WASHINGTON, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–July 25, 2013. Yesterday, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing on the launch of negotiations for a U.S.-Europe trade deal, the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. As suggested by the hearing title, “The U.S.-E.U. Free Trade Agreement: Tipping Over the Regulatory Barriers,”[Read More…]
Environmental
Cosmetic Lawn Pesticide Use Outlawed In Takoma Park, MD, First Local Ban Of Its Type in U.S.
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 25, 2013. In a sweeping victory for the protection of human health and the environment, the Takoma Park, Maryland City Council on June 22, 2013 unanimously passed the Safe Grow Act of 2013, which generally restricts the use of cosmetic lawn pesticides on both private and public property throughout the[Read More…]
Pristine Idaho Waters Get Protection with EPA Reversal
EPA rejects Idaho’s unacceptably weak water regulations Idaho Falls, ID–(ENEWSPF)–July 24, 2013. Some of Greater Yellowstone’s most pristine waters received good news Wednesday when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an about-face on Idaho’s request to skirt environmental regulations on its highest-quality waters. In retracting its approval of Idaho’s so-called[Read More…]
Advocates Challenge EPA’s Continuing Failure to Protect Children and Families From Hazardous Pesticide Drift
Public interest groups urge immediate pesticide protections in areas where children live, learn and play San Francisco, CA–(ENEWSPF)–July 24, 2013. Today, a coalition of farmworker, public health, and conservation advocates filed a challenge in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect[Read More…]
Citizens Demand Restoration of River in ‘Grand Canyon of the Pacific’ on Kaua‘i
Lawsuit exposes unlawful waste of diverted water Honolulu, HI–(ENEWSPF)–July 24, 2013. Today, Earthjustice on behalf of community group Po‘ai Wai Ola/West Kauaʻi Watershed Alliance brought legal action to protect the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” and restore stream flows to the Waimea River on Kauaʻi. The case before the[Read More…]
New EPA Administrator Urged to Protect Farmworkers and Bees
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 24, 2013. Gina McCarthy, a veteran environmental regulator and President Obama’s pick to run the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), finally had her appointment confirmed by the U.S. Senate after an almost five month delay imposed by Senate Republicans. Ms. McCarthy’s appointment got caught up with other cabinet[Read More…]
Court Finds Bush Era Ozone Standards Fail to Meet Legal Requirements to Protect Forests; Upholds Health Standard
Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–July 23, 2013. A federal appeals court today held that smog standards adopted during the Bush administration do not assure protection of forests and vegetation from ozone damage as the law requires. The court’s judgment found that in 2008 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Clean Air[Read More…]
Clean Water Advocates Push EPA on Washington State’s Toxic Fish Consumption Rules
Seattle, WA–(ENEWSPF)–July 23, 2013. Today, Waterkeepers Washington, a coalition of statewide clean water advocates, put the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on notice it could be sued under the federal Clean Water Act for failing to protect Washingtonians from toxic pollution entering Puget Sound, the Columbia River, the Spokane River[Read More…]
Two Shipping Firms Sentenced to Pay $10.4 Million for Obstructing Justice and Environmental Crimes for Concealing Vessel Pollution
$2.6 Million to Benefit New Jersey and Delaware Coasts Hit by Hurricane Sandy Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 23, 2013. Two shipping firms based in Germany and Cyprus were sentenced today in federal court in Newark, N.J., to pay a $10.4 million penalty for felony obstruction of justice charges and violating the Act[Read More…]
Sea Level Rise: New Iceberg Theory Points to Areas at Risk of Rapid Disintegration
ANN ARBOR–(ENEWSPF)–July 23, 2013. In events that could exacerbate sea level rise over the coming decades, stretches of ice on the coasts of Antarctica and Greenland are at risk of rapidly cracking apart and falling into the ocean, according to new iceberg calving simulations from the University of Michigan. “If[Read More…]
