Eyebrows Are Raised as Interior Aces Scientific Integrity Tests
"When it comes to scientific misconduct, the Interior Department has a troubled past."
Source: Greenwire, 04/11/2013
Environmental Politics
"Arctic Drilling: ConocoPhillips Scratches 2014 Exploration Plans"
"Oil industry efforts to develop the American Arctic took another hit today as ConocoPhillips scrapped plans to drill in the Chukchi Sea in 2014."
Source: Greenwire, 04/11/2013
"REI’s Sally Jewell Wins Confirmation as Interior Secretary"
"By a vote of 87 to 11, the Senate approved Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) chief executive Sally Jewell on Wednesday as the next Interior secretary."
Source: Wash Post, 04/11/2013
"Obama Budget Would Increase U.S. Clean-Energy Spending"
"President Barack Obama proposed a dramatic increase in clean-energy spending on Wednesday as he sought to expand U.S. government support for electric cars, wind power and other "green" technology despite persistent Republican criticism.
The president would pay for the expansion in part by eliminating tax breaks and subsidies for oil, gas and coal industries. Previous efforts by Obama's fellow Democrats to repeal the $4 billion worth of fossil-fuel subsidies have fallen short."
Source: Reuters, 04/11/2013
EPA Nominee McCarthy Faces Senate Grilling
"COMING THURSDAY: Probably the most rough-and-tumble of the nomination hearings for members of President Obama’s second-term green team.
Gina McCarthy, Obama’s choice to run the Environmental Protection Agency, will appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The Senate committee includes three of Capitol Hill’s most outspoken critics of the EPA: the panel’s ranking Republican, Sen. David Vitter (La.), and Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)."
Source: Hill/E2 Wire, 04/11/2013
White House OMB Secretly Weakened Food Safety Rule
It may come as little surprise that an unknown number of Americans could die as a result of White House weakening of food safety rules mandated by Congress. The Office of Management and Budget has been secretly weakening environmental health and safety at industry request for years. The surprise is that we found out.
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Will McCarthy Face Questions on EPA Press, Openness Practices?
President Obama's nominee for EPA administrator, Gina McCarthy, faces a confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Thursday, April 11, 2013. SEJ has urged committee members to ask McCarthy about her commitment to open government and whether she will fix EPA's "badly broken" news media policies.
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Exxon "Unified Command" Locks Down Ark. Spill Site; Threatens Reporter
The March 29, 2013, spill from ExxonMobil's Pegasus Pipeline near Mayflower, Arkansas is a big deal for several reasons. But the most important thing about the Mayflower spill may be that ExxonMobil and the federal agencies involved seem to be trying to keep news media from getting close enough to see what is going on. Read SEJ's letter protesting the media treatment, and EPA's response.
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Enviros Urge 10 Top Retailers To Pull Potentially Toxic Products
"Health and environmental groups will launch a national campaign Thursday to prod 10 major retailers -- including Walmart, Target and Costco -- to clear store shelves of products containing hazardous chemicals."
Source: USA TODAY, 04/10/2013
"Did Keystone XL Contractor Hide Its Conflict of Interest?"
"The environmental consulting firm hired to evaluate the impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline should have been barred from working on the project, according to a group of environmentalists. On Monday, representatives from 13 environmental organizations asked State Department's Inspector General to investigate whether the firm's previous relationships with TransCanada should have qualified as a conflict of interest."
Source: Mother Jones, 04/10/2013
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