tagged w/ Lisa Jackson
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– Environmentalists have evolved from the tree hugging hippies making a case for preservation areas to passionate politicians who have no problems telling us an inconvenient truth. All along black people have been active in the campaign for environmental issues, but more recently many have become major players in areas ranging from green jobs, to urban gardens to heading the EPA. Here’s our list of top black environmentalists:– Environmentalists have evolved from the tree hugging hippies making a case for... more
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by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
The argument against natural gas got a boost this week, when a congressional investigation turned up evidence that oil and gas companies were using diesel gas to extract gas from the ground.
Natural gas companies have insisted that their newly popular hydraulic fracturing (known as “fracking”) techniques are safe, but as Care2’s Kristina Chew reports, “environmentalists and regulators have become increasingly concerned that the fracking chemicals—including toluene, xylene and benzene, a carcinogen, which are all from diesel gas—are seeping out into underground sources of drinking water, in violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act.”
The mix-up
The Environmental Protection Agency is conducting an inquiry into the environmental impacts of fracking, and some states are considering more stringent regulations of the practice, including disclosure of the chemicals that go into fracking fluid. Gas companies have argued that the blend of chemicals is a trade secret and must be kept private, but the findings of the congressional investigation suggest otherwise. Eartha Jane Melzer reports at The Michigan Messenger, “In a letter to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson… Reps. Henry Waxman, Edward Markey and Diana DeGette reported that although the EPA requires permits for hydraulic fracturing that involves diesel none of the companies that admitted using diesel have sought or received permits.”
And, as Melzer reports, diesel is the only chemical used in fracking that’s currently regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. That companies have been sneaking it into the ground does not strengthen the industry’s case for independence.
Ensuring that natural gas companies do their work without threatening water supplies is becoming ever more crucial, as the fuel becomes one of the go-to replacements for coal. In Massachusetts, for instance, some legislators are pushing for a coal plant in Holyoke to start using natural gas or renewable energy, rather than being shut down, as Nikki Gloudeman reports at Change.org.
Supporting renewables
And although renewables are thrown in there as an option, right now the clearest way to replace the amount of energy generated by coal is natural gas. This year’s line on energy policy from Washington, however, is that the country should support innovations in clean energy.
Will Obama’s new direction on this issue go anywhere? Grist’s David Roberts has been arguing that any energy policy that leaves out climate change is missing the point.
However, Teryn Norris and Daniel Goldfarb (also at Grist), of Americans for Energy Leadership, a California-based non-profit, have a smart rebuttal. They argue that clean energy needs the boost in research and development that Obama is promising. Ultimately, they, write, “these investments will drive down the price of low-carbon energy and pave the way for stronger deployment efforts — perhaps even including a strong carbon price at some point — both here and in the developing world, where the vast majority of future emissions will originate.”
But, about climate change!
And to be fair, the federal government is trying to lead the way on investing in renewables. As Beth Buczynski reports at Care2, the Department of Energy is working on a $2.3 million solar energy project that would power its Germantown, Md., location.
Not every one is willing to wait for investments to take hold, however. On the National Radio Project’s show, “Making Contact”, Andrew Stelzer examines what climate activists are doing, post-Cancun, to push forward debates on climate change. Ananda Lee Tan, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alterantives argues, for instance, “Community-led climate justice in the U.S. has been winning. The largest amount of industrial carbon that has been prevented in this country has been prevented by community-led groups, grassroots groups fighting coal, oil and incinerators.”
Cause and effect
Whether the solution comes from industry, government, or grassroots groups, the country’s energy policy will change over the next few decades. And what’s troubling is that it’s not clear what the impact will be. Take natural gas: Washington favors it right now because it’s thought to have lower carbon emission than coal. But any time humans introduce new factors into the environment, they can have unexpected consequences.
That’s not only true for the energy industry, too. In Texas, for instance, the government is trying to eradicate an invasive plant species, a type of giant cane called Arundo that is growing all over the Rio Grande Valley. As Saul Elbein reports for The Texas Observer, it’s been hard to eradicate:
There are three primary ways to control invasive plant species: Kill them with herbicides, clear them with bulldozers and machetes, or attempt to introduce a new predator. The least controversial approach, clearing the cane, is not going to work. There are thousands of square miles of the stuff, and Arundo cane is nearly impossible to cut out. Each stalk has a thick taproot that sends shoots in every direction. You can bulldoze or chop the cane down, and it will grow right back. Worse, any stress on the plant—say a machete blow—causes it to send out more root stalks. Every chopped-up joint of cane that floats downstream can sprout another stand.
