Blog for Clean Air

• On the Kerry-Lieberman-Graham "Compromise"

  Number of comments: 0
  This outline of a “compromise” was completely predictable.
  
  http://kerry.senate.gov/congress/kglpressconf.cfm
  
  And it is tremendously disappointing.
  
  Once you wade through the focus-group crafted boilerplate language, it reads like a coal protection manifesto. Citing Senator Byrd and Duke CEO Jim Rogers! As they say on the countdown to Monday [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 11, 2009, 9:10am EST
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Controversial economist joins Obama team to review EPA clean air standards!

  Number of comments: 1
  From the Washington Post
  
  
  Controversial economist probing cost of proposed new air pollution rule
  
  By Juliet Eilperin
  Washington Post Staff Writer
  Thursday, December 3, 2009
  
  A controversial economist working at the Office of Management and Budget has raised questions about whether a new air pollution [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 03, 2009, 1:10pm EST
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• EPA to unveil great tool for tracking status of pollution from coal-fired power plants

  Number of comments: 0
  The US EPA today is planning today to unveil a new interactive tool to help the public track the status of pollution from coal-fired power plants.
  
  See at http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/quarterlytracking.html
  
  This is going to be a great tool to track progress in cleaning up the air. And to [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2009, 12:21pm EST
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• EPA proposes new sulfur dioxide air standards

  Number of comments: 0
  
  The US EPA today proposed new standards to limit short-term public exposure to the dangerous pollutant sulfur dioxide. See at http://www.epa.gov/air/sulfurdioxide/actions.html#nov09
  
  The EPA standards could put more pressure on existing coal-fired power plants to clean up. The standards will underscore the urgency for the EPA [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:21pm EST
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Newsweek: we're "honored" to take oil lobby money and give them a soapbox

  Number of comments: 0
  A follow up on an earlier item. The blog known as the Talking Points Memo picked up our note about the climate change event co-hosted by the oil lobby and Newsweek. See below. Of particular interest was a response to inquiries by Newsweek, whose director of external relations said Newsweek [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 10:45am EST
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Newsweek partners with the oil lobby on climate? What the heck?

  Number of comments: 0
  Some offices on Capitol Hill are abuzz this week about an invitation they received from Newsweek magazine to participate in an "Executive Forum" on "Climate and Energy Policy" that is being "co-hosted" with the American Petroleum Institute -- the oil industry lobby that is fighting an all-out war against climate [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2009, 8:47am EST
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• The biggest climate story of the day

  Number of comments: 2
  In my opinion, is not the psycho-drama being played out in Senator Boxer’s committee, but the decision by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to buy the coal-hauling Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.
  
  http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/berkshire-to-buy-rest-of-burlington-northern-for-44-billion/
  
  This is a $34 billion dollar bet that coal will remain the centerpiece of American [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:06am EST
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Shipscam: Murphy Oil admits it approached Rep. Obey.. will special-interest Dems sink Obama pollution plan?

  Number of comments: 3
  A couple of items out this morning about the effort by some special interests to sink proposed EPA rules to clean up big dirty diesel ships. This backroom drama is playing out as key members of Congress prepare to go behind closed doors to work out details of the EPA’s [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 08, 2009, 10:18am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Murkowski loses in Senate

  Number of comments: 0
  Lisa Murkowski lost today in her bid to cripple EPA efforts on global warming. See excerpt below from Reuters.
  
  Of course, you wouldn't have known it from the speech she gave on the Senate floor. (It was a consolation prize to let her sound off.) Murkowski sounded a bit' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 24, 2009, 4:28pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Ethanol cripples Baltimore police department

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  
  Here is a great example of why the EPA should not be forced to permit higher concentrations of ethanol in gasoline.
  
  As reported in the Baltimore Sun (below), an unusually high concentration of ethanol in the city’s gas supply helped cause the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 24, 2009, 10:07am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Battle lines drawn on Murkowski: NAM says stop EPA!

  Number of comments: 0
  It sounds as if a vote may be looming this morning, and the battle lines are clearly drawn.
  
