Big Oil Praises Latest Obama Cave on EPA Regs.

by TomP

The caves keep coming.  The Obama adminstration is delaying new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers, and keeping the Bush standards for now.  Big Oil loves it, but wants even more.  

The Obama administration is retreating on long-delayed environmental regulations — new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers — as it adjusts to a changed political dynamic in Washington with a more muscular Republican opposition.

The move to delay the rules, announced this week by the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave in place policies set by President George W. Bush. President Obama ran for office promising tougher standards, and the new rules were set to take effect over the next several weeks.

snip

But in a striking turnabout, the National Association of Manufacturers and the  American Petroleum Institute — which have been anything but friendly to Mr. Obama — are praising his administration.

NY Times: E.P.A. Delays Tougher Rules on Emissions

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FL Water Manager's Still Don't Like Everglades Restoration

by JDWolverton

The fight over Florida's Everglades is decades old. Among the multiple ongoing law suits concerning Everglades restoration, the Miccosukee suit got some uneven results. It is a complex issue that too few people really understand. All of Florida plus our tourists have a dog in this race, but maybe 1 in 20 are paying attention.

Most Floridians moved here long after the beginning of the battle over The River of Grass, better known as the Everglades. Newbie Floridians generally have no use for gators other than the Gainesville variety and they have no clue that the Everglades (gators and all) is key to a healthy Florida environment.

Giving into pro-business interests leads to more and more expensive water for all Floridians, but the average Floridian won't care about the Everglades until they get their first $150 a month water bill (sewage will be extra).

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Students Call for Clean Energy, Thank EPA

by Mary Anne Hitt

This post was co-written by Kim Teplitzky of the Sierra Student Coalition.

Yesterday, despite some fierce weather in our nation's capital, members of the Sierra Student Coalition hung bright, colorful pinwheels on Capitol Hill and in front of the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. (Check out photos here)

The pinwheels came from thousands of college students across the U.S., all asking for clean energy and thanking EPA for its hard work over 40 years (Happy birthday, EPA!).

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Shimkus Lies: CO2 is Bad News For Food (and the Earth)

by Steven D

Remember the GOP propaganda pushed by Rep. John "God is infallible and science is not" Shimkus that more CO2 is good for us because it is "plant food?"

It's a lie, a lie of omission, but a lie nonetheless.  Here's the reality:

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EPA: Three Letters to Be Thankful For

by Michael Brune

The Environmental Protection Agency celebrates its 40th anniversary next week. But I think it's worth taking a moment this week to be thankful for what the EPA has accomplished during four decades (and that's in spite of eight not-so-great years as part of the Bush administration). These are just some highlights.

For a start, Ohio's Cuyahoga River has stopped catching fire. Time magazine's 1969 cover story on the combustible, polluted river led to the Clean Water Act, the first Earth Day, and the creation of the EPA. Since then, the agency has been on the job to protect all of America's rivers, lakes, streams and, most importantly, drinking water. Factories and corporations don't always require clean drinking water, but wildlife and people do.

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Our Best Chance to Rein In Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining

by Mary Anne Hitt

This is my first post as director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign, and I'm focusing on mountaintop removal because I've lived in Appalachia for most of my life.

My new baby daughter is an 11th generation West Virginian, and I often wonder how many mountains will be left standing in the Mountain State by the time she has a family of her own. For too long, mining companies have enjoyed loopholes and rubber-stamped permits that have allowed them to flatten over 500 mountains across Appalachia.

Earlier this year, though, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new guidance aimed at consistently protecting Americans from the pollution caused by mountaintop removal coal mining. I welcome these common-sense protections by EPA.

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Last Chance to Tell EPA We Want Strong Coal Ash Safeguards

by Bruce Nilles

The comment period ends tomorrow for the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed federal safeguards for toxic coal ash.

Coal ash is the by-product of burning coal for electricity, and it contains a toxic mix of chemicals: mercury, arsenic, lead, chromium, selenium, and more.

