GENEVA, SWITZERLAND -- Today, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in favor of the dolphin-saving U.S. labeling program for tuna after having repeatedly ruled against the program as a “technical barrier to trade.” As recently as April 2017, the WTO authorized Mexico to impose trade sanctions against the U.S. for the program. In today’s ruling, the WTO deemed that recent changes to the program bring it into compliance. The Mexican government has announced it will appeal today’s ruling.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the FY18 budget resolution (216-212) which advances drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
A leaked draft of the Interior Department’s five-year strategic plan for 2018-2022 showed the agency prioritizing increasing oil and gas drilling on national public lands.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, The Sierra Club is demanding an immediate demand for Congress to investigate the circumstances surrounding the awarding of a three hundred million dollar electric reconstruction contract to a small Montana firm of two employees, Whitefish Energy, from the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The Sierra Club’s demand joins calls from House Democrats, and comes on the heels of a demand from the Mayor of San Juan that the contract be canceled.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ford, Volkswagen and other automakers should live up to their promises and stop trying to undo popular fuel economy and vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards, known as clean car standards, a coalition of groups said today when announcing its “Forward Not Backward” campaign.
Today members of the Gwich’in Nation led a rally in Washington, D.C. to unite against the destruction of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The group traveled more than 4,000 miles to speak out against a Congressional budget that opens the door to drilling in the Arctic Refuge, including in its biological heart the coastal plain.
Sierra Club joined the rally, along with members of Congress, the Hip Hop Caucus, Green Latinos, veteran leaders, and Alaska Wilderness League among others. Solidarity events are being held nationwide throughout the week.
LOS ANGELES-- Sierra Club Ambassador Kiersey Clemons joined a three day Sierra Club Outing to Bears Ears National Monument in Utah to experience the extraordinary red-rock terrain and deep history of Tribal Nations tied to this area. The monument is at the center of the Trump administration's plans to roll back protections for iconic lands across the country.
Watch the just released video from Clemons’ trip here: https://youtu.be/WAQxN5DTmVU
Under the leadership of Secretary Zinke, the Department of the Interior has proposed raising entry fees at major national parks across the country. The proposal would hamper the the public’s ability to enjoy our natural wonders at the same time that Zinke is looking to ease access for the fossil fuel industry.
Tulsa, OK - Today, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down H.B. 1449, a bill that sought to implement an annual fee on electric vehicles, ruling the tax unconstitutional because the fee was untethered from a regulatory purpose and simply sought to impose a new financial burden. In August, the Sierra Club filed a state lawsuit in Oklahoma, challenging the legislature’s passage of H.B. 1449. The bill would have established, without justification, a $100 annual fee for the purchase of an electric vehicle and $30 for the purchase of a hybrid vehicle. The arbitrary fee had no connection to the actual costs and benefits of electric vehicles, requiring electric vehicle drivers to pay more than they would in gas taxes and potentially dissuading future electric vehicle buyers.
Today, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced plans to put up 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico up for oil and gas leasing. The largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in Interior’s history, the sale would include all available, unleased areas of the Gulf. The announcement comes in the wake of an oil spill that spilled an estimated 16,000 barrels into the Gulf, making it the largest Gulf oil spill since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.