Three GOP-backed House bills attacking science at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are unlikely to become law in the current Congress — or the next. The Obama administration has threatened to veto all three, which the House passed in November along party lines. None is likely to muster enough support to override a veto.
EPA has issued a "clarification" of its SAB scientist-muzzling policy, which acknowledges that SAB members are free to talk to reporters — mostly — as long as they are speaking for themselves. Still, the Society of Professional Journalists wrote EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy December 1 declaring their dissatisfaction with the clarification.
A coalition of journalism groups, including SEJ, is calling on the U.S. Forest Service to make clear in its directives that journalists, documentarians, and media photographers do not need permits to take pictures in National Forest Wilderness or other public lands.
"NEW YORK — Steps that President Barack Obama has taken to help the environment must be protected, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, but she avoided the contentious issue of the Keystone XL pipeline in remarks to a group that vigorously opposes it."
"President Vladimir V. Putin said Monday that he would scrap Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline, a grandiose project that was once intended to establish the country’s dominance in southeastern Europe but instead fell victim to Russia’s increasingly toxic relationship with the West."
"The West's leading trade group for the oil industry has collaborated with, and in some cases funded, an array of groups to combat what it calls "aggressive anti-oil initiatives," according to a presentation obtained by climate activists and shared with the San Jose Mercury News."
"The corporate lobbying network American Legislative Exchange Council, commonly known as Alec, is planning a new onslaught on a number of environmental protections next year when Republicans take control of Congress and a number of state legislatures."
"Falling oil prices show the 'high risk' of fossil fuel investments compared with renewable energies, the U.N.'s climate chief said on Monday at the start of 190-nation talks on a deal to slow global warming."
"Food activists and the industry are looking to a court case between Vermont and a major food distribution association as a bellwether for the future of genetically modified foods."
"Missouri environmental advocates who have fought for stricter oversight of coal ash waste are eagerly awaiting the mid-December release of new federal rules that will require, for the first time, detailed data."
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