air pollution
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Power Play
Several weeks ago in this magazine, Sara Patton of the NW Energy Coalition uncorked an acidic rant against the aluminum industry (and its lackeys in Congress) for strong-arming the Bonneville Power Administration into providing the industry with below-market electricity rates. Aluminum plant on the Columbia River, Wash. There is still no agreement on paper, but […]
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Giving Sprawl the Business
A number of business leaders are joining the fight against sprawl, worried that traffic jams, air pollution, and a lack of open space will drive away the best workers. A study released today by the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals highlights 19 “smart growth” initiatives undertaken by businesses. For example, DaimlerChrysler is building […]
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Bird in the Hand Worth Two for Bush?
While you were smoothing on suntan lotion or stoking the barbecue this weekend, Texas state legislators were madly finishing up work before their midnight May 31 deadline. Gov. George W. Bush‘s tax cuts and education initiatives got most of the attention, but we kept our gaze trained on the environmental bills likely to come up […]
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The Phantom Menace?
Last week brought an end to the remarkable run of Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who announced his intention to leave Washington and turn the reins of the federal treasury over to his well-groomed deputy, Lawrence Summers, known affectionately to some enviro insiders as Darth Vader. Although Wall Street may be comfortable with Summers, environmentalists are […]
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Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner
California State Senator and environmental booster Byron Sher (D) sent out invitations to a fundraiser recently and listed State Sen. Ray Haynes (R) among his supporters. Trouble is that Haynes is what you might call a movement conservative, given to labeling people like Sher “clean-air Nazis” and “environmental wackos.” Sher’s office explained the incident to […]
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Sprawl Brawl
The Sierra Club released poll numbers recently indicating that 47 percent of voters would be more likely to support a presidential candidate prepared to aggressively attack the problem of urban sprawl. Most people associate VP Al Gore with that issue, but Seattle Mayor Paul Schell has his own ideas. Schell jumped on Bill Bradley‘s presidential […]
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Ozone Odd Couple
From the strange bedfellows file: Left-leaning Ozone Action and pro-business Competitive Enterprise Institute agree on something. Sort of. The two groups occupy polar opposite ends of a hybrid coalition lined up to oppose a bill before the U.S. Senate that would give credits to companies that voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions in advance of Kyoto […]
