Climate Politics

Love It or Leavitt

Bush Taps Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to Head EPA In a move that immediately (and predictably) generated strenuous objections from enviros, President Bush yesterday nominated three-term Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R) to take the helm at the U.S. EPA. Bush praised Leavitt as a consensus-builder and pointed to his bipartisan work with 13 governors and […]

The West Swing

Bush Visiting Western States to Push His Environmental Agenda During the next three weeks, President Bush will be making pit stops in a number of Western states both to tout his environmental agenda and to raise big bucks for his reelection campaign. Even though Bush’s advisors consider the environment to be a “second-tier issue,” they […]

The 411 on 9/11

White House Pressed EPA to Say Air Was Safe After 9/11 In the days immediately following the 9/11 attacks, the White House pressured the U.S. EPA to issue unsupported statements reassuring the public that air quality around ground zero was safe, according to an investigation by the EPA’s inspector general. Also, as a result of […]

Greens plan to field a presidential candidate in 2004 — consequences be damned

For the 2004 presidential race, the Green die is cast. “The Green Party emerged from a national meeting … increasingly certain that it will run a presidential candidate in next year’s election, all but settling a debate within the group over how it should approach the 2004 contest,” the Washington Post reported on July 21. […]

Impaired Judgement

Judge Who Struck Down Roadless Rule May Have Ethics Conflict The federal judge who struck down the Clinton-era roadless rule last month may have violated ethics laws, according to two legal watchdog groups that filed a formal ethics complaint yesterday. The groups say the judge should have recused himself from hearing the case because he […]

Connaughton in the Act

Bush Environmental Advisor Plays Powerful Behind-the-Scenes Role He might just be the most powerful environmental player you’ve never heard of. James Connaughton, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is credited with (or, in some circles, accused of) being the architect of the Bush administration’s environmental policy. In large part, his role consists […]

That’s Terror-bull

Rules Aimed at Curbing Funding for Terrorists Could Hurt Nonprofits Small environmental groups and other nonprofits around the globe could see important funding sources dry up as the U.S. government tries to stop the diversion of charitable funds to terrorist groups. The Treasury Department, which says crooked Islamic charities are major financiers of global terrorism, […]

Howard’s Beginning

Howard Dean Calls for Renewables, Fuel Efficiency, Global Cooperation Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean delivered the first major environmental speech of his campaign in San Francisco yesterday, calling for increased use of renewable resources, better fuel efficiency, and the elevation of the U.S. EPA to a cabinet-level agency. Specifically, Dean said that as president, he […]

He Issa Dud

Environmentalists unleashed a barrage of criticism yesterday against Rep. Darrell Issa (R), who bankrolled much of the campaign to recall California Gov. Gray Davis (D) and is now running for the gubernatorial spot himself. “His voting record in Congress is absolutely abysmal,” said Rico Mastrodonato, executive director of the California League of Conservation Voters. Mastrodonato’s […]

The White House Defines Junk Mail