Strong waves threaten coastal houses as Typhoon Hagupit pounds Legazpi, Albay Province, in the eastern Philippines on December 7, 2014. Source: AP/Aaron Favila Washington, D.C. — As the parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, work to craft a new international climate agreement to be finalized[Read More…]
Environmental
A Flaring Shame: New Report Exposes Hidden Fracking Subsidy
WASHINGTON, D.C. —(ENEWSPF)—October 1, 2015. A new, peer-reviewed, report from Friends of the Earth brings to light one of Big Oil’s most overlooked subsidies: royalty-free flaring on public and tribal lands. As the fracking boom spreads across the country, companies eager to tap profitable shale oil are burning away —[Read More…]
After Volkswagen Scandal, Legal Petition Seeks Better Smog Testing, Bigger Fines
WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)–October 1, 2015. Following revelations that Volkswagen used “defeat devices” for years to cheat emissions testing and evade limits on dangerous air pollution, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a legal petition with the federal government today to require on-road tests for all cars and light trucks. The petition also[Read More…]
EPA Updates Emissions Standards for Petroleum Refineries
First-ever fenceline monitoring requirements will protect nearby communities WASHINGTON –-(ENEWSPF)–September 29, 2015. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated air pollution standards to further control toxic air emissions from petroleum refineries. Exposure to toxic air pollutants, such as benzene, can cause respiratory problems and other serious health issues and[Read More…]
New Mexico Game Commission Rejects Federal Releases of Endangered Mexican Wolves in Gila National Forest
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—(ENEWSPF)–September 29, 2015. In a potential setback for Mexican gray wolf recovery, the New Mexico Game Commission voted unanimously today to deny the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permission to release wolves in the Gila National Forest. The highly political decision, which comes nine months after the Service approved[Read More…]
Warning of Dangers to Health, Environment, UN Experts Urge Phase-out of Hazardous Pesticides
Highly hazardous pesticides should be phased out because it has proven very difficult to ensure proper handling. Photo: FAO/Asim Hafeez GENEVA–(ENEWSPF)–28 September 2015 – Two independent United Nations human rights experts today called for an immediate worldwide phase-out on use of highly hazardous pesticides that are inflicting significant damage on[Read More…]
Senators Sanders, Whitehouse and Democrats Send Letter to President on Arctic Drilling
WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–Sept. 25, 2015 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and 10 of their colleagues today sent a letter urging the Obama administration not to approve oil drilling off the coast of Alaska. “At a time when our planet is warming due to climate change, the last thing[Read More…]
EPA Update on Recent Volkswagen Announcement, Sept. 25, 2015
WASHINGTON –-(ENEWSPF)–September 25, 2015. Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a letter sent to vehicle manufacturers notifying them that the agency is adding to its confirmatory testing additional evaluations designed to look for potential defeat devices. View the letter here: http://www3.epa.gov/otaq/cert/violations.htm Last Friday, EPA sent a Notice of[Read More…]
Oil Industry Attack on Oregon’s Clean Fuels Standard Dismissed
Victory: Federal court sees value of tackling climate-changing pollution, says law not discriminatory Oregon’s Clean Fuels Standard reduces pollution from gas and diesel and opens the state’s fuel market to cleaner fuel options made by innovators both inside and out of Oregon. Photo courtesy of Michael Kappel Portland, OR —(ENEWSPF)–September[Read More…]
Study Finds No Benefit to Bee-Toxic Neonic Use
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 25, 2015. Neonicotinoid-treated seeds do not reduce crop damage from pests, adding to a growing body of evidence questioning the benefits of using these bee-toxic insecticides, according to a study published in the journal BioOne. Widely-used neonicotinoids (neonics), which as systemic chemicals move through a plant’s vascular system and[Read More…]
