Last week, NPR took a deeper look at the natural gas boom in the U.S. The special series, “The Fracking Boom: Missing Answers,” questions what the gas boom is doing to the air and water in communities where fracking has become a household name…
Breaking Exclusive
Clean Air Act
New Mexico’s failure to enforce its own rules highlights the need to close oil and gas loopholes in the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. OCD’s inadequate performance shows why citizens need to have federal standards…
Recent health data prepared for Earthjustice, the American Lung Association and the Clean Air Task Force—summarized in the report Sick of Soot—demonstrates that with updated standards, more than 35,000…
Group Files Suit to Obtain Records of Closed Door Clean Air Act Meetings at White House
Environmental Integrity Project
05-11-2012
Industry lobbyists have every right to meet with the White House about EPA rules. But the public ought to know what was said at these meetings and whether it influenced decisions that are supposed to protect our health and the environment…
One in three people in the U.S. live within the potential disaster zone of one of the 480+ highest risk chemical facilities. Each of these facilities puts 100,000 people or more at risk. Most major U.S. cities are threatened…
American Lung Association Releases ‘State of the Air’ Report: What’s Your City’s Grade?
American Lung Association
04-26-2012
The job of cleaning the air is not finished. More than 40 percent of people in the U.S. live in areas where air pollution continues to threaten their health. That means more than 127 million people are living in counties with dangerous…
Oklahoma has significant clean energy potential, which could power the state while protecting public health. Oklahoma’s wind resources rank ninth in the U.S., with more than 50,000 megawatts of wind power potential…
EPA Finally Issues First Limits on Air Pollution from Natural Gas Fracking
Natural Resources Defense Council
04-18-2012
The rapid expansion of oil and natural gas drilling without modern air pollution controls has exposed millions of Americans to a toxic brew of cancer-causing, smog-producing and climate-changing air pollutants. Left to police itself for too long, the oil…
It’s expected the new safeguards will yield similar benefits and will comprehensively update current clean air rules. Current regulations are woefully outdated, with some not updated since 1985, and fail to adequately protect public health…
House Republicans’ Bill Seeks to Eliminate Right to Breathe Clean Air
Natural Resources Defense Council
04-17-2012
Why would Congress wish to change the Clean Air Act to compel deliberate and conscious lying to the American people about something as basic as clean air? Why would a Congressional bloc wish to rob Americans of their…
The consent decree establishes firm, enforceable deadlines for action on plans to clean up air pollution in 37 states and the District of Columbia and Virgin Islands. The Clean Air Act requires these plans to curb haze-causing pollution…
EPA Proposes Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants
Natural Resources Defense Council
03-27-2012
The “new source performance standard” to be proposed today is a critical step towards cleaning up and modernizing our power plant fleet. Each new plant will need to meet a specified emissions rate that is technically feasible and…
Obama Administration Proposes Carbon Pollution Standards for New Power Plants
Environment America
03-27-2012
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed historic new limits on carbon pollution from new power plants. Carbon pollution fuels global warming, which leads to poor air quality that triggers asthma attacks and…
“This latest milestone underscores the movement occurring across the country, and we will not power our future with the outdated energy sources of the 19th century. Now we must ensure that the transition from coal to clean energy…
On Feb. 28 and Feb. 29, the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. will hear oral arguments in a group of lawsuits over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) landmark clean air measures to protect…
“This is a tremendous victory for our frontline communities who are forced to breathe this air day in and day out,” said Rosalie Mancera of Pilsen Alliance. “This is the first of many victories to come in Illinois…
“Today’s news is part of a national trend of clean energy replacing coal, with states like Iowa and South Dakota that generate 20 percent of their electricity from wind,” said Randy Francisco, organizing representative…
Industrial power plants are in‐house power plants that burn conventional fuels like coal, biomass and oil. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently under court order to step in and protect public health from…
Groups Challenge EPA’s Air Pollution Discharge Permits for Shell’s Arctic Drillships
Earthjustice
02-21-2012
“The EPA approved these permits without ensuring that all air quality standards are met, and as such our only option is to challenge them in court. Although the Clean Air Act requires modern pollution controls that…
Airborne particulate matter is comprised of tiny particles of smoke, soot, metals and other chemical compounds emitted from sources like power plants, factories, and diesel trucks. Scientists say particulate matter, which…
In recent years West Virginia has made investments in clean energy, especially wind generation, allowing old plants like these to be retired while ensuring West Virginia’s power is reliable…
Fighting for Air—Groups Launch Campaign to Support U.S. EPA’s Life-Saving Standards
Natural Resources Defense Council
02-08-2012
Two national environmental protection groups have launched a six-figure online advertising campaign applauding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and President Obama for proposing life-saving…
On Monday, Feb. 6, 16 states and numerous power companies that oppose new pollution-reduction rules must file their petitions with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. In response to their initial suit…
Clean Air Depends on an Energy-Efficient Economy
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
01-31-2012
A new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) reveals how energy efficiency can be used by states, policymakers, and utilities developing compliance strategies to meet…
Announced Jan. 26, the Southern Environmental Law Center’s (SELC) 4th annual list of the Top 10 Endangered Places of the Southeast targets areas of exceptional ecological, scenic, or cultural value that are facing immediate…
Pittsburgh and Oxnard Join List of Cities Calling for Federal Action on Global Warming
Center for Biological Diversity
01-25-2012
Oxnard, Calif., and Pittsburgh, Pa., have joined Seattle, Wa., Albany, N.Y., Boone, N.C., and other cities across the country urging the Obama administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to…
This week, Gov. Jerry Brown outlined his policy priorities for the coming year, one that will see California poised to make history by implementing its groundbreaking climate and clean energy law, increasing water…
energy
Agreement Cuts Pollution on Old, Dirty Coal Plants in Carolinas
Southern Environmental Law Center
01-18-2012
Conservation groups announced a settlement Jan. 17 with Duke Energy that will cut pollution by phasing out more than 1600 mega watts of dirty, old coal-fired power while still meeting customers’ energy needs…
air
Finding the Polluters—A Step Toward Accountability on Global Warming
Natural Resources Defense Council
01-16-2012
A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) web tool documents global warming pollution from about 6,700 facilities across the U.S., filling a critical gap in the public’s right to know about…
Rollback of Environmental Regulations Destroy Florida’s Greatest Assets
St. Johns Riverkeeper
01-13-2012
Are you one of the millions of Florida citizens who love and value our state’s beautiful beaches, springs, wetlands, forests and rivers, like the St. Johns River?…
air
As Republicans Attack U.S. EPA, Obama Praises Their Work and Pledges Support
EnviroKnow
01-12-2012
On Jan. 10, President Obama applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) work to protect the environment and human health. As Republicans ramp up attacks on federal oversight of the natural environment in order to…
