"One of the last acts of retiring Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) was holding up a broadly supported bill to reform the Freedom of Information Act, warning Friday that it could harm consumer protections."
"Every year coal-burning power plants generate not only electricity, but a staggering amount of leftover coal ash that contains heavy metals unhealthy to humans. Yet due in part to intense industry lobbying, there are no federal regulations on its disposal. It's left to the states to oversee some of the most powerful utility companies in the country."
"Here’s some good news for wild salmon lovers: Right before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new restrictions on pesticide use in California. The first-of-its-kind move is aimed at protecting salmon and steelhead trout native to the state’s rivers and it sets the stage for protections that could benefit salmon along the Pacific coast."
"Some of the best-known chefs in the country are leaving the kitchen this week and heading to Capitol Hill to press for mandatory labels on genetically modified food."
"The letter to the Environmental Protection Agency from Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma carried a blunt accusation: Federal regulators were grossly overestimating the amount of air pollution caused by energy companies drilling new natural gas wells in his state. But Mr. Pruitt left out one critical point. The three-page letter was written by lawyers for Devon Energy, one of Oklahoma’s biggest oil and gas companies, and was delivered to him by Devon’s chief of lobbying."
"Oil, gas and coal interests that spent millions to help elect Republicans this year are moving to take advantage of expanded GOP power in Washington and state capitals to thwart Obama administration environmental rules."
"American women gave birth to 3,932,181 babies in 2013 as the nation’s birthrate fell to another record low, federal researchers reported Thursday."
"The new chairman of the small but influential climate advocacy nonprofit 350.org is promising to keep fighting the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline while expanding his activist group."
"The expected disappearance of the famed glaciers at Montana's Glacier National Park by 2030 could spell doom for a rare aquatic insect confined to high mountain streams that are warming due to climate change, U.S. scientists said on Thursday."
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants the federal appeals court in New Orleans to overturn an order that forces the EPA to decide whether federal rules are needed to curb the flow of pollutants into the Mississippi River. The pollutants ultimately feed a low-oxygen "dead zone" along Louisiana's coast each spring."
