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Confirmation Hearing for New EPA Head and Regulatory Capture

By: Daisy Clennon This past Wednesday, the 16th of January, was Andrew Wheeler’s EPA confirmation hearing. The hearing came at a controversial moment: in the midst of the longest-ever government shutdown, and with no immediate reason to confirm the acting administrator as the official EPA head. For this reason, the hearing was criticized by Democrats for wasting time that could be better spent finding a shutdown solution. Furthermore, Wheeler had some of the EPA staff who were deemed “essential personnel” help him prepare for the hearing. Democrats and environmentalists found

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January 23, 2019

Coal in the US is on the Decline…Even Despite Efforts to Revive the Industry

By: Katie Pfeifer According to US Energy Information Administration (US EIA), more coal plants in the US were retired in President Trump’s first 2 years in office than the whole of Former President Barack Obama’s first term. This is despite lawmaker’s and Trump’s efforts to “revive” the industry, one of Trump’s key campaign promises during the election. Recently released data shows more than 23,400 MW of coal fired power plants were shuttered in 2017-2018 compared to 14,900 MW shut down between 2009-2012. This shouldn’t be too much of a shock, since

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January 16, 2019

10th Anniversary of Nation’s Largest Coal Ash Spill

By: Sharon Franklin As we look back at the holiday season, it is only a reminder to Mike Dunn of the health issue his wife Sandy encountered, who was a 40-year employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).  Mike is reminded of the 2008 Christmas Eve when Sandy left their Alcoa, Tennessee home and her family and headed to the Kingston Fossil Plant, where 7.3 million tons of coal ash was spilling from a busted dike.  Sandy knew nothing about coal ash, even though she worked in the safety division

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January 9, 2019

2019 – What Do Think Will Happen? Here’s some thoughts.

If you think the last two years were bananas, 2019 is going to be a real doozy. My colleague, James Mumm at People’s Action Institute, wrote this insightful forward looking piece and thought I’d share it with you.  I spent the last few hours of 2018 thinking about what we need to do next year to defeat Trump and Trumpism. We played solid defense this year. We created a #PeoplesWave to take back the House and many states in the midterms. But Trump is still president and McConnell and the

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January 2, 2019

A Green New Deal Must Be 100 Percent Just

Excitement is building among environmentalists as Washington prepares for the arrival of new lawmakers elected by the #PeoplesWave. Led by New York Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, these insurgents promise to infuse new energy into the movement for climate justice. By Ben Ben Ishibashi, People’s Action Network Ocasio-Cortez, through a series of high-profile public protests and statements, has focused the minds and hearts of activists, and laid down a gauntlet for the Democratic Party. Now is the time, she says, for a Green New Deal that confronts climate change head-on with bold solutions

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December 18, 2018

Are Real or Artificial Trees Better for the Environment?

Are Real or Artificial Trees Better for the Environment? By: Katie Pfeifer Real or artificial Christmas trees, which is better for the environment? This question seems to come up every year around the holiday season. There are many factors that go into making an environmentally friendly choice this season depending on what environmental and health factors matter most to you.  A recent article from the NY Times citing information from studies from both the American Christmas Tree Association, which represents manufacturers of artificial Christmas trees, and the National Christmas Tree

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December 12, 2018
Blog Roll
Greenpeace’s The Witness
Grist
Groovy Green
Healthy Child Healthy World
Inside Prevention
It’s Getting Hot in Here
Moms Rising
Pharos
Safe Mama
Safer Chemicals Healthy Families
The Soft Landing
Treehugger
Zero Waste World