By Lisa Friedman WASHINGTON — When Andrew Wheeler, president Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, testified before Senators on Wednesday at his confirmation hearing, he found himself walking a tightrope on the issue of climate change. One of the most pointed moments came shortly after he told senators that climate change was not “the greatest crisis” facing our …
78 Environmental Rules on the Way Out Under Trump – 12/28/2018
By NADJA POPOVICH, LIVIA ALBECK-RIPKA and KENDRA PIERRE-LOUIS Since his first days in office, President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority. His administration, with help from Republicans in Congress, has targeted environmental rules it sees as overly burdensome to the fossil fuel industry, including major Obama-era policies aimed at fighting climate change. A New York Times analysis, based …
The White House rolls back a rule on polluting wetlands – 12/13/2018
AFTER WITNESSING near-biblical calamities, Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972. The Cuyahoga river in Ohio caught fire in 1969. That same year 26m fish died in Florida’s Lake Thonotosassa, the largest recorded fish kill, because of pollution from food-processing plants. “Dirty Water”, a song from that era about the repellent Charles river, remains an anthem of Boston sports …
Equity as Core Principle: Big Green and Environmental Justice Nonprofits Try to Align – 10/18/17
By Cyndi Suarez The environmental movement has long been divided along race and class lines. Perhaps there is some momentum to change all of that in the face of the desperate need for equity and people to be at the center of the sustainability agenda if we wish to build the movement necessary to effectively take on the challenge of climate …
Federal judge orders EPA to protect salmon from warm temps in Columbia River basin-10/17/18
Salmon in the Columbia River basin have struggled against slow-moving, warm waters produced by dams. By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times environment reporter A federal judge has ordered protection for salmon in the Columbia River basin from warm water temperatures that have been lethal to salmon and steelhead as the climate changes. The U.S. District Court for the Western District at …
E.P.A. Blocks Obama-Era Clean Water Rule-1/31/18
By Coral Davenport | Jan. 31, 2018 WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has formally suspended a major Obama-era clean water regulation ahead of plans to issue its own version of the rule later this year. President Trump has taken aim at the bitterly contested rule, known as Waters of the United States, since his campaign, calling it “one of the worst …