TEXAS - Today, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the agency’s failure to increase protections in numerous communities that have dangerous levels of ozone smog. The communities at issue include the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth areas; San Diego, Nevada, and Imperial counties, CA; the greater Chicago area; Phoenix, AZ; Baltimore, MD; Sheboygan, WI; the entire state of Connecticut; and the New York City area.
On Monday, the Sierra Club began running 10 Facebook ads targeting Republican representatives who voted against HR. 9, The Climate Action Now Act, the first major piece of national climate legislation to be voted on in 10 years. The ads target Representatives Mark Amodei (NV-02), Chris Collins (NY-27), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Matt Gaetz (FL-01), Peter King (NY-02), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Brian Mast (FL-18), Bill Posey (FL-08), Tom Reed (NY-23), and Lee Zeldin (NY-01).
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo celebrated the climate crisis during the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, stating, “Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade.” Last week, the Trump administration tried to remove any mention of climate change from the Arctic Council’s declaration, and when asked on Sunday about how he would rank the climate crisis among national security threats, Pompeo reportedly said, “I can’t rank it.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the UN released a new report that found that human activity is putting more than one million species of plants and animals at risk of extinction within decades, which in turn will have severe repercussions for global food and water supplies. The 1,500 page report -- which examined the major drivers of extinction, including habitat loss and deforestation, overfishing, polluting land and water, climate change, and invasive species -- is the first examination of earth’s biodiversity in 15 years. The report also found that “fighting climate change and saving species are equally important” and it’s not too late to take meaningful action.
Washington, D.C., -- Today, on the Day of Remembrance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Sierra Club is joining the Native-Led movement for justice and endorsing Savanna’s Act.
Savanna’s Act is legislation introduced by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The legislation is designed to improve coordination and data collection among tribal, local, state and federal law enforcement in cases involving missing and murdered Native women.
Hudson, WI-- Today, at a hearing about the Trump administration’s move to remove gray wolves in the Lower 48 states from federal Endangered Species Act protections, several conservation and community organizations spoke out against the proposal. The groups emphasized the dangers of removing federal protections for the gray wolf-- including delisting prematurely and pulling resources away from full recovery efforts.
Today, Colorado lawmakers approved legislation that would reauthorize and modernize the way the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) oversees our utilities.
The Sierra Club and Chesapeake Climate Action Network to host a telepresser with energy experts, advocates, and officials on the states, cities, and utilities looking to transition to clean energy.
At today’s shareholder meeting for Consumers Energy, advocates from across the state raised serious concerns about the utilities plans for the J.H. Campbell Coal Plant in West Olive. Addressing Consumers CEO Patti Poppe directly the group delivered petitions with 1274 signatures from 353 different cities, all calling for a total transition from coal to clean energy by 2030, with targets for Units 1 and 2 in 2023 and 3 in 2030. The financial burden of the plant and its impacts on the health of Michigan families have encouraged Consumers to commit to stop burning coal by 2040 but petition signers and speakers at the meeting found this commitment underwhelming.
RICHMOND, VA--Today, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the state budget with two environmentally harmful budget items. These items target interstate climate compacts, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI). One item would prohibit the state from becoming a member of RGGI, a regional carbon pollution reduction program, pulling up short the state’s work to act on climate.