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Greens condemn tax breaks for billionaires
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House of Representatives passed H.R.1105, The Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015, by a vote of 240-179. The bill would permanently repeal the federal estate tax, increasing the national debt by $269 billion over the next decade. Only an extreme minority of estates — 0.18 percent —… Read More
Friends of the Earth asks Obamas professor to reveal payments from Peabody Energy
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica, sent a letter to Professor Laurence Tribe requesting that he disclose the full terms of any agreement he has with Peabody Energy. The nation’s largest coal company recently hired Tribe — a Harvard University constitutional law professor who… Read More
Tax Day: A reminder of taxpayer-subsidized pollution through corporate welfare
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate Finance Committee is expected to release recommendations for tax reform by late May. Meanwhile, the Committee has set an April 15 deadline for stakeholder comments to coincide with Tax Day. This is a good time to revisit the inequalities in our current tax system, which continues… Read More
Obama administration proposes new safety regulations for offshore oil and gas development
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nearly five years after the Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement released proposed well control regulations for offshore oil and gas development. The proposal is based on recommendations… Read More
A review of McConnells first 100 days
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On April 15, the McConnell Senate will hit a significant legislative benchmark: 100 days. The first 100 days of Mitch McConnell’s leadership of the U.S. Senate has been a failure on environmental and public health policies, including climate change, clean water, public lands and wildlife, and for… Read More
Lowes commits to decisive action to protect bees and other pollinators
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Friends of the Earth, Domini Social Investments and Trillium Asset Management praised Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) for making a commitment to eliminate neonicotinoid pesticides — a leading contributor to global bee declines — from its stores. After input from suppliers, NGOs, investors and other key stakeholders, the company… Read More
Broad alliance critiques EPAs announcement on bee-harming pesticides, urges agency to go further to protect pollinators
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a moratorium on new bee- and bird- harming neonicotinoid pesticide products and uses. While supportive of the partial halt on new registrations, farm, beekeeper and environmental groups were disappointed that the action ignored the huge numbers of other bee-harming… Read More
Interior opens Alaskan waters to Shell
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Department of the Interior issued a Record of Decision affirming Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea in Northwest Alaska. The federal government unlawfully sold the oil and gas lease to oil companies, including Shell, in 2008 when it underestimated the risks of a large… Read More
U.S. announces weak contribution to Paris Agreement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In preparation for the United Nations climate negotiations in Paris, the United States announced its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. This formal announcement builds on an agreement that President Obama reached with China in November 2014 for the United States to reduce emissions by 26-28 percent from 2005… Read More
WikiLeaks exposes White House misinformation on TPP investment chapter
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, WikiLeaks released draft text of the all-important investment chapter of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement. A Friends of the Earth analysis of the leaked TPP investment chapter text shows that the U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and the White House have been misrepresenting the implications… Read More