MARINA, Calif.— The Trump administration today dismissed protests and made a formal decision to open 725,500 acres of public lands and mineral estate across California’s Central Coast and the Bay Area to new oil and gas drilling and fracking.
The public lands the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has earmarked for leasing are in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Stanislaus.
Washington, DC -- Late yesterday, it was announced that Energy Secretary Rick Perry will be resigning from office. Perry has repeatedly sought avenues to force taxpayers to illegally bail out uneconomical coal and nuclear plants only to see these efforts rejected. Perry had also suggested that fossil fuel development will decrease the number of sexual assaults.
Jackson, WY-- Late yesterday, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department announced that chronic wasting disease (CWD) was confirmed in a mule deer in the Wyoming Range mountains. The positive test signals that the always-fatal wildlife disease has officially hit an area that encompasses three entire winter elk feedgrounds: South Park, Horse Creek, and Camp Creek; and a portion of Dell Creekfeedground at Riling Draw road.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, E&E News reported that new documents show that the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs deleted language about how climate change poses a "serious challenge” and a link to the Fourth National Climate Assessment from a proposal to preempt California's clean cars program.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a public hearing today to take input on “Phase 2b” of its proposed rollbacks of safeguards against coal ash pollution. The proposal under consideration would gut federal safeguards for coal ash waste piles and construction projects that use the toxic ash as a substitute for clean soil.
Harrisburgh, PA -- Today Governor Wolf signed an executive order beginning the process that would add Pennsylvania to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). States participating in RGGI place limits on climate change-causing carbon pollution emissions from power plants, that decline over time.
Nationwide -- This year’s National Drive Electric Week (NDEW), a coast-to-coast celebration of electric vehicles (EVs), hosted 324 events in all 50 U.S. states and eight countries, at the same time as states announced major progress on electrifying transportation. According to estimates from our local event organizers, there were upwards of 170,000 people who attended the 2019 NDEW events.
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Today, leaders from Ready for 100, The Climate Mobilization -- Philadelphia, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, and Clean Air Council spoke to the city’s environmental committee in the context of new bills related to energy efficiency, a ban on heavy oils, and environmental justice, calling for city-wide participation in implementation of its commitment to 100% clean energy.
Ben & Jerry’s and Sierra Club are partnering to advance a shared goal of powering the US with 100% clean and renewable energy.
Donald Trump seemingly broke a long-held, bipartisan norm last night by seeking to fill only one of two open seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Rather than following established custom and pairing a Republican with a Democrat, Trump nominated only Republican James Danly, despite there being a qualified Democrat put forward. This decision harms the deliberative process in the Senate and FERC’s mission of being a fair, nonpolitical arbiter of America’s energy markets.
NORTHEAST & MID-ATLANTIC – Today, the 12 states and D.C. participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) released a draft regional policy proposal to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from transportation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today climate science denier William Perry Pendley’s time as Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management expires.