Sierra Club Applauds President Obama for Rejecting the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline
January 18, 2011 – Today, the Obama Administration determined that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is not in the national interest and announced that it will formally deny a federal permit for the proposed pipeline put forth by Canadian oil giant TransCanada. The 1,700-mile pipeline would run through six states, carrying toxic, highly corrosive tar sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries and ports in Texas. To read more, click here!
BP Legal Settlement Likely, Sierra Club Calls on President Obama to Restore the Gulf Coast and Protect the Public Interest
On February 6, Michael Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director, called on President Obama to take strong action in any settlement of claims under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act from BP’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill to ensure comprehensive restoration and recovery of the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem and communities, and to protect the region from future oil spill disasters. With the public largely shut out of the legal process, Brune weighed in directly in a letter to the President, requesting that specific measures be included in any settlement agreement over the Deepwater Horizon disaster. To read more, click here!
EPA to Drastically Cut Toxic Mercury Pollution from U.S. Power Plants
In a monumental public health victory, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rolled out landmark nationwide protections for toxic mercury from dirty power plants.
Mercury is a dangerous brain poison that taints the fish we eat and poses a particular threat to prenatal babies and young children. Exposure in the bloodstreams of pregnant and nursing women can result in birth defects such as learning disabilities, lowered IQ, deafness, blindness and cerebral palsy. Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury pollution in the United States, pumping more than 33 tons of this dangerous toxin into our air and water each year. The new protection, which replaces a weak, court-rejected standard from the Bush Administration, will slash mercury pollution from power plants by more than 90 percent and improve air quality for millions of Americans. To read more, click here!