“California will sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for ‘wantonly’ ignoring its duty to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ships, aircraft, and construction and agricultural equipment, state Attorney General Jerry Brown said on Wednesday. Brown said the lawsuit, to be announced at a news conference at the Port of Long Beach on Thursday and filed […]
“Conservation groups from nine states along the Mississippi River and two national groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today to set and enforce numeric standards to limit nutrient pollution in the river basin because it contributes to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf dead zone, a stretch of water covering […]
“In its early post-Earth Day years, the environmental movement focused on the Progressive Era’s central planning approach to environmental issues. This model assumed self-interest inevitably clashes with the interest of society. Conventional policy approaches proceeded from the correct assumption that markets often fail to address environmental concerns. Rather than advocating the redesign of institutions for […]
“For nine years the United States Department of Agriculture conducted a study to examine the difference between conventional no-till agriculture and organic agriculture. The USDA results, out last year, demonstrated that not only does organic agriculture increase soil health but also it offsets more emissions than conventional no-till farming. In laymen’s terms: Even the best […]
Questions for Barack Obama: “You continue to support ethanol subsidies despite the fact that corn-based ethanol is inefficient, environmentally unfriendly, and part of the cause of rising food prices. Even liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman calls ethanol ‘[b]ad for the economy, bad for consumers, bad for the planet.’ Perhaps your support stems from […]
“Having passed legislation flogging U.S. automakers with a mandated fleet average of 35 mpg for by 2020 (an echo of 1975’s expensive 27 mpg mandate), Congress is now rushing in with first aid. Michigan’s Congressional delegation is making a major push to bail out U.S. automakers that are suffering disproportionate losses in the U.S. auto […]
“We can’t help ourselves. Americans crave the black gold that pulses through the concrete arteries of our nation’s transportation system. In the opinion of many, we have hocked our future for a cheap fix with a drug that abandons our nation to unscrupulous foreign dealers and causes convulsions in the national economy.” (written 03/07; posted […]
[Excerpted from < The Handbook on State Health Care Reform, co-authored by John C. Goodman, Michael Bond, Devon M. Herrick, Gerald L. Musgrave, Pamela Villarreal, and Joe Barnett.] “Although it is optional, every state provides a long-term care benefit through its Medicaid program — and not just to the poor. Medicaid is paying for the […]
“With just a few months left in office, President Bush is still doing the bidding of social conservatives who oppose women’s reproductive freedoms. Under the guise of rules to protect antiabortion nurses and doctors from discrimination in hiring, a proposed new regulation would expand the definition of abortion to include any form of contraception that […]
“House action on changes to government health programs this year foretell more sweeping changes that are likely to come next year if Democrats make expected gains in the November elections. First example: Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, plans to introduce a bill soon that will extend price controls […]
