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Mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants is extremely dangerous — it causes brain damage in babies and is associated with heart disease and many other serious health issues. Fortunately, mercury pollution has fallen significantly since EPA finalized the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in 2012. However, despite the success of the standards in reducing pollution …

By Jon Goldstein and Grace Weatherall Reducing the amount of methane emitted from oil and gas infrastructure is among the cheapest and simplest solutions we have to reduce global warming quickly while protecting public health. The Environmental Protection Agency is in the midst of developing rules to curb these emissions from oil and gas producers …

The public comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed oil and gas methane rules generated more than 400,000 individual submissions, including many from energy and financial companies that support Biden administration efforts to reduce emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas. However, our analysis of comments from energy and investment companies shows a troubling divide …

Here are five recommendations for how government leaders can increase the resilience of coastal communities before the worst effects of sea level rise take hold. The post The sea is rising faster than ever. How can we prepare? first appeared on Growing Returns.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals. The U.S. Senate today voted to return Robert Califf to the role of FDA Commissioner, bringing needed leadership to an agency that plays a vital role in protecting public health.  While Dr. Califf faces historic challenges in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid epidemic, he also …

By Jon Goldstein and Ben Tettlebaum With responsibility over one-eighth of the nation’s landmass, the Bureau of Land Management has a lot of important jobs. Chief among them is ensuring federal and tribal lands — and the minerals beneath them — are wisely and responsibly managed on behalf of the public, including U.S. taxpayers and …

(This post was co-authored by Romany Webb of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and EDF’s Michael Panfil. It is also posted on the Sabin Center’s website.) From pipelines destabilized by melting permafrost to powerline-sparked wildfires exacerbated by drought, the impacts of climate change are affecting infrastructure across the U.S.

FERC Announces Steps to Prevent Approval of Unnecessary Natural Gas Pipelines and Improve Protections against Climate Change

U.S. Representatives Kathy Castor, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Ritchie Torres introduced the Environmental Justice Air Quality Monitoring Act of 2022.

Last year, New Mexico was hit by three different billion-dollar weather disasters: a devastating wildfire season, severe summer storms that included destructive hail, and persistent drought throughout the year across the West. At one point in 2021, over half of the state was in “exceptional drought” (the most severe category of drought), which put immense …

As climate change intensifies heat-related risks in the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing regulations that would provide critical protections for workers from heat hazards in indoor and outdoor settings — a process that should incorporate consideration of climate impacts and the firsthand expertise of affected workers. As an initial step …

The Build Back Better Act is a long-overdue step to address environmental injustice throughout the United States. It will reduce the pollution that causes climate change and impacts public health, create high-quality jobs, and make long overdue investments in communities overburdened by pollution. Build Back Better will be the most significant environmental justice investment ever …

As the 2022 legislative session in Colorado gets underway – with many climate and environmental issues on the agenda – it’s important to take stock of what legislators accomplished on this front last year. One key action we’ve been tracking closely and hope to see progress on this year: Curbing climate pollution from industry and …

More than a dozen amicus curiae – or “friend of the court” – briefs were filed in support of EPA in West Virginia et al. v. EPA, a Supreme Court legal challenge brought by coal companies and their allies in an effort to undermine EPA’s authority to safeguard human health and the environment from the …

UN climate agency’s upcoming review puts a spotlight on Paris Agreement implementation  This post was co-authored by Maggie Ferrato, Senior Analyst for Environmental Defense Fund In the wake of the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, it’s clear that current climate targets are not enough to meet the Paris Agreement temperature goals, despite dozens of updated …

EPA’s authority to safeguard human health and the environment is longstanding and well-established. But now there’s a new case before the Supreme Court that threatens it. The case was brought by coal companies and their allies, whose efforts to tightly constrict EPA’s ability are not only alarming but also should not even be before the Supreme Court. That’s …

With unprecedented droughts, wildfires, floods and heat waves impacting communities nationwide, it’s clear that climate change is not a threat in some distant future – we’re dealing with its ramifications today. Virginians know this well, having experienced eight different billion-dollar disaster events (three tropical cyclones, four severe storms, and one winter storm) in 2021 alone.

Statement from Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

Va media statement on NOAA SLR report

NOAA’s National Ocean Service and interagency partners released an updated technical report highlighting the risks facing people living in coastal communities.

The Biden-Harris administration announced plans to reduce climate pollution from industry and manufacturing, expand the market for low-carbon materials, and more.

Press release on NOAA technical sea level rise report

New Study Finds Federal Agencies Must Improve Climate Impact Analyses to Meet NEPA Requirements

Following the historic and crippling grid failure caused by Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, the state of Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott and a bipartisan collection of elected leaders — pledged to ensure such a catastrophic disaster would never happen again. The state Legislature, already in session, launched a series of hearings to find …