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WTO denies consumers right to know about meat origins; TTIP promises worse
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The World Trade Organization Appellate Body ruled today that the U.S. law requiring country-of-origin labeling for meat violates international trade law. This will deny Americans the right to know where their meat comes from. U.S. Representative Mike Conaway (R-Texas), who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, is expected to… Read More
IMF pegs global fossil fuel subsidies at $5.3 trillion
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Monetary Fund released a working paper today estimating the 2015 global cost of fossil fuel subsidies at $5.3 trillion. The paper uses a post-tax subsidies measurement, which reflects the un-priced externalities that burning fossil fuels inflicts on societies. Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy… Read More
House takes aim at sage grouse
WASHINGTON, D.C. – By a vote of 269-151 the House of Representatives passed the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, which included a provision to delay Endangered Species Act protection for the greater sage-grouse for at least ten years. The measure would also effectively turn over management of western federal lands — species… Read More
U.N. finalizes Polar Shipping Code after six years
IMO adopts several important protections but lacks vital heavy fuel use ban in the Arctic LONDON, U.K. – The International Maritime Organization — the U.N. agency charged with establishing global shipping standards — adopted the environmental component of the Polar Code, a suite of mandatory measures governing Arctic and Antarctic… Read More
Senate moves Fast Track legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two days after the Democratic Senate rebuffed President Obama’s push for Fast Track trade authority the Senate moved forward on the Hatch-Wyden Trade Promotion Authority bill by a vote of 65-33. The bill would grant President Obama power to send signed trade agreements to Congress for votes with… Read More
NRC demands proof from PG&E that Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is safe from earthquakes
Friends of the Earth: Reactors not licensed for stronger quakes, must be shut down WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite repeated assertions by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. that the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is safe from earthquakes, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ordered PG&E to provide more proof. Friends of… Read More
Congressional hearing on pollinator health skirts the issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Congressional House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture, Biotechnology and Research held a hearing on pollinator health today, but failed to address the impacts of systemic pesticides, like neonicotinoids, on bees, birds and other pollinators in the context of federal coordination and response to pollinator declines. The hearing… Read More
Fast Track trade authority promises a sea of unsafe fish imports
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) with Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) will hold a press conference tomorrow on the dangers of Fast Track to food safety standards. They will express their concern about trade promotion legislation that would fast track a Trans Pacific Partnership… Read More
Murkowski tries to end 40-year-old crude oil export ban
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced a bill to repeal the 40-year-old ban on exporting crude oil. The ban was a response to the 1973 oil embargo and was intended to keep crude at home, decrease reliance on foreign oil and protect… Read More
Extreme bee losses highlight urgent need to restrict pesticides to protect pollinators
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Bee Informed Partnership, in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America and the United States Department of Agriculture, released its annual report on honey bee losses in the United States based on a national survey of beekeepers. Most significantly, beekeepers reported losing 42.1 percent of the total… Read More