, seek more input from citizens and businesses, and adopt cost-benefit analyses for rulemaking. The White House's point person on regulatory reform, John Graham, said the plan reflected the administration's "commitment to science-based quality regulation." Industry reps, who know they have a friend in the White House, found reason to rejoice in the plan, which was released in a 2002 draft report to Congress yesterday. But critics say the cost-benefit framework under consideration would greatly underestimate the value of rules protecting the environment and public health. …

In a sweeping policy shift that has environmentalists deeply worried, the Bush administration is urging federal judges to roll back legal protections for almost two dozen populations of endangered species. Government officials say the rollbacks are necessary because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, which both enforce the Endangered Species Act, are facing nearly a dozen lawsuits from developers. Last May, a U.S. appeals court invalidated protection for nearly 600 miles of streams and rivers because the government did not fully review the economic implications of protecting them. Because a similar standard of review …

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has got a blueprint for implementing the Bush administration's energy plan, and it involves speeding up approval for petitions to drill for oil and gas, creating easier access to petroleum deposits, reducing royalty payments by industry to the government, and easing environmental restrictions. All that, without harming the environment, BLM Assistant Director Peter Culp announced yesterday. But one former head of the BLM, Jim Baca, begged to differ: "I've never seen such an assault on public lands," he said. Ninety percent of BLM lands are already open to energy exploration, and a number of …

After months of internal debate, the Bush administration has decided (surprise, surprise) to replace pollution lawsuits with voluntary incentives to encourage coal-powered utilities and oil refineries to clean up their acts, according to U.S. EPA officials. The Clinton administration sued dozens of the country's worst polluting power plants for violating New Source Review rules, which require that companies install state-of-the-art pollution controls when upgrading power their facilities. Energy behemoths like Southern Co. launched a huge lobbying effort to stop the lawsuits and gave millions of dollars to Republican political campaigns. The Bush administration is expected to announce its formal plan …

One day after declining to support tougher fuel-efficiency standards, the Senate yesterday voted down a measure that would have required 20 percent of the nation's electricity to be produced from wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources by 2020. Currently, less than 2 percent of U.S. electricity comes from renewable resources. The measure that could have changed all that, which was sponsored by Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), was defeated by a disheartening 70 votes to 29. How did your senators vote on Amendment 3017? Odds are, badly -- but see for yourself. Amendment 3017 Yeas Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) …

MEMO TO: All National Petroleum Unlimited employees FROM: Jack Morris, CEO Has this CEO gone soft, or was there something sweet -- nay, touching -- in the details of President Bush's new emissions plan? Rather than demand that we do our part to slow the pace of global warming, he's simply letting us volunteer! Friends, this man trusts us, and America's coal and oil industry must rise to the occasion. Emitting nothing but love. Critics have already called the president's plan a disappointment and hauled out wonky charts showing how similar voluntary programs failed miserably under the first Bush. But …