Articles by Ana Unruh Cohen

Weekend reading

The Senate Energy Committee released some of the titles of their draft energy legislation today. So what are you waiting for? Start reading!

Are greens jumping the gun by bashing GE’s new ecomagination?

Over on TomPaine.com today, Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Watch takes on GE's "ecomagination." Frank makes some compelling arguments -- similar to comments made on gristmill earlier in the week -- as to why this is just a bunch of greenwashing.

As strange as it makes me feel to ask this question, I'll do it. Aren't we jumping the gun here, gang? Shouldn't we want a polluting corporation to have an "Extreme Makeover"? Or are we saying "Mission Impossible" to any attempts to change because of past environmental sins?

Call me naive (and you probably will in the comments), but it seems like we have to actually give GE a chance to fulfill their "ecomagination." So what do you think? Extreme makeover or mission impossible?

(I'll admit they are not off to a good start with this appropriation rider shenanigans.)

Copying company pledges to reduce emissions.

Today Xerox became the latest corporation to announce voluntary reductions of their greenhouse gas emissions. They pledged to reduce their emissions 10 percent by 2012, or 100,000 tons a year.

The EPA wants us to clean up our houses; too bad they’re not doing their part.

On World Asthma Day -- May 3rd if you missed it -- the EPA urged the 20 million asthma sufferers across the nation to clean their houses. According to its press release, 70 percent of people with asthma could better manage the triggers that set off an attack.

Unfortunately for asthma sufferers, the last trigger on EPA's list is ozone, which is hard to control without the EPA's help. Insted of helping "better manage" ozone, the EPA has weakened controls on the industrial pollution that forms ozone, adopted rules that will delay ozone clean-up from power plants for over two decades, sought to extend ozone cleanup deadlines through policies, rules and legislation, and issued rules allowing states to weaken and eliminate even existing ozone control measures. (More here on the Bush EPA clean air record.)

Now I'll admit that the dust bunnies are usually winning the cleaning war in my house. But if the EPA expects me to better manage asthma triggers, I expect it to do its part too. It could start by using the law to inject a little responsibility into polluting industries.