"Key Senate Democrats continue to hope they can pass a renewable electricity standard and other smaller energy bills this year despite the dwindling time and interest in the lame-duck session."
"Congress may lose its best chance to pass a suite of public lands proposals that would protect more than 2 million acres of federal lands as wilderness if it fails to move an omnibus measure in the lame-duck session, conservation groups say."
Access to affordable and adequate health insurance is one of the biggest challenges independent journalists face. The SEJ Freelance Task Force has compiled information to help the growing number of SEJ members who need to purchase health insurance.
"The Senate moved forward Wednesday on long-awaited legislation that would overhaul the nation's food safety system, grant new powers to the Food and Drug Administration and make farmers and processors responsible for preventing food-borne illness."
"A bipartisan Senate deal to limit the use of controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) was scuttled hours ago amid opposition from the industry's main trade group, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said [Wednesday]."
"Federal Conservative senators have defeated a private-member's bill on climate change that was passed by the majority of MPs in the House of Commons, marking the first time Prime Minister Stephen Harper has used the clout he has built in the Upper Chamber to kill a law his minority government does not support."
A House Energy subcommittee held one last hearing on climate science before GOP deniers take over the gavels. It was quite a show.
"Failure to manage the risks of a complex well and to learn from an earlier narrowly missed disaster contributed significantly to the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, a panel investigating the BP oil spill said Wednesday."
"The devastating effects of climate change and conflicts fought over ever-scarcer resources such as water could cause a surge in migration that experts fear the world is totally unprepared for."
