Climate Politics

Earth Day Comes But Once a Year

Earth, Wind, and Snow

It may be akin to a Protestant celebrating Chanukah, but President Bush is observing Earth Day today, with a speech in New York state’s Adirondack Mountains. (The forecast was for snow — acid snow, mind you — perhaps a fitting backdrop.) The president is using the occasion to promote his “Clear Skies” initiative, a market-based […]

It’s time for the U.S. government to get serious about global warming

Take it from an ice cream guy: If it’s melted, it’s ruined. That’s why we have to stop global warming now. We’ve only got one atmosphere; we can’t wait to take action until the damage is done and air pollution has forever changed our planet’s delicate environmental balance. Earth Day reminds us that if we […]

Pests Aside

For the first time in a decade, the U.S. EPA will assess the impact of 18 common pesticides on endangered salmon and forest plants, as part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by three California environmental groups. The pesticides — several million pounds of them — are used every year in the state’s fields, […]

A Rocky Start

Before you celebrate too much … The Bush administration has already set its sights on another drilling target: the Rocky Mountains. Dozens of petitions to drill on public lands throughout the Rocky Mountain states have been submitted to the White House, which has established a Task Force on Energy Project Streamlining “to expedite the increased […]

Death to Coughy

Almost 6,000 people will die prematurely from respiratory illness due to emissions from power plants owned by eight utility companies that the Clinton administration sued for violating the Clean Air Act, according to a private report released yesterday. In addition to the deaths, the report predicted that the pollution would lead to 140,000 asthma attacks […]

A breakdown of the Arctic Refuge vote in the Senate

The Senate today effectively voted down Amendment 3132, which would have allowed oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. “Effectively,” because the issue never actually came up for debate: The Democrats filibustered, and drilling advocates fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to break the blocking tactic and force passage of […]

Let It Allard Hang Out

The plot thickens in the controversy over the federal government’s decision to ship weapons-grade plutonium from Colorado to South Carolina for temporary storage. Arms-control advocates and Democratic politicians in South Carolina allege that the Bush administration is backing a shipment plan in order to improve the re-election prospects of Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.). Allard, who […]

The Best Offense Is a Bad Defect

In a groundbreaking decision, a San Francisco jury determined yesterday that gasoline containing the additive MBTE is a defective product and that two major oil companies were aware of but did not disclose the additive’s dangers when they began marketing it. The lawsuit was brought by the South Tahoe Public Utility District after it discovered […]

Ski-don’t

There’s good news and bad news for environmentalists on the personal-watercraft front. On the up side, the National Park Service announced yesterday that it would permanently close five national parks to personal watercraft. Park officials and much of the general public object to personal watercraft in parks, saying Jet Skis and their ilk disrupt wildlife […]