WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The House Natural Resources Committee today passed out of committee several important pieces of legislation, including the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act, H.R. 5598, sponsored by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-N.M), the Robert E. Lee Statue Removal Act, H.R. 970, sponsored by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and a bill on the removal of the Albert Pike statue near Judiciary Square, H.R. 4135 introduced by Rep. Eleanor Norton (D-DC).
DENVER (Sept. 30, 2020) — After two climate modeling reports released this week highlighted the need to rapidly transition all sectors to clean energy, NRDC and Sierra Club are calling on the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC), Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPHE), and Colorado Energy Office (CEO) to translate research into reality.
Washington, DC— Today, Interior Secretary Bernhardt sent an email to the agency’s staff stating that William Perry Pendley— who a court ruled has been illegally serving as Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Acting Director— will remain on the Interior Department’s management team.
OAKLAND-- Two new major fires in California have led to additional deaths, property loss and evacuation orders. The fast growing fires are the latest in what was already a record fire season for the state.
Cleveland, OH -- Tonight, Vice President Joe Biden and Donald Trump appeared in the first presidential debate.
In response, Sierra Club Political Director Ariel Hayes released the following statement:
“Tonight’s debate only reaffirmed that Donald Trump is a racist, a liar, and the worst president ever for our clean air and water. He can and must be defeated -- our humanity, our democracy and our planet depend on it.”
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Austin, Tex. - Texas based Vistra Energy announced plans today to accelerate its transition to clean energy generation by retiring all the coal plants owned by its subsidiaries in Illinois and Ohio.
Texas based Vistra Energy announced plans today to accelerate its transition to clean energy generation by retiring all the coal plants owned by its subsidiaries in Illinois and Ohio. In a move intended to reduce the utility’s outsized climate impact, the announcement targets more than 6,211 megawatts (MW) of coal based electricity generation at six coal plants, which is equivalent to a year’s worth of carbon emissions from 10,380,659 passenger vehicles. These announced retirements mark 166,395 MW of coal capacity proposed and retired with 185,022 MW remaining in the United States.
Salt Lake City, UT - Today, 20 Utah businesses came out against the local utility, Rocky Mountain Power, proposal which would prevent families and businesses from affording rooftop solar on their homes and buildings (full list of businesses at the bottom of press release). The proposal would reduce the export solar credit rate by 84 percent -- which would make Utah’s solar export credit the lowest in the entire country, despite the fact that Utah has some of the best solar resources -- a move that would effectively kill the solar industry in Utah.
A federal judge has ruled that William Perry Pendley has been serving illegally as head of the Bureau of Land Management.
Today, Sierra Club released a report card grading MidAmerican Energy’s performance in seven key areas ranging from coal usage, to lack of an emissions reduction goal, to equitable access to clean energy, as well as an overall grade for the utility. The report card follows the release of a more technical economic analysis of MidAmerican’s energy generation released in a report last month, The Coal Truth. The economic report found that MidAmerican’s most uneconomic plants in Iowa, have lost $27.5 million for customers over the last five years and both plants could retire without needing to replace their generated power until 2023. Those retirements would save utility customers $92 million.