But, Elbein reports, scientists have come up with a different solution: They’ve bred wasps that originate in the same region as the cane to come in and eat it. They’ve also taken precautions that the wasps won’t have their own adverse impact on the environment by ensuring that they can only survive on this particular type of plant. But even then, it’s a tricky business.
“The wasps have to survive,” John Adamczyk, an entomologist running the project, told Elbein. “They have to not all get eaten. Then it becomes a question of whether they can keep the cane in check.”
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Mulch for a complete list of articles on environmental issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
The argument against natural gas got a... more
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Would President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency really force Americans to pay a tax on "rainwater runoff" from homes and small businesses?
You bet they would. In fact, the EPA, under radical environmentalist Lisa Jackson, is proposing regulations to do just that.Would President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency really force Americans to... more
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A Senate panel was also held Thursday, regarding the use of Corexit on the BP Gulf oil spill.A Senate panel was also held Thursday, regarding the use of Corexit on the BP Gulf oil... more
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Lisa Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, talks to Grist about environmental justice in a new era, the best part about her job, and what it's like to be at the EPA now. See more: http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-23-epa-lisa-jackson-interview/Lisa Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, talks to Grist... more
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it has the legal power to block permits for so-called mountaintop coal mines, a move that could affect hundreds of mining operations.
The EPA voiced concerns about the controversial mining practice and said it could veto permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers if the mines would permanently impair water quality by fouling valley streams.
This could affect hundreds of operations where mining permits have been sought or granted.
The environment agency made its position known in a pair of letters to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which grants permits for this kind of destructive mining under the condition that mine operators rebuild the streams.
The EPA strongly questioned whether the human-made channels often used to replace natural valley streams meet this condition.
"The two letters reflect EPA's considerable concern regarding the environmental impact these projects would have on fragile habitats and streams," Lisa Jackson, the agency's chief, said in a statement.
"I have directed the agency to review other mining permit requests," she said. "EPA will use the best science and follow the letter of the law in ensuring we are protecting our environment."The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it has the legal power to... more
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U.S. EPA said today that it will reconsider a Bush-administration memorandum describing why the government should not regulate carbon dioxide emissions from new coal-fired power plants.
In a letter to the Sierra Club, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency would grant the advocacy group's petition seeking reconsideration of former Administrator Stephen Johnson's memo.
Environmentalists have argued that the memo unlawfully tries to establish a new and binding interpretation of the Clean Air Act that violates a decision by EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, which said the agency must consider global warming emissions when issuing permits for new coal-fired power plants.
Industry groups had welcomed Johnson's memo, arguing that the appeals board's decision opened up the possibility for a host of new Clean Air Act regulations on even small pollution sources like schools and hospitals.
The Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council sued EPA last month in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, asking the court to overturn the memo. Today was the deadline for the groups to file a motion to stay the memo, or put it on hold, which would have put EPA in the position of having to defend it, said David Bookbinder, Sierra Club's chief climate counsel.
Jackson's letter says EPA will allow for public comment on concerns raised over the memorandum and the appeals board's decision but declined to grant the stay.
If the agency were to stay the memo immediately, Bookbinder said, it could trigger an obligation under the Clean Air Act for broad-ranging regulations targeting even very small sources of carbon emissions.
"The Clean Air Act has language in there that is kind of all or nothing for if CO2 gets regulated, and it could be unbelievably complicated and administratively nightmarish for both EPA and the states if they were to yank the Johnson memo and not have something in place that makes it clear that we're going after only the very large sources," he said.
Bookbinder welcomed Jackson's letter as a win-win approach for environmentalists and the agency.
"We're sympathetic to EPA's desire to have an intelligent, thought-out program ready to go," he said.
Within six months, Bookbinder said, he expects the agency to release a proposal requiring best available control technology for new sources emitting more than 25,000 tons a year, which would apply to all major power plants, refineries and other large sources.
EPA said it plans to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking soon in the Federal Register.
In the meantime, Jackson noted, "permitting authorities should not assume that the memorandum is the final word on the appropriate interpretation of Clean Air Act requirements."U.S. EPA said today that it will reconsider a Bush-administration memorandum... more
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The nation's environmental policies should be based on science, not interference from political appointees, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency told Senate lawmakers Wednesday.
Lisa Jackson said cutting emissions of chemicals that contribute to global warming and other types of air pollution will be among the Obama administration's top five environmental goals. The others, she said, are cleaning up hazardous waste sites, protecting water quality and dealing with toxic chemicals.The nation's environmental policies should be based on science, not interference... more
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