The Clean Air Act has protected Americans and the air we breathe from harmful pollution for 40 years, saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. But some members of Congress are now attempting to dismantle the Clean Air Act and undermine the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to reduce air pollution and safeguard our health.
Since 1970, as scientists and doctors identified additional threats to our health, the Clean Air Act safe-guarded us from deadly pollutants. But now some Senators and House members are threatening to interfere with the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases and enforce the clean up of polluting power plants. Congress should never undermine the Clean Air Act or EPA's ability to hold big polluters accountable for the destructive pollution they release into our air.
Take action: Thank President Obama for keeping toxic mercury out of our air
Posted May 14, 2013 by Dan Lashof in Solving Global Warming
With all the debate on the federal budget in Congress, climate change rarely gets mentioned as a deficit driver. Yet dealing with climate disruption was one of the largest non-defense discretionary budget items in 2012. Indeed, as NRDC shows in...continued→
Posted May 10, 2013 by David Doniger in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming
Carbon dioxide concentrations have hit 400 parts per million for the first time in at least three million years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today. That’s 40 percent more than the CO2 level in the air at the start...continued→
Posted May 8, 2013 by John Walke in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
The group of Republican Senators [pdf] most loudly criticizing the nomination of Ms. Gina McCarthy to head EPA evidently have decided not to mount a frontal assault on her impressive qualifications or historic health achievements [pdf] leading EPA’s clean air program. Indeed,...continued→
Posted April 25, 2013 by Dan Lashof in Solving Global Warming
This blog was written by Andy Stevenson, NRDC Finance Advisor and Dan Lashof. It first appeared in LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Texas’ reputation as a small government, big steaks, business friendly state is beginning to wither as it continues...continued→
Posted April 11, 2013 by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
If your child has asthma or if your parent suffers from heart disease or if you are one of the millions of Americans who value clean air, then the Senate confirmation hearing for Gina McCarthy on Thursday will be of...continued→
Posted April 9, 2013 by Dan Lashof in Solving Global Warming
A version of this blog first appeared in Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), the official U.S. energy data keeper, recently released full-year 2012 data. They show a 3.7 percent reduction in carbon dioxide...continued→
Posted March 27, 2013 by Dan Lashof in Solving Global Warming
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has released a six-point plan in a letter to President Obama responding to his request for input on his second term climate strategy. PCAST laid out a clear-eyed vision of...continued→
Posted March 26, 2013 by David Doniger in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
Virginia’s attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the Environmental Protection Agency’s scientific finding that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping air pollutants are driving dangerous climate change. This is the “endangerment determination” that...continued→
Posted March 12, 2013 by Kit Kennedy in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, New Yorkers have risen to the challenge of rebuilding damaged homes, communities and infrastructure. Still, almost six months after the storm, there’s much more to be done. As we rebuild, we need to think...continued→
Posted March 6, 2013 by Laurie Johnson in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Funded by the industry trade association US Chamber of Commerce (not to be confused with the US Department of Commerce), a recent report by National Economic Research Associates (NERA) attempts to discredit the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) analyses of...continued→
