Georgia

Climate Central takes on Georgia, coal, and carbon

This week brought a new piece of journalism from the crack staff of scientists and reporters at Climate Central. It’s called “Georgia: Coal and Carbon.” Watch: As always with CC, the piece is accompanied by an annotated transcript that documents virtually every word with links to scientific sources. Fine work, as usual. I have only […]

Pennsylvania rejected TVA coal ash that’s going to poor communities in Alabama and Georgia

Some of the more than 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash that spilled from an impoundment at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston power plant in eastern Tennessee last December is making its way to landfills in poor and black communities in Alabama and Georgia, as we reported last week at Facing South. It turns […]

15 green-leaning mayors

Climate change is a global problem — but as of yet, there’s no global solution. That’s why mayors across the U.S. are taking action, from building green to organizing bike rides, from redeveloping downtowns to cutting emissions. Here are just a few of the municipal leaders who have worked to take our collective future into […]

Who put the food companies in charge of food safety? We did.

Here's my plan to reform the food safety system -- take the asylum keys away from the inmates. The New York Times documents the absolute unmitigated disaster of our privatized, volunteer food safety system. But the first three paragraphs sum up the entirety of the problem:

When food industry giants like Kellogg want to ensure that American consumers are being protected from contaminated products, they rely on private inspectors like Eugene A. Hatfield. So last spring Mr. Hatfield headed to the Peanut Corporation of America plant in southwest Georgia to make sure its chopped nuts, paste and peanut butter were safe to use in everything from granola bars to ice cream.

The peanut company, though, knew in advance that Mr. Hatfield was coming. He had less than a day to check the entire plant, which processed several million pounds of peanuts a month.

Mr. Hatfield, 66, an expert in fresh produce, was not aware that peanuts were readily susceptible to salmonella poisoning -- which he was not required to test for anyway. And while Mr. Hatfield was inspecting the plant on behalf of Kellogg and other food companies, the Peanut Corporation was paying him for his efforts.

1) Where's the FDA in all this and 2) how many logical flaws can you find in this system? Nowhere and lots. Food inspections are just too darn expensive -- let's have the food companies take care of it for us. And make no mistake: our friends in the food industry really, really don't want the government snooping around. Even when mild reforms are proposed, like toughening audit standards and automatically alerting federal authorities when problems arise, the food industry screams bloody murder. Which is funny tragic when you think about it, given recent events.

If you want detailed reform proposals, ask Bill Marler. But at the end of the day there are three things that will fix food safety. Cut red tape, spend lots more money, and de-privatize the food safety business. Luckily that's just the kind of reform we're good at. We are good at doing those sorts of things.

Aren't we?

Georgia legislator introduces bill that would restrict coal-fired power plants

If Georgia would consider restricting coal, maybe we are stumbling toward a new economic/energy paradigm?

Merkley triumphs in Oregon; three other races still undecided

The Oregon Senate race has been called for enviro-backed candidate Jeff Merkley, who finished with a 48.4 to 46 percent lead over Republican incumbent Gordon Smith. In Minnesota, the latest tally puts Republican incumbent Norm Coleman just 439 votes ahead of Democrat Al Franken, a margin that falls within the state’s mandatory recount law. That […]

Enviro groups endorse underdog challenger in Senate race

The League of Conservation Voters made a late endorsement in the Georgia Senate race last week, backing Democrat Jim Martin against incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R). This is another race that Democrats are hoping to win as they pursue a 60-vote majority, but greens are particularly keen on a Martin win. Chambliss earned a tiny […]

Republican congresscritters are in serious trouble

Remember when "drill, baby, drill" was going to reverse a horrible electoral year for Republicans in Congress? Turns out maybe not so much: The possibility that Democrats will build a muscular, 60-seat Senate majority is looking increasing plausible, with new polls showing a powerful surge for the party’s candidates in Minnesota, Kentucky and other states. […]

Georgia judge finds that coal plant must obtain emissions permit from state EPA

The AP has the bombshell news. A judge has finally used the Supreme Court decision that carbon dioxide is a pollutant:

The construction of a coal-fired power plant in Georgia was halted Monday when a judge ruled that the plant's builders must first obtain a permit from state regulators that limits the amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

Read Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore's ruling [PDF]. What did the judge find?