Environmental Protection Agency

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Test Finds Mercury in Every Fish

A quarter contaminated beyond EPA safety limit

(Newser) - Catch a fish in one of America's streams, and there's a good chance it will have at least trace amounts of mercury. The most comprehensive survey to date from the US Geological Survey tested more than 1,000 fish from nearly 300 streams around the nation—and found mercury in...

Chevy: Volt Will Get 230mpg Critics: Yeah, Right

(Newser) - GM held a triumphant press conference this morning, announcing that, using newly devised EPA methodology, its 2011 Chevy Volt will get a whopping 230 miles per gallon in city driving, by far the highest fuel efficiency rating ever. No car has ever so much as sniffed 100mpg before; the Prius...

EPA Bucks Bush Policy, Lets Calif. Set Own CO2 Standard

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency today granted California the right to set its own strict emissions standards, an about-face from Bush-era policies, Reuters reports. In a sly rebuke to the previous administration, the EPA said the move rested on a “traditional legal interpretation of the Clean Air Act.” California...

EPA Declares Asbestos 'Emergency' in Mont. Town

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency has declared a “public health emergency” in a Montana town where 200 people have died from asbestos poisoning, CNN reports. For 10 years the EPA has been involved in a cleanup of Libby, contaminated by castoff from a nearby vermiculite mine and insulation plant. The...

Obama Clashes With Rural Democrats
Obama Clashes With Rural Democrats
Jun 17, 2009 11:15 AM CDT

Obama Clashes With Rural Democrats

Environmental rules, car dealerships among sticking points

(Newser) - Democrats from rural areas aren’t pleased with President Obama, and they’re threatening to show it by revolting against key parts of his domestic agenda, Politico reports. The tension boiled to the surface last week when rural and moderate Democrats decried plans to close 3,400 General Motors and...

EPA Backs Off Promise to Regulate CO2

Apparent flip follows White House warning on economic fallout

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency is backing away from emissions regulation after a White House memo warned of its economic consequences. As administrator Lisa Jackson presented today an agency finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, she told Congress this “does not mean regulation.” Previously, Jackson said such a...

Feds Itchy Over Flea Repellent Side Effects

(Newser) - Federal regulators want pet owners to apply flea and tick repellents carefully while authorities scratch around to ensure the products are safe, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency recorded 44,000 pet-health complaints related to topical pest repellents—ranging from skin irritation to death. Most...

Utilities Poison Water to Meet EPA Air Regs

(Newser) - A federal law that keeps utilities from poisoning the air is causing toxic metals to infiltrate US waterways, the Washington Post reports. As the Environmental Protection Agency debates possible solutions with lawmakers, utility companies are storing pollutants like mercury and selenium in sludge ponds that eventually leak into lakes and...

Congress Will Likely Pass Up Climate Change for Health Care

Dems think health bill is easier to pass

(Newser) - Congress returns from recess today with both health care and climate change on its plate, and it’s looking increasingly likely that it will favor the former, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Health-care reform should be first among equals,” says one rep. Though he also expects to “...

EPA's Carbon Ruling Puts Heat on Congress
 EPA's Carbon Ruling 
 Puts Heat on Congress 
Analysis
Apr 18, 2009 4:59 PM CDT

EPA's Carbon Ruling Puts Heat on Congress

(Newser) - By issuing its long-awaited “endangerment finding” on carbon yesterday, the EPA is essentially putting a gun to Congress’ head, writes Bryan Walsh in Time. Capitol Hill is loathe to regulate carbon emissions, with Republicans and coal-state Democrats worried about the economic fallout. But by ruling that carbon is dangerous,...

EPA's CO2 Ruling May Have Huge Impact

(Newser) - The EPA's decision today to declare carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases dangerous pollutants could have enormous consequences for US businesses, writes Andy Stone in Forbes. The big winner: green technology. The ruling could eventually give the EPA unprecedented regulatory control over everything from power plants to oil refineries...

EPA Finds Greenhouse Gases Dangerous
 EPA Finds Greenhouse 
 Gases Dangerous 
updated
Apr 17, 2009 11:07 AM CDT

EPA Finds Greenhouse Gases Dangerous

(Newser) - Carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gasses are indeed dangers to the public health and welfare and must be regulated, the EPA has concluded. The findings could result in sweeping new powers for the EPA to regulate emissions over a wide range of industries and automobiles, the AP reports. The...

US Goes to War on ... Bedbugs?
 US Goes to War on ... Bedbugs? 
OPINION
Apr 15, 2009 11:14 AM CDT

US Goes to War on ... Bedbugs?

Feds convene summit to scratch evidently pressing itch: Milbank

(Newser) - Wondering a bit about federal priorities “in an age of bin Laden and Ahmadinejad,” Dana Milbank headed yesterday to an Environmental Protection Agency summit on the blood-sucking menace of bedbugs, he writes in the Washington Post. With reps from agencies including the Pentagon on hand, an entomologist opined...

On Environment, White House Quick to Undo Bush Policies

Staff unearths years of shelved proposals

(Newser) - More than a dozen environmental initiatives that stagnated under former President Bush are moving forward under Obama, the Washington Post reports. In most of those cases, the decisions were based on reports drafted over several years that, in the face of opposition, were placed on the back burner to await...

EPA Warns of Global Warming, Spurs New Policy

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency sent the White House a message today that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are detrimental to human health, Reuters reports. The "endangerment finding" may open the door for Washington to curb emissions that cause global warming. "I think it's historic news," one...

EPA Expected to Start Limiting CO2 Emissions

Agency will act on ignored Supreme Court ruling

(Newser) - The EPA is expected to soon start regulating emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases for the first time, reports the New York Times. The agency is under an order—ignored by the Bush administration—to decide whether CO2 is a pollutant that endangers the public. Obama administration officials...

Obama to Back Strict New Fuel Standards Today

Prez plans to grant California rules stalled by Bush

(Newser) - In a dramatic reversal of his predecessor's policies, President Obama will ask federal regulators to approve an application from California and 13 other states to impose fuel efficiency standards stricter than those required by federal law, reports the New York Times. The measure will force the auto industry to adapt...

W. Virginia Torn Over Coal Mining

Small town split on pros and cons of clearing mountains

(Newser) - As the mining industry clears mountains in Appalachia, a nearby town finds itself in a conundrum over the future of coal, writes John McQuaid in Smithsonian magazine. With prices and energy demands soaring, mining sites are multiplying—and while some  residents see the state’s oldest and most profitable industry...

Court Reinstates Bush Clean Air Rule

Federal judges reverse position on clean air rule, giving Obama time to replace it

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has decided that a flawed clean air law is better than no clean air law, the New York Times reports. Reversing an earlier judgment, the court ruled to temporarily reinstate the Clean Air Interstate Rule—which limits emissions from coal-fired power plants in 28 states—while...

Obama Unveils Energy Team
Obama Unveils Energy Team
Dec 15, 2008 5:24 PM CST

Obama Unveils Energy Team

Green leaders will help America kick the oil habit, fight global warming, he says

(Newser) - Promising to end America's oil addiction and combat global warming, Barack Obama rolled out his environment and energy team today, the Boston Globe reports. He chose Nobel laureate Steven Chu for energy secretary; New Jersey official Lisa Jackson for EPA; Los Angeles deputy mayor Nancy Sutley to lead a White...

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