August 21st, 2012
It was very disappointing to get news today that the D.C. Circuit court has vacated the cross state air pollution rule or CSAPR (also known as the Transport Rule) which was designed to limit emissions of SO2 and NOx from coal-fired power plants. The court ruling comes as a rude shock after the EPA worked so carefully and thoroughly to address all aspects of the rule and its impacts in accordance with the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Read More
June 29th, 2012
This week provided 4 important reminders of why we need standards that require the auto industry to build cleaner, more fuel efficient cars and trucks and the benefits these standards will bring for our health, economy and environment. Read More
May 29th, 2012
Last week the EPA held two public hearings for the recently announced draft carbon standard for new power plants. The public outpouring of support was truly impressive. Hundreds of people turned out in Washington D.C. and Chicago to show their support for this standard. And, so far, more than 1.4 million people have written in comments in favor of it. Read More
May 14th, 2012
It can sometimes feel like we are stalled or at best moving too slowly towards truly tackling the climate challenge. But, then, just as I start to feel that way I hear from people around the country who are standing up to call for action and I know we’ll meet the challenge. Read More
May 11th, 2012
With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I’ve been thinking a lot about all that my Mom did to give me a great start in life and how I’d like to do the same for my kids. I’d certainly like them, and all kids everywhere, to grow up in a world that’s healthy and safe. But climate change poses a real threat to our kids’ futures and it’s up to us Moms (and Dads and aunts and uncles and responsible adults) to do something about that. Read More
May 8th, 2012
You know, I get it. People have been understandably frustrated about high gas prices, the slow pace of the economic recovery, and gridlock in Washington. Approval of Congress is in the cellar and there are doubts about the ability of our government to put us on the right track. But our government can still work, even when it comes to climate change. We’ve got to put in effort to get there, but we can deliver. Don’t believe me? Well, let me give you an example from our new book, Cooler Smarter. Read More
April 2nd, 2012
Amid all the speculation that the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to rule on the Obama administration’s national health care law via a split 5-4 decision, today marks the five-year anniversary of another landmark split decision by the nation’s highest court: Massachusetts et. al. vs. EPA et. al. Read More
March 30th, 2012
Today is the deadline for federal agencies and departments to publicly announce final or “final draft” policies designed to prevent political and corporate interference in the science behind government decision-making. The results, as expected, are all over the board. We’re keeping track here. Read More
March 29th, 2012
Baseball season is upon us. This is an optimistic time for most fans, and particularly so for longtime Chicago Cubs fans like me who, it seems, all too often have less to cheer about as the season rolls on.
If you are a fan, or you recently watched Moneyball, you probably know that baseball is a game of statistics — ERA (earned run average), slugging percentage, batting average, etc. So, it was in this tradition that I spent an afternoon this past weekend, with a Cubs spring training game on in the background, digging into data to help me understand which car and truck classes offer consumers real choices for fuel-efficient vehicles, and which don’t. Read More
March 20th, 2012
Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard. Read More
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