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Before presidential debate, new TV ad encourages candidates to oppose ethanol subsidies
Washington, D.C.—Less than a week before the first Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, two public interest groups, environmental advocate Friends of the Earth and budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, released a TV ad today asking whether presidential candidates will oppose the $6 billion federal subsidy paid each year to ethanol blenders. Read More
Alaska court rules against cruise ship polluters
Juneau, AK -- Alaskans concerned about the health and economic impacts of toxic cruise ship pollution are welcoming a ruling issued by the Alaska Superior Court this week. The court held the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s 2010 cruise ship wastewater discharge permit failed to demonstrate a correct interpretation of the law requiring cruise ships to use the most effective pollution prevention technologies. Read More
Nuclear industry self-review panel called ‘laughable’
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nuclear industry promotion groups announced today that they are forming a panel to conduct a self-review of safety concerns in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, which Japanese nuclear officials recently conceded released more than twice as much radiation as previously reported. Read More
EPA blasts insufficient State Department analysis of pipeline risks
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Environmental Protection Agency stated formal objections to the controversial Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline, proposed to run from Canada across the nation’s breadbasket to refineries in Texas. Read More
Groups push to protect whales by reducing ship speeds
SAN FRANCISCO – Conservation groups filed a legal petition today seeking a mandatory speed limit for large ships traveling through California’s marine sanctuaries. In recent years there has been a dramatic rise in whale deaths attributable to collisions with vessels. Ship strikes are now one of the leading threats to whales migrating through California’s waters. Today’s petition, from the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Defense Center, Pacific Environment and Friends of the Earth, seeks a 10-knots-per-hour limit for ships in marine sanctuaries. Read More
Well-intentioned biofuel bill could cause more harm than good
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last week, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced a bill that would allow states to opt out of the Renewable Fuel Standard’s mandate for corn ethanol production if they produce “next-generation biofuels” instead. Read More
Conservation Group Pressures EPA to Get the Lead Out of Avgas
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Friends of the Earth, a leading advocate for a healthier environment, sent a notice of intent to sue today to the Environmental Protection Agency regarding its failure to respond to a 2006 petition asking for the regulation of lead emissions from general aviation aircraft under the Clean Air Act. The petition specifically asked the EPA to find that lead emissions from aircraft using leaded aviation gasoline (avgas) may endanger public health. Nearly five years later, despite continuing to acknowledge that there is no safe threshold for lead exposure, the EPA has taken no final action with regard to Friends of the Earth’s petition. Read More
Government pushed to do full review of ‘Frankenfish’
Washington, DC - Earthjustice, on behalf of Ocean Conservancy, Friends of the Earth, Center for Food Safety, Food & Water Watch, the Center for International Environmental Law, and Greenpeace, submitted a citizen petition today to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging the Agency to withhold final action on an application to market the first ever genetically engineered (GE) salmon intended for human consumption in the U. S. The petition requests that FDA complete a comprehensive environmental impact statement on the risks GE fish could present to the natural marine environment before making a final decision. Read More
AP1000 nuclear reactor design in grave danger
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Prospects for new nuclear reactor construction in the U.S. suffered a major setback this afternoon as the chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a statement voicing serious concerns about a nuclear reactor design proposed for what would be the first new reactors in the United States in decades. Read More
State Department Sued for not Disclosing Clinton Correspondence with Oil Lobbyist
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Environmental and ethics groups sued the State Department today to gain access to possible communications between a lobbyist for a Canadian oil pipeline company and the State Department, headed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Read More