Environmental Politics

"Key committees writing rules for New Jersey's new program to clean up contaminated sites are made up entirely of the polluting companies and their contractors."

"At Chevron's annual general meeting Wednesday, the oil giant's chief executive John Watson, the Board of Directors and shareholders were greeted by over 150 activists, who traveled to San Ramon from throughout the world. They came from Angola, Indonesia, Nigeria, Alaska and Ecuador to share their stories of the human and environmental degradation Chevron had unleashed in their communities."

Conservative claims that endangered species protections for the 2-inch-long desert pupfish are endangering the lives of U.S. Border Patrol agents flunk the fact-check test, according to a federal official in Arizona.

"For Republican presidential contenders who once supported combatting global warming, the race is heating up. Faced with an activist right wing that questions the science linking pollution to changes in the Earth's climate and also disdains big government, most of the GOP contenders have stepped back from their previous positions on global warming."

"The Obama administration on Thursday came through on its pledge to scour the federal rule book for regulations that need to be either dramatically changed or scrapped, as the White House seeks to stay in front of GOP and industry complaints that too many federal regulations are burdensome."

Buddy Roemer, an ex-Democrat who identifies as a Republican with an environmental streak is the longest of long shots for the White House.

Herman Cain, who recently threw his hat into the ring of GOP presidential contenders, likes to say that what he lacks in political experience he makes up for with his background in business. That may not be a plus. Cain's business "experience" includes a stint on the board of Aquila, which pushed its employees to invest their retirement savings in company stocks and then speculated wildly in energy markets, wiping out most of the company's value.

Climate scientists have never had stronger evidence that human emissions are causing global warming. Yet House Republicans are busy passing legislation to repeal the scientific findings and end the research programs that collect evidence on climate.

"Democratic U.S. lawmakers have asked Congressional panels to look into whether Koch, an energy company led by brothers who are powerhouses in conservative politics, will benefit if the Obama administration approves a $7 billion pipeline to bring crude from Canada into the United States."