Posted by Peter Lehner in U.S. Law and Policy
President Obama and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson today appointed Judith Enck as the head of EPA's key region two office, the office that handles environmental issues in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and seven Tribal...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
This post was co-written with Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. NRDC and Sierra Club are members of the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports, supporters of the clean truck program. "Cancer alley." That's what many Southern Californians...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Curbing Pollution , U.S. Law and Policy
It's been a good couple of weeks for the clean air advocates. First the federal appeals court in New York decided that a group of states and others could bring a nuisance case seeking to require the country's largest global...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Green Enterprise , Health and the Environment , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , Solving Global Warming
Few seem willing to address the issue openly, but one of the toughest issues to address when delegates gather in Copenhagen in December for the global conference on climate change will be governance. Many developing nations attending have stressed and...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Health and the Environment , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
As all eyes turn toward the UN's Climate Week and G20 summit, now is a good time to focus on the international impacts of climate change and the actions we all can take to stop the further deterioration of our...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
During eight years as chief of the Environmental Protection Bureau in the New York State Attorney General's Office, I had the political backing necessary to take on large corporate polluters. Such support is crucial to enforce the hard-won standards contained...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Curbing Pollution , Living Sustainably
This weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in a US Open event. No - not a tennis match - but something that is still an integral part of the US Open: the announcement of this year's greening initiative. This...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Reviving the World's Oceans , Solving Global Warming
In addition to places of wonder and beauty, our oceans are vital economic engines. The U.S. ocean economy contributes more than $230 billion to the nation's GDP annually, providing more more jobs and more economic output than the nation's entire...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Curbing Pollution , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
A ferocious storm provided an electrifying backdrop for the recent kick-off of the Made in America Jobs Tour, the first of 22 rallies across the country to promote the job creating potential of a new clean energy economy. This tour...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Curbing Pollution , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
President Obama reached across the political aisle when he selected Representative Ray LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, as his Transportation Secretary. The appointment was met by some skepticism: LaHood's resume on transportation issues was decried as very thin. But Secretary...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
According to an assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world is going to invest more than $16 trillion in energy by 2030. There are two ways that we can invest this money: a smart way and a dumb...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Living Sustainably , The Media and the Environment
Last night, Hearst's green lifestyle website The Daily Green held its 2009 Heart of Green Awards, honoring those people, organizations and companies that take the green message to the mainstream -- to the "heart" of the American people. The award...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Solving Global Warming
Standing in front of an audience of members of the transportation industry, policymakers local and state officials as well as NRDC staff (including Deron Lovaas, our transportation specialist, and me as representatives of the environmental community), President Obama this morning...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Gray whales love to spyhop. That’s one of the primary lessons of my week in Laguana San Ignacio, one of NRDC’s premier BioGems. On the west coast of Mexico’s Baja California, the lagoon is the last pristine breeding and gathering...continued→
Posted by Peter Lehner in Green Enterprise , Solving Global Warming
I had the pleasure of speaking at the national Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference in Washington, D.C. yesterday. This was a truly remarkable event that brought together thousands of people -- from steelworkers to business leaders to students to environmentalists. The...continued→
