Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
When I was applying to law schools, I remember writing that I wanted to become a lawyer, rather than a scientist, because that’s where the action was – lawyers would actually make environmental policy. This was ridiculously small-minded of me,...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Living Sustainably , U.S. Law and Policy
President Obama put forward his proposed budget yesterday, which provides a rare opportunity to look at how the whole federal government is organized and what priorities our leaders see for investments. On the whole, I think those of us who...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , U.S. Law and Policy
Most summers, my family rents a house near Little Sebago Lake in Maine for a week. It’s a fantastic escape from the daily grind – we kayak, we swim, we go tubing, we fish, and I get out and go...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , U.S. Law and Policy
On Wednesday the House of Representatives passed a jobs bill that will dedicate $2 billion for “ready-to-go” drinking water and wastewater projects -- projects that will employ engineers, construction workers, plumbers, architects, maintenance workers, and more. The House also targeted...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
It was great to see Charles Duhigg's article about under-enforcement of water pollution laws yesterday. Quite apart from the water angle, which we obviously care a whole lot about, it was wonderful to see that good print journalism is still...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Reviving the World's Oceans , U.S. Law and Policy
I recently attended a conference about the health of the Mississippi River, and I was struck by a compelling analogy my colleague Matt Rota of the Gulf Restoration Network used to describe the giant Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , U.S. Law and Policy
One of the great things about our country is that the government often must give the public the opportunity to comment on something it is planning on doing, and then must actually consider those comments in making its final decision. ...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , U.S. Law and Policy
Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the Clean Water Restoration Act, a landmark bill that will reinstate Clean Water Act protections against umpermitted dumping of pollution, filling, or destruction for a host of water bodies jeopardized by a pair of...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , U.S. Law and Policy
The title of this post is stolen from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who used the line during a recent public appearance. (Click here, then click on the player button to watch it; the relevant discussion begins at about 15:40.) Administrator Jackson was...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , U.S. Law and Policy
It's a good day. Today, Senator Russ Feingold and 23 additional Senators joined to introduce the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2009, a bill that would ensure that the Clean Water Act applies to protect a host of water bodies that...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment
World Water Day is Sunday. Because I work in NRDC's Water Program, my colleague Melanie Nakagawa encouraged me to offer my two drops, as it were, about the domestic fresh water issues on which we focus. This isn't as easy...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Living Sustainably
Almost every day, I bike to work. On the bike path, I get a close-up view of the Potomac River, which makes up the boundary between Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Though it has improved dramatically since the Clean Water Act...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , U.S. Law and Policy
As many of my colleagues are describing today, NRDC and a host of partner groups in the environmental, conservation, and public health community have created a document, called "Transition to Green," which lays out a detailed set of policies that we...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Reviving the World's Oceans , U.S. Law and Policy
A new report released today by NRDC brings together recent information about a widespread pollution problem in the Mississippi River Basin and Gulf of Mexico and calls attention to a legal controversy that has made it more difficult to protect resources...
Posted by Jon Devine in Curbing Pollution , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , U.S. Law and Policy
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about "The Lorax," Dr. Seuss's brilliant and unbelievably forward-thinking book about ecology, pollution, greed, and (ultimately) redemption. You see, my 8-year-old is in his school production of a musical based on the book and,...
