BURLINGTON, Vt.–(ENEWSPF)–March 10 – In a dramatic gesture to urge action on climate change, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other members of the Senate Climate Action Task Force will pull an all-nighter speaking on the Senate floor from Monday night through Tuesday morning.  “When I go home to Vermont,[Read More…]

Agency failed to respond to a petition filed in July 2011 Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 10, 2014. Today, consumer protection and environmental advocates filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to respond to a July 2011 petition in which the groups asked[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 10, 2014.  New data finds that organic farmers are growing increasingly concerned with genetically engineered (GE) crops cross-pollinating and contaminating their fields. This contamination can lead to serious economic losses for organic farmers and has created tension between neighbors. The data comes at a critical time as USDA[Read More…]

New Report says 91 Illinois Communities Have Achieved 100 Percent Renewable Electricity CHICAGO–(ENEWSFP)–March 7, 2014.  Governor Pat Quinn today announced that a new report has found Illinois leads the nation in the number of communities using renewable electricity. The report shows 91 Illinois communities have achieved 100 percent renewable electricity,[Read More…]

Silvery Phacelia Threatened by Off-road Vehicles and Development PORTLAND, Ore.–(ENEWSPF)–March 7, 2014.  Eight conservation groups filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today seeking Endangered Species Act protection for silvery phacelia, a rare plant that grows on a 130-mile stretch of coast from Coos and Curry counties[Read More…]

CA Appeals Court Affirms SPAWN Position that County Failed to Analyze Cumulative Impacts and Provide Adequate Mitigation for Destruction of Salmon Habitat San Francisco—(ENEWSPF)–March 7, 2014 – Turtle Island Restoration Network ‘s Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN) won a legal battle with the County of Marin to protect the[Read More…]

Citizens deserve protection. Instead, Florida protects polluters Tallahassee, FL–(ENEWSPF)–March 7, 2014.  Earthjustice filed an appeal in federal court yesterday challenging the notion that Florida’s polluter-friendly regulations on sewage, manure and fertilizer pollution meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act. “The Clean Water Act is supposed to mean clean water,”[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 7, 2014. Forty Minnesota beekeepers have called on the state’s Department of Agriculture to suspend the use of corn seeds treated with bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides, now one of the most ubiquitously used insecticides nationwide. Their move follows a commitment by two Minnesota state agencies to study the impact[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.—(ENEWSPF)—March 6, 2014. Rep. Jan Schakowsky released the following statement after the passage of H.R. 3826, the Electricity Security and Affordability Act: “Today I voted against passage of H.R. 3826, a bill that would prevent the EPA from meaningfully regulating pollution from power plants – the country’s single biggest[Read More…]

OLYMPIA, Washinton–(ENEWSPF)–March 6, 2014.  Eleven conservation organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Washington residents sent a letter to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife today urging the agency to rescind its support for stripping wolves of federal Endangered Species Act protections. The department has repeatedly expressed support for dropping[Read More…]