Portland, OR -- This week, automakers, utilities, labor groups, and consumer advocates are joining environmental groups in signing the Transportation Electrification Accord. The Accord seeks to serve as a roadmap, offering a shared vision detailing how states and communities can establish an equitable electrified transportation future.
Yesterday, Donald Trump issued an executive order gutting the National Ocean Policy, which was put in place by President Obama after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 to address the threats facing our oceans.
Washington, DC-- Today, after months of public pressure, the Center for Disease Control finally released a report from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) on the Perfluoroalkyls toxic chemical family and its presence in the environment, effects on human health, and regulation concerns about acceptable levels. The White House was blamed for suppressing the release of the report.
Mission, TX-- Today, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security passed an appropriations bill that includes $1.6 billion for border walls and increased funding for Border Patrol. If passed through Congress, the appropriations legislation fully funds 65 miles of additional border wall in Rio Grande Valley-- walling off the entire 150-mile valley from their river (except the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge where prohibition on construction is upheld).
Denver, CO -- Today, after Colorado Governor Hickenlooper began the process to adopt advanced clean car standards, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers -- a trade group representing Ford and other car manufacturers -- began a public campaign to undermine the effort. This comes while the Trump administration -- while coordinating with the Auto Alliance -- has been working to roll back the clean car standards. However, amid swift backlash to rolling back the standards, the Alliance has attempted to distance itself from their efforts.
DENVER CO -- Huerfano County Commissioners today asked for oil and gas leases near Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness be deferred. The Commission voted in favor of asking the Bureau of Land Management to hold off on leasing the sensitive lands until further study can be completed on the impacts of dirty fuel development would have on the area’s waters and environment. The vote follows concerns raised by Citizens for Huerfano County and other community members.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives has attached a toxic rider to their Energy and Water Appropriations Bill that would repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule. The Obama era safeguard would protect drinking water for more than 117 million Americans and protect millions of acres of wetlands and millions of miles of streams across the country against dangerous pollutants.
Today, more than 675,000 public comments were submitted to the Department of the Interior in opposition to Secretary Zinke’s plan to hold a lease sale for drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Today, Plug In America and the Sierra Club released the AchiEVe: Model State & Local Policies to Accelerate Electric Vehicle Adoption toolkit. This policy guide details the most effective policies for growing the electric vehicle (EV) market at the state, city, and local levels.
Tulsa, OK—Yesterday, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt granted the request by his home state of Oklahoma to exempt coal ash dumps from federal oversight. This decision puts the health and welfare of Oklahomans at risk and it violates federal law. The move is especially shocking in light of evidence that every coal ash dump in the state tested positive for toxic contamination in nearby groundwater.