Environmental Politics

"On its face, Eastman Chemical’s lawsuit against two small Texas labs that have said its plastics may be unsafe for consumption looks like a David and Goliath kind of fight (in fact, that’s how the labs are describing it). Corporate giant attempts to silence scientists -- including a professor at the University of Texas at Austin -- from publicizing research that runs counter to its commercial interests."

"WASHINGTON -- Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter says he won't delay a Senate vote on President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency after securing a deal to boost transparency at the agency."

"Vitter, the top Republican on the Senate environment panel, has been one of the biggest obstacles to Gina McCarthy's nomination. In May, he led a GOP boycott that delayed a critical vote to advance her bid. She eventually cleared the panel solely on votes from Democrats.

"The House this week is scheduled to take up a bill to fund the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers and related agencies that proposes steep spending cuts to clean energy and research programs."

"The Obama administration is looking forward to a host of new environmental regulations that go far beyond the president's plans to issue new standards for greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants."

"ATLANTA -- A political group founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch wants Georgia's utility regulators to reject a plan requiring Southern Co. to buy more solar energy, but an Associated Press review ahead of a vote on the issue finds that it has used misleading figures to build its case."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The U.S. State Department is in the process of deciding whether the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline would be in the U.S. national interest, but the determination is being made without Keystone XL’s digital GIS data, such as the longitude and latitude of milepost markers, waterbody crossings and the centerline route."

"The Bureau of Land Management today released the draft environmental review of a Wyoming-to-Nevada transmission line project that would allow wind-generated electricity in Wyoming to power homes as far away as California and could play a major role in meeting aggressive renewable energy goals outlined last week in President Obama's climate change strategy."

"Hydrologist David Evetts drove north from his office in Boise, Idaho, to the former prospecting town of Elk City on May 2. Fifty miles down a dead-end mountain road, he stopped at a gray metal box on a bridge over the South Fork Clearwater River. Reaching inside, he turned off the satellite feed that once relayed the river's water-level measurements from stream gauge number 13337500 every 15 minutes."

"Grand Rapids, Mich., is placing a bet that restoring the white water that gave the city its name will make it a destination for kayakers and other outdoors enthusiasts."

"This week could be pivotal not only for the future of the farm bill, but also the direction for the rest of this Congress."http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com/dtnag/view/blog/getBlog.do?blogHandle=policy&blogEntryId=8a82c0bc3e43976e013fbbecd2200e83&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter