air pollution

It’s almost 2008, and Beijing’s air is still polluted

The city of Beijing has been striving to clear its air for the sake of the Olympic athletes who will descend upon the city this coming summer — but whether it will be able to pull off blue skies remains to be seen. Beijingers were warned to stay inside today, as pollution hit “as bad […]

Health officials concerned about mercury pollution from crematories

More and more Americans are electing to be cremated, teeth and all. Stay with us here: Many dental fillings contain mercury, and health officials across the U.S. are raising concerns that mercury emissions from crematories will have adverse health effects on those still living. In one Colorado county, officials won’t allow a mortician to move […]

EPA staff say they were excluded from waiver decision; suspect Cheney’s involvement

Reporting in the L.A. Times, Janet Wilson confirms (as Juliet Eilperin did earlier) that EPA staff unanimously recommended granting California’s waiver, and that they were shut out of the final decision: [EPA staff] advised him to either grant the waiver outright or give California a temporary one for three years. Instead, three sources said, Johnson […]

Waxman investigates

Per his threat yesterday, House Oversight Committee chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has initiated an investigation into the EPA’s decision to deny California’s waiver.

More on EPA’s waiver decision

Juliet Eilperin’s got a really crackerjack story on the California waiver in the WaPo. It’s devastating to Johnson. It also confirms a lot of stuff that I, a mere blogger, could only speculate about irresponsibly. First of all, the EPA staff was foursquare against this decision: EPA’s lawyers and policy staff had reached the same […]

Analysis of the EPA’s decision to deny California’s waiver

As I mentioned below, today the U.S. EPA denied California’s request for a waiver exempting it from federal fuel economy standards, allowing it to implement its own standards. EPA administrator Stephen Johnson announced the decision in a rushed press conference following President Bush’s signing of the energy bill. The announcement came with a veritable torrent […]

Breaking: EPA announcing ruling on California waiver at 6:30 Eastern

The EPA just sent out an email advisory saying that Administrator Stephen Johnson will announce the agency’s decision on the California air standards waiver … in about 30 minutes. (Background on the waiver issue here, here, and here.) The lack of lead time might lead one to believe that they want to bury this news. […]

Feinstein agrees with Big Auto about federal fuel efficiency standards

UPDATE: Feinstein is now trying to dig out of this. In all the galling news of today, this probably ranks as a mere annoyance, but still: Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) has her imprimatur on an expression of opinion that could, if it became law, void her own state’s pioneering tailpipe pollution laws, just when the courts […]

More amendments

Inhofe amendment No. 13 would require the Commerce Secretary to report annually whether L-W would cost 10,000 automotive jobs in the year to come. It failed.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) amendment No. 1 would cap and ratchet down noncarbon pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Amendment is withdrawn for now.