We've been calling for strong federal safeguards from EPA during the comment period over the past few months. You've seen more than 2,000 people wanting protection from coal ash rally and then pack the eight EPA public hearings across the U.S. We've helped more than 118,000 concerned citizens send in their comments via email and postcard so far.

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New Coal Ash Hotline and Video

by Bruce Nilles

The comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed coal ash safeguards is winding down, with the deadline being next Friday, Nov. 19th. (Have you submitted your comment yet?)

But just because the deadline is approaching does not mean we're slowing our action on coal ash. It's toxic and must be treated as such.

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Karl Rove tells the truth: "Climate is gone"

by DWG

In a rare instance of honesty for one of the reprehensible political operatives in our nation's history, Karl Rove told a shale gas drilling association that "climate is gone."

"Climate is gone," said Rove, the keynote speaker on the opening day of a two-day shale-gas conference sponsored by Hart Energy Publishing L.L.P. And Rove told the trade show, "I don't think you need to worry" the new Congress will consider proposed legislation to put the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing under federal rather than state regulation. The procedure, known as "fracking," is responsible for the dramatic growth of shale-gas drilling in formations such as Pennsylvania's vast Marcellus Shale.

He meant that the climate bill is dead, but the unfortunate reality is that livable climate for future generations is likely to be equally dead thanks to climate zombies elected in 2010.

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Jobs Hell! GOP Attacks Climate, Scientists and EPA

by Steven D

Everybody expects there will be a host of Congressional subpoenas flying as soon as the next Congress is seated to investigate -- whatever. And first up to feel the wrath of the coming Republican inquisition may very well be any scientist who works  in the field of climate science.  

According to Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic, the House Republicans, likely led by Joe Barton, ranking member of the Energy Committee and its presumptive new Chair, or Darell Issa, intends to hold hearing to investigate scientific fraud concerning global warming.

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Texas' Fight Against Coal and Coal Ash

by Bruce Nilles

This is the latest in our series of community coal ash profiles. This piece was written by Sierra Club Apprentice Sari Ancel.

Here's lovely daydream if you're from southeast Texas: It's a warm fall afternoon and you're out fishing on the banks of the Colorado River, listening to the sounds of birds migrating south.

Unfortunately, a proposed coal-fired power plant will soon ruin that daydream. There will be no fish to catch because their habitat has long been polluted. Those birds overhead will be flying through smoke plumes from the nearby coal-fired power plant. And forget a quiet afternoon, you'll be hearing the hum of that nearby power plant.

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The Aftermath of the TVA Coal Ash Disaster

by Bruce Nilles

Tennessee's Emory River has long been treasured for its natural beauty.

In 1867, when a young man by the name of John Muir decided to walk from his home in Indiana, all the way to Florida, he crossed the Emory River. Its beauty struck him, and he wrote the following in his journal (which became his famed book "A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf"):

"There is nothing more eloquent in Nature than a mountain stream, and this is the first I ever saw. Its banks are luxuriantly peopled with rare and lovely flowers and overarching trees, making one of Nature's coolest and most hospitable places. Every tree, every flower, every ripple and eddy of this lovely stream seemed solemnly to feel the presence of the great Creator. Lingered in this sanctuary a long time thanking the Lord with all my heart for his goodness in allowing me to enter and enjoy it."

Unfortunately, 141 years later, the Emory River would inspire sorrow.

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The EPA Steps Up for Appalachia

by Michael Brune

Yesterday, Lisa Jackson and the EPA sent a clear message to those who would destroy Appalachia's mountains.

Back on September 27, the day of the Appalachia Rising events in Washington, D.C., I said this during a DailyKos livechat: "...it's up to Obama's EPA to put a halt to any further blasting in Appalachia. The biggest test of the Administration's commitment to coalfield residents, Appalachia's mountains -- and basic environmental sanity -- is whether the Administration will approve Arch Coal's Spruce mine MTR mining permit."

