Medical and recreational marijuana, sanctuary cities, net neutrality, and climate change. These are just a few examples of the many issues pitting state and local governments against the federal government. We can now add supervised injection sites (SIS), also known as supervised consumption services or overdose prevention centers, to that list. … [Read more...]
Search Results for: climate change
The Trump Administration’s Impact on the Environment
Over the past 15 months, the Trump administration has taken aim at a number of regulations, many of which were instituted during the Obama years. Though the president is pursuing a broad deregulatory agenda affecting every sector, the environment seems to be of particular concern. Whether it’s through the Department of the Interior or the EPA, … [Read more...]
Obama’s Carbon Pricing Policy Thrives in Blue States
Just two months after Donald Trump took his oath of office, in March, 2017, EPA chief Scott Pruitt made it a priority to rescind President Obama’s signature climate control initiative, known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), put in place by executive order in 2015. The regulation on power plants is the first of its kind to reduce greenhouse gas … [Read more...]
Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Could Majorly Hurt the Nation’s Waterways
On February 12th, the Trump administration released a plan for changing the way infrastructure projects are carried out. The plan contains recommendations that have environmentalists and public health experts worried. Specifically, the administration proposes streamlining the permit process for dumping “dredged or fill material” into various water … [Read more...]
Trump Administration Fails to Comply With the Clean Air Act
Fourteen states have banded together to sue the United States government for its failure to comply with the Clean Air Act. According to the suit, led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the US missed its Oct. 1st deadline to identify regions with unhealthy air. Areas deemed at risk must work to ameliorate their air quality. But without … [Read more...]
White House Censors the CDC
In 2007, the US Supreme Court issued a decision asking the EPA to determine whether greenhouse gases could “reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.” The agency went to work, seeking an answer to the Justices’ question. There were those who earnestly sought an answer, and there were those who sought to interfere with this … [Read more...]
Controlling the Fracking Narrative
In 2005, Congress passed a bill (HR 6) that led to devastating consequences in poor rural counties throughout the country, including areas in Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Texas. Notably, the energy bill included an exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), allowing hydraulic fracking to continue without federal oversight. That exemption, … [Read more...]
Republicans Take On the Endangered Species Act
It is no secret that Republicans in Congress and the White House want nothing more than to roll back EPA regulations – even EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to dismantle many of the agency’s programs. It’s perhaps less publicized that certain GOP members of Congress have made it their duty to radically alter the Endangered Species Act, a law … [Read more...]
The EPA Introduces Rule to Repeal the Clean Power Plan
On October 6th, it was discovered by Bloomsberg that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt would be proposing a rule to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP), an Obama-era initiative meant to mitigate the damaging effects of greenhouse gases on the environment. Then on October 9th, the EPA leader proclaimed to a group of coal miners that the administration … [Read more...]
The Administration’s Position on Disaster Relief
During the past several weeks, Americans have witnessed massive destruction at the hands of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The total economic damage – according to Joel Myers, president of AccuWeather – could be as high as $290 billion – $100 billion in Florida and $190 billion in Texas. In Crosby, Texas, there were two blasts at a chemical plant … [Read more...]