Environmental Politics

"Climate change isn't an "existential threat," EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said yesterday."

"Last November, oil industry representatives huddled with conservative state lawmakers at a hotel a few blocks from the White House. The gathering was a covert affair. Reporters were barred from the room. Attendees cast votes in secret."

"A top government watchdog reported that political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency delayed reviews of toxic chemicals like formaldehyde for months last year during a review to see if the agency’s work met the leadership’s priorities."

"Gov. Tim Walz set an ambitious goal Monday for Minnesota to get 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050, though his plan was short on specifics of how to meet that target."

"EPA's action plan on toxic chemicals found in drinking water did not satisfy several states that plan to push forward with their own policies."

"Facing a showdown vote as early as this month over the embattled “Green New Deal,” Senate Democrats are preparing a counteroffensive to make combating climate change a central issue of their 2020 campaigns — a striking shift on an issue they have shied away from for the past decade."

"A disputed federal oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming that ended Friday was among the biggest recently in the state, bringing in almost $88 million amid environmental groups’ concern that drilling the public land could imperil migrating wildlife and a ground-dwelling bird."

"Washington Governor Jay Inslee launched a longshot bid for the U.S. presidency on Friday with a vow to fight climate change and promote policies to make the country more prosperous and inclusive."

"As the longest offshore oil spill in U.S. history creeps toward its 15th year, the federal government is preparing to launch a determined effort to contain the oil and cap the leaking wells."

"About a dozen mature trees and additional shrubs were cut down and dumped into the Potomac River from Trump National Golf Club property last week, an action that Loudoun County officials say could violate local ordinances covering work on floodplains."