So kudos to the EPA, to Administrator Jackson, and to Regional Administrator Shawn Garvin for passing that test by recommending the withdrawal of the mining permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, West Virginia.

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EPA v. MTR and USA v. China {eKos Earthship Friday}

by eKos

Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.

Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.

Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.

Tonight's editor is: Hopeful Skeptic with input from LaughingPlanet

All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.ss

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EPA Recommends Protecting Clean Water by Rejecting Giant WV Coal Mine

by Bruce Nilles

Hot off the presses: EPA just announced it is recommending rejecting the massive Spruce Mine in Logan County, West Virginia, for the simple reason that it can't comply with long-standing clean water protections. EPA Region 3 and Administrator Shawn Garvin recommended that the permit for Spruce be  withdrawn (read the recommendation in our press release).

In short, the proposed mountaintop removal coal mine would release huge amounts of toxic pollution into the state's waterways. That has been illegal across the country and today Lisa Jackson is proposing the same protections for Appalachia.  

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Weekly Mulch: When Will Our Water Be Clean?

by The Media Consortium

by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger

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Coping with Coal Ash's Health Effects

by Bruce Nilles

This is the latest in our series of community coal ash profiles. This piece was written by Sierra Club Apprentice Lydia Avila.

The community of Joliet, Illinois, identifies as many things - Midwestern, humble, and hard-working. Yet they also identify with something much less positive: being collateral damage. According to Joliet residents, they don't even merit a second thought to Midwest Generation, a coal-fired power plant that has been dumping toxic coal ash near Joliet for over 40 years.

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Virginia AG Cuccinelli continues climate science witch hunt

by DWG

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli has decided to continue to waste taxpayer money and embarrass the state with his witch hunt of climate scientist Michael Mann. Cuccinelli's attempts to harass Mann reveal the depths to which Republicans are willing to sink as full-fledged climate zombies in the service of fossil energy companies.

There are several reasons you should pay attention to the actions of Cuccinelli. First, he is attempting to intimidate a scientist that was formerly employed by a state university, leveling accusations of fraud, and demanding access to personal correspondence as part of a discovery process. Second, Cuccinelli has gained national prominence for his actions, endorsing candidates, and providing a blueprint for attacking federal regulations. Third, Virginia has become ground zero for Tea Party Republicanism.

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Another slap on the wrist for big polluter BP

by DWG

Industrial serial killer BP knows well the benefits of lax regulation and laughable penalties for breaking the law. Yesterday, they received another wag of the finger for repeatedly endangering the health of thousands of Americans.

The crimes:

... two fires that occurred at the refinery on March 30, 2004 and July 28, 2005, and a leak that occurred on August 10, 2005. During the three incidents, each of which resulted in the surrounding Texas City community to shelter-in-place, thousands of pounds of flammable and toxic air pollutants were released. The settlement also resolves allegations that BP failed to identify all regulated hazardous air pollutants used at the refinery in plans submitted to EPA.

The punishment:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Justice Department announced today that BP Products North America Inc. has agreed to pay a $15 million penalty to resolve federal Clean Air Act violations at its Texas City, Texas petroleum refinery.

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Republicans Hate Clean Air, Water and Think You're Stupid

by Steven D

Republicans say they want to restore America.  But restore it to what?  They don't want to cut carbon emissions or limit Big Oil and Big Coal's continued dirty and dangerous drilling and mining practices.  No, they want to expand them.

We will fight to increase access to domestic energy sources and oppose attempts to impose a national "cap-and-trade" energy tax.

Republicans don't even want the EPA to require companies to make their industrial boilers release less toxic emissions of dioxin, mercury, carbon monoxide and other known health risks into our air by updating to the latest technology.  The excuse they offer for allowing the continuous release of these poisons into our atmosphere reveals a massive display of arrogance and hypocrisy:

(cont.)

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