Each year, starting in 1989, an annual report titled, “Our Changing Planet” has been produced by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and submitted to Congress. The USGCRP also conducts the National Climate Assessment (NCA), which has been previously completed in 2000 and 2009. The assessment serves as a “status report” on the latest [...]
President Obama recently announced the cancellation of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to update weak and scientifically unsupported Bush-era ozone standards. The President based this unfortunate decision on the newly popular idea that protecting human health and the environment is bad for the economy. The President bought into this rhetoric from Tea Party elites despite [...]
Here’s one truth: climate science is real. Here’s another: every one of us contributes to the climate crisis and every one of us has the ability to help solve it. These simple truths inspired the Climate Reality Project: today’s 24 hour, multi-media event developed by former Vice President Al Gore to draw the world’s attention [...]
When Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) tossed his hat in the ring seeking the GOP presidential nomination he made quite a splash. During his first week on the campaign trail, Perry shared his thoughts on evolution vs. creationism, called Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernake’s financial strategy ‘treasonous‘ and made it clear he’s skeptical of climate [...]
President Obama announced today that he is tossing aside a long-anticipated plan to strengthen air quality standards for ozone. In this disappointing move, the Administration claims that rejection of this human health safeguard is an effort to minimize “regulatory costs” and “promote economic growth” according to a letter from the White House to the Environmental Protection [...]
This blog was co-authored by Amy Vaden. It certainly seems that extreme weather events are becoming more commonplace. Scientific American recently reported that 2011 saw the sixth-highest number of tornado-related deaths ever recorded, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a big hurricane season as well. This week, Hurricane Irene threatens the eastern [...]
I wanted to share with you an article I read by Don Shelby of minnpost.com. The piece, “Rising from meter-reader to CEO, Xcel’s Dick Kelly has sound perspective on the environment,” is refreshing because we get to see a utility executive who clearly understands the long-term impact his employer has on the environment. Kelly is [...]
This may have been a precise and solid legal decision, but it’s still bad policy.
Two years ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congress’ first-ever climate legislation to reduce carbon pollution by implementing a market-based trading mechanism known as “cap and trade.” Despite the support of the President and a majority of American people, this climate policy became hopelessly stalled in the U.S. Senate and today we seem further [...]
Me neither. Unfortunately for ratepayers, a report published by consumer advocate Georgia Watch on June 22 suggests that customers of Power4Georgians member EMCs (Cobb, Central Georgia, Snapping Shoals, Upson and Washington EMC) could see their electric rates jump 10-20% when the proposed coal-fired Plant Washington comes online. The report, which only includes the impact of [...]
