Cleantech Weekly Roundup
June 24th, 2011 by Zachary Shahan
Politics
House Members Introduce Bill That Will Lead to Thousands of Premature Deaths
June 22, 2011 Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and 7 other members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill (H.R. 2250) that would give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 15 months to finalize new health standards against the toxic air pollution emitted by industrial boilers. Following Earthjustice litigation, the EPA issued final health standards for industrial boilers earlier this year, but shortly thereafter defied a court order and placed them on hold indefinitely….
Supreme Court Affirms EPA’s Power To Reduce Climate Change Pollution
June 20, 2011 Washington, D.C. — Today, in rejecting a climate change pollution lawsuit, the Supreme Court of the United States reaffirmed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to curb climate change pollution under the Clean Air Act, as first established in the 2007 Supreme Court caseMassachusetts v. EPA. Earthjustice was co-counsel in the 2007 case, and is now intervening in defense of limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, which the EPA adopted in the wake of that case….
Poland blocks EU move for deeper CO2 cuts
Poland blocked an attempt by European Union environment ministers on Tuesday to strengthen EU action to combat climate change, prompting a swift rebuke from Britain’s energy…
EU delays vote on move to 30 per cent emissions cuts
It was the vote that DECC ministers and green groups had been hoping would crank up the EU’s drive to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2020.
But yesterday the European Parliament delayed a vote on whether member states should move beyond a current target to cut emissions by 20 per cent because the meeting overran….
Climate debate turns nasty as Australia tries to price CO2
Australian climate scientists say they have received death threats, emails with sexual slurs and other insults in a surge of abuse that appears to be a coordinated campaign of intimidation….
Microgeneration strategy to bring “power to the people”
Government releases plans to grow small-scale renewable energy generation by boosting skills and simplifying accreditation processes….
Paul Ryan Lies About Ending Oil Subsidies To Protect His Family’s Cash Bonanza
Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) has been all over the place when it comes to ending the multi-billion dollar subsidies that the oil industry receives every year. While he has publicly admitted that he is in favor of ending this “corporate welfare,” and his staff has claimed that his budget plan actually calls for an end to oil subsidies, the truth is that Rep. Ryan would never end oil subsidies because he makes a lot of money keeping the welfare spigot open….
Koch Money Fuels AFP Misinformation Campaign On Gas Prices
The Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is taking their misinformation machine on the road in an attempt to convince American consumers that President Obama is causing the spike in gasoline prices. AFP is claiming that the president is intentionally keeping gas prices high because he refuses to allow oil companies to drill for oil in protected areas of the United States….
NBC/GE, Dylan Ratigan Show, and the Methane Gas-Media Industrial Complex
Yesterday, I published an article for the Center for Media and Democracy’s PRWatch titled, “MSNBC’s (GE’s) Dylan Ratigan Show ‘Firewater?’ Series: Natural Gas Industry-Media Complex Exposed.“
Among other things, the article lays out the fundamental flaw with NBC’s coverage of anything pertaining to methane gas drilling–they are a “player in that game,” to put it bluntly, with a direct financial interest in the project occurring….
Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee spent Thursday morning learning that their four bills introduced to speed up permitting of renewable energyon public lands in reality would have very little effect on renewable energy development. Indeed, agency witnesses testified that the policies could have the opposite effect — creating more lawsuits and delaying projects….
New Jersey Senate Committee Rebukes Christie’s Attempt To Pull Out Of RGGI
To great fanfare, Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) announced that New Jersey would be pulling out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the northeastern cap-and-trade system for reducing global warming pollution and increasing green investment. There was only one problem — Christie doesn’t actually have the unilateral authority to withdraw his state from the compact. He is attempting to overturn by fiat the clear language of legislation passed in 2007 mandating New Jersey’s involvement. Today, the New Jersey Senate moved legislation out of committee that would reaffirm the intent of the existing law Christie wants to overturn….
John Abraham Agrees With Al Gore: Climate Action Is Frustrated By The ‘Forces Of Denial’
Dr. John Abraham, a University of St. Thomas scientist with the Clmate Science Rapid Response Team, offers these comments to ThinkProgress Green on Vice President Al Gore‘s Rolling Stonearticle on the battle between “Science and Reason” and “Poisonous Polluters and Right-wing Ideologues”…
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About the Author
Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.
