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EPA revamping rules for toxic releases from coal plants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it plans to revise the existing standards for wastewater discharges from coal-fired power plants. The news came one day after three environmental groups announced they intend to sue the agency for failing to properly regulate such discharges. Many of these releases come from coal ash ponds like […]

Obama administration comes out in support of key international provisions in climate bill

Todd Stern the Special Envoy for Climate Change, just testified before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming on: The Road to Copenhagen and International Climate Agreement. His testimony (available here [pdf]) and response to several questions for the first time publicly stressed the importance of the three international investment provisions in […]

Obama to propose ending fossil fuel subsidies in Pittsburgh?

According to a leaked letter, the Obama administration is set to propose ending fossil fuel subsidies next week at the Pittsburgh G20. The letter, authored by Michael Froman who is an Obama advisor on international economic affairs, calls on the G20 to eliminate all fossil fuel and electricity subsidies, as a “logical step in combating […]

Ask Umbra on combating climate denial

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, This “year with no summer” and some alleged statistics I have seen quoted about earth-wide temperatures for the last ten years have resulted in claims that the earth is not heating — it may even be cooling. What about it? Arthur WaskowShalom Center, Philadelphia A. Dearest Arthur, […]

Are biofuels really worse than Canadian oil sands?

I borrowed this title from a post by John Guerrerio over on Examiner.com. When several scientific studies began publishing reports that supported the common sense contention that food-based biofuels usurp farmland the Renewable Fuels Association (which just spent almost a quarter of a million dollars last quarter on lobbying) had to cobble together some kind […]

Obama talks green to GM workers

President Barack Obama put a green spin on Tuesday’s address to autoworkers at the GM assembly plant in Warren, Ohio. The president sounded confident that the rescued, retooled, reinvented, more or less government-owned GM would be “good for American workers, good for American manufacturing, and good for America’s economy.” And it may just be a […]

USDA’s $65 million drop in the bucket

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is so fired up about local food economies that it’s coughing up $65 million for a new program called “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.” My first reaction: $65 million?!  That’s all?! At 3:45 central time a top USDA official is speaking at the event I’m at in Chicago. I […]

With Patrick Swayze’s death, perhaps the year could take a rest

The past few months have taken a mind-boggling assortment of icons, pop and otherwise, from our midst. As a green media outlet, we face a challenge on these somber occasions: How to pay tribute to people whose departure is felt by so many, but who might not have strong environmental connections. We don’t want to […]

Is Chamber of Commerce prez biased on climate because of his ties to Union Pacific railroad?

Why is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on such a different page from its major members when it comes to climate change legislation?

Everything you always wanted to know about EPA greenhouse gas regulations, but were afraid to ask

Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the authority and the obligation to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. At a stroke, the politics of climate change were changed. The choice was no longer between legislation or no legislation — it was between legislation or regulation. One way […]