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Showing 1,481 results

Rena Steinzor | January 17, 2014

The age of greed: Mitch McConnell goes to bat for Big Coal after West Virginia catastrophe

For the past week, 300,000 people in and around Charleston, West Virginia, have been unable to drink the water that came from their taps, because of the toxic byproduct of feeble regulation and non-existent enforcement. Thousands of gallons of a coal-cleaning agent seeped into the local water supply after it oozed out of an antiquated […]

Anne Havemann | January 14, 2014

Going dark on the farm: Farm Bill could cloak big ag in even more secrecy

As congressional negotiators reconcile the House- and Senate-passed Farm Bills, they are considering two provisions that would cut off access to information about federally subsidized farm programs and threaten public health and safety. The Farm Bill will provide farmers with billions of dollars in federal subsidies, crop insurance, conservation payments, and other grants.  The vast […]

Daniel Farber | January 2, 2014

Carbon responsibility – producers versus consumers

Has the U.S. “exported” its carbon emissions to China by relying on China to manufacture so many of our goods?  There seems to be growing support for the idea that carbon emissions should be tied to consumption of goods rather than their manufacture, as the NY Times reported recently.  There is a grain of truth to […]

Wendy Wagner | December 30, 2013

Roll Call: The good science scam and an undemocratic provision

Some members of Congress apparently do not want agencies to regulate powerful agricultural and pharmaceutical interests in order to protect the public from dangerous risks. Yet, rather than say that — and be held accountable to the electorate for the consequences — they have developed what has become a standard, indeed almost boilerplate pretext to […]

Erin Kesler | December 23, 2013

Climate deniers in the dark

Climate change and pollution affects everyone. Global warming-induced hurricanes pummel our coasts and droughts ravage our farmland. Our neighbors, friends, and children develop asthma and heart attacks because of air pollution and our favorite parks and hunting grounds are withering away. The science is conclusive and polls reflect the concern of many Americans about global warming and […]

Victor Flatt | December 12, 2013

EPA’s ability to regulate cross-state pollution unnecessarily at stake: SCOTUS should uphold transport rule

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in EME Homer City Generation v. EPA.  At issue in the case was the ability of EPA to regulate cross-state pollution, or pollution generated in some states that is carried over to others downwind. Eight “downwind” states, primarily in the Northeast, filed a brief in support […]

Daniel Farber | November 26, 2013

Rethinking ‘adaptation’

I’ve spent a lot of time and energy talking about the need to adapt to climate change, but I’ve also become increasingly uneasy about “adaptation” as a way to think about the situation.  One of the things I don’t like about the term “adaptation” is that it suggests that we actually can, at some expense, […]

David Hunter | November 26, 2013

Making private companies pay their share for climate change: a new study could revive climate change litigation

Efforts to hold private companies responsible for their contribution to climate change just took a big step forward, thanks to researcher Rick Heede.  For the past eight years, Heede has painstakingly compiled the historical contribution of fossil fuel companies to today’s concentrations of greenhouse gases.  According to Heede’s study ”Tracing anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane […]

Anne Havemann | November 21, 2013

Maryland yanks rule limiting the use of manure as fertilizer…again

Lately, press releases from the Maryland Department of Agriculture read like a broken record: MDA Withdraws Phosphorus Management Tool Regulations; Department to Meet with Stakeholders and Resubmit Regulations  — August 26, 2013   MDA Withdraws Phosphorus Management Tool Regulations; Department to Consider Comments and Resubmit Regulations –November 15, 2013 The second headline is from this past […]