Leaked Audio Shows Pressure to Overrule Scientists in “Hair-on-Fire” Cases
"When industry wants a chemical safety assessment done yesterday, EPA managers classify it as “hair on fire.”"
Source: The Intercept, 08/06/2021
EJToday: Top Environmental Politics Headlines
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Facebook Let Fossil-Fuel Industry Push Climate Misinformation: Report
"Facebook failed to enforce its own rules to curb an oil and gas industry misinformation campaign over the climate crisis during last year’s presidential election, according to a new analysis released on Thursday."
Source: Guardian, 08/06/2021Abandoned Oil Gear Blocks Sand Needed To Rebuild Louisiana Coast
"A Houston-based energy company is asking a federal bankruptcy court for permission to walk away from its aging infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. Fieldwood Energy is attempting to shift responsibility for removing 1,715 wells, 276 platforms and 281 pipelines to oil and gas companies that previously held leases for the same area, according to court documents."
Source: Washington Post, 08/06/2021MATS: "White House Reviewing Revamp To Trump’s Power Plant Rule"
"Under orders from President Biden, EPA has taken its first overt step to revisit one of the Trump administration’s most bitterly contested air quality rollbacks."
Source: E&E News, 08/05/2021"Interior Kicks Off New Review of ANWR Drilling"
"The Interior Department today said it will restart an environmental review of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s oil and gas program, following its determination earlier this year that the Trump administration’s assessment was flawed."
Source: E&E News, 08/04/2021"Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Wouldn’t Remove All Lead Pipes"
"President Joe Biden has repeatedly bragged that the bipartisan infrastructure bill germinating in the U.S. Senate will spur the removal of America’s toxic drinking water pipes made of lead. ... But the bill does not require water utilities to replace lead pipes. Rather, it provides $15 billion to a revolving fund that utilities can use to replace lead pipes if they want ― something that’s only happened in a handful of cities to date."
Source: HuffPost, 08/04/2021"Seven-Figure Ad Campaign Urges GOP To Support Infrastructure Bill"
"Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) on Tuesday launched a $1.5 million TV, radio and digital ad campaign to build GOP support for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The advocacy group, which urges Republicans to support clean energy policies, is targeting nine GOP senators who have expressed interest in voting for the bill."
Source: The Hill, 08/04/2021Climate In Infrastructure Bill: A Substantial Investment In Resilience
"As the United States staggers through another year of devastating wildfires, drought, storms and other calamities, the infrastructure bill before Congress would pour major resources into a response. The measure agreed to over the weekend includes billions of dollars to better prepare the country for the effects of global warming, in what could be the largest investment in climate resilience in American history."
Source: NYTimes, 08/03/2021EPA Announces New Members Of Science Board After Firing Trump Appointees
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday announced the new members of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) after previously firing the board members who had been appointed during the Trump administration."
Source: The Hill, 08/03/2021"With Time Ticking Down, Hope Is Waning for a Climate Deal"
"When India failed to show up at climate talks in London last week, the meeting’s British hosts took it as a snub. It was also a stark reminder of how hard it’s going to be for diplomats to pull the global climate back from the brink of disaster, with less than three months to go before the next round of high-stakes negotiations."
Source: Bloomberg, 08/03/2021After Months Of Work, Senators Unveil $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill
"U.S. senators introduced a sweeping $1-trillion bipartisan plan to invest in roads, bridges, ports, high-speed internet and other infrastructure, with some predicting the chamber could pass this week the largest public works legislation in decades."
Source: Reuters, 08/02/2021"China, India Miss UN Deadline To Update Emissions Targets"
"China and India have missed a U.N. deadline to submit fresh plans for cutting their greenhouse gas emissions in time for the global body to include their pledges in a report for governments at this year’s global climate summit, officials said Saturday."
Source: AP, 08/02/2021"EPA Outlines Plan To Expand Wetland Protections"
"The Biden administration laid out plans today [Friday] for scrapping and replacing a contentious Trump-era Clean Water Act rule that pulled back federal protections for millions of streams and wetlands."
Source: E&E News, 08/02/2021Brain Drain Among Federal Scientists Bogs Down Biden Climate Ambitions
"Hundreds of scientists and policy experts left the government during the Trump administration. The jobs remain unfilled nearly six months into President Biden’s term, slowing his climate agenda."
Source: NYTimes, 08/02/2021Climate Groups Plan Make-or-Break Blitz Over Congressional Recess
"A coalition of climate-focused groups is readying a multimillion-dollar blitz of advertising, organizing and public events over Congress’s recess in August, seeing it as their best and last opportunity to influence members before Democrats start crafting crucial climate legislation this fall."
Source: HuffPost, 08/02/2021
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