Join us.

We’re working to create a just society and preserve a healthy environment for future generations. Donate today to help.

Donate

Blog

Showing 1,485 results

Kerry Darragh | June 27, 2017

Partner Spotlight: A Conversation with Center for Progressive Reform’s Evan Isaacson

This post originally appeared on the Maryland Clean Agriculture Coalition’s website.  All month long, MCAC has been highlighting the Bay cleanup plan, also known as the Bay TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), in order to keep track of the progress that is, or isn’t, happening within the Bay watershed to reduce pollution. We recently chatted […]

Evan Isaacson | June 22, 2017

The Message Congress Needs to Hear As It Debates Our Water Infrastructure Needs

Last fall, the Senate directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to contract with the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to conduct an independent study on affordability of municipal investments in water infrastructure. As someone who spent several years within the halls of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, I […]

David Flores | June 14, 2017

As Waters Rise, Trump Wants to Cut Coastal Protection Efforts Off at the Knees

On Thursday, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt will appear before a House Appropriations subcommittee to explain how he plans to square the Trump administration’s proposed 31-percent cut to EPA’s budget with its statutory obligations to protect the environment. Spoiler alert: There’s no plan. The proposition – implementing and enforcing safeguards related to water, […]

Evan Isaacson | June 14, 2017

As Pruitt Visits Congress to Discuss Massive EPA Cuts, Don’t Lose Sight of Important but Less Visible Damage

With a massive, proposed 31 percent cut to his agency looming in the background, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is preparing to visit Capitol Hill for an appearance before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday. Lawmakers, their staff, and others are likely and understandably focused on the Paris climate agreement withdrawal, the Trump administration's proposal to end federal financial support for programs that help protect and restore a variety of Great Waters like the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes, and damaging staff cuts that would cripple the agency's ability to protect our health and our environment. But we should be looking beyond the big-ticket items to fully assess the damage that Pruitt and President Trump are proposing to do.

David Flores | June 7, 2017

Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts to Climate Programs Hurt American Agriculture

President Trump’s historic retreat from the Paris climate accord last week is just the latest installment in the story of how his administration’s anti-science and anti-protections policies with respect to climate change could do grave harm to many aspects of American life. His proposed budget is likely to be the next chapter.  While Trump sees […]

| June 1, 2017

Paris Withdrawal Could Lead to ‘Lost Century’

The President’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement is a tragedy born of his failure to appreciate the vital importance of U.S. leadership in the world. It’s particularly regrettable coming as it does on the heels of his performance in Europe last week, during which his refusal to embrace the fundamental […]

Daniel Farber | May 30, 2017

Slowly and Grudgingly, Change Is Coming to Coal Country

A sign of the times: Fox News has reported, without comment, that the Kentucky Coal Museum is installing solar panels to save money. This is part of a larger trend. On Saturday, the New York Times reported on shifts in power production in states like West Virginia and Kentucky. For instance, Appalachian Power has “closed three coal-fired plants and […]

Matt Shudtz | May 23, 2017

The Depraved Indifference of Hollow Government

From the safety of Air Force One en route from Tel Aviv to Rome, President Trump dropped his FY 2018 budget on Washington, D.C., and sent OMB Director Mick Mulvaney to run point on the ground. They like to talk about it as a “hard power” budget. What they don’t like to talk about are […]

Daniel Farber | May 12, 2017

Thinking Globally, Acting Transnationally

The U.S. government obviously isn’t going to be taking a global leadership role regarding climate change, not for the next four years. At one time, that would have been the end of the story: the only way to accomplish anything internationally was through national governments. But we live in a different world today, and there […]