  The National Association of Manufacturers, which for many years has led reactionary efforts to block EPA from cleaning up the air, is urging members of the U.S. Senate to support [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 24, 2009, 9:09am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• The latest outrage from Congress: Murkowski threatens to try blocking EPA ghg authority

  Number of comments: 0
  
  As if we didn’t have enough special-interest meddling from the Senate already on EPA’s spending bill (Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson is carrying corn and wants to force EPA to permit more smog-forming ethanol in gasoline), now comes word that Senator Lisa Murkowski wants to take away [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 18, 2009, 10:10am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• EPA to scrap bad Bush smog standard

  Number of comments: 0
  This is terrific news for clean air.
  
  It means that the EPA will take a fresh look at the science of smog as well as the recommendations of EPA’s science advisers. They unanimously urged tougher standards than those issued by the Bush administration.
  
  We commend the EPA’s [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 16, 2009, 1:38pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Smog Watch 2009: Some surprising news

  Number of comments: 0
  Dirty-air days down, but widespread problems persist
  
  The number of dirty-air days for smog has fallen almost by half in 2009. But it’s not all good news.
  
  Here are some statistics of note:
  
  Number of times the federal standard for ozone (75 parts per billion) has [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 03, 2009, 8:21am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• With Senate stalled, White House begins review of EPA proposed greenhouse gas smokestack rule

  Number of comments: 1
  Yes, I do believe it is a coincidence of timing. But even so…
  
  On the very day that Senator Barbara Boxer announced she was delaying introduction of her long-awaited climate bill, the White House began review of the first EPA proposed rules that would apply greenhouse gas [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 01, 2009, 11:24am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• GE brings good things to... GE!

  Number of comments: 0
  An interesting story in the Washington Examiner on GE's lobbying efforts in DC:
  
  http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/How-GE-puts-the-government-to-work-for-GE-8154266-54820577.html' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 27, 2009, 2:27pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Obama administration moving forward on climate

  Number of comments: 0
  As the nation mourns the loss of Senator Kennedy and we await Senate action on climate (likely delayed by the healthcare issue), the wheels continue to turn within the Obama administration.
  
  This week, the White House (at long last) began its review of upcoming greenhouse gas standards for motor [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 27, 2009, 2:24pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Coal lobby says a quarter of a trillion dollars in freebies is not enough

  Number of comments: 2
  
  When it comes to chutzpah, you’ve got to hand it to the coal lobby.
  
  Here it is, ready to walk away with literally hundreds of billions of dollars from the House-passed climate bill. It’s at the center of a lobbying scandal involving forged letters [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 07, 2009, 9:43am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Look out, "King Coal" -- EPA staff urges tough new standards for sulfur dioxide

  Number of comments: 0
  Look out, “King Coal.” You may be winning hundreds of billions of climate bucks in Congress (money, by the way, that could and should go to residential consumers.)
  
  But EPA;s career staffers are recommending that the agency set a tough new air quality standard to limit sulfur dioxide – [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 05, 2009, 8:17pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Clean Air Watch testimony on EPA NO2 proposal

  Number of comments: 0
  My name is Frank O’Donnell and I am president of Clean Air Watch, a non-profit, non-partisan clean air watchdog organization.
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I will be very brief and I hope to the point.
  
  I think you know Clean Air Watch has long [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 03, 2009, 8:04am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Smog alert! New studies argue for tougher ozone standards, caution about corn ethanol

  Number of comments: 0
  There are several new scientific studies that I want to make sure you don’t miss.
  
  These studies bolster the case for tougher new national health standards for smog. And they should raise a real yellow flag about the political push to put more corn-based ethanol in gasoline.
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 24, 2009, 3:05pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Duke's Rogers: Senate should trash House climate deal, give more freebies to coal

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Well, that rascal Jim Rogers is at it again.
  
  The Duke CEO and chairman, who worked to construct the compromise climate deal approved by the House of Representatives, now wants to change the deal. Not surprisingly, Rogers wants more freebies for coal!
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 23, 2009, 11:27am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Public interest groups urge better consumer protections in climate bill

  Number of comments: 0
  AARP
  
  Consumer Federation of America
  
  National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients
  
  Public Citizen
  
  Chesapeake Climate Action Network
  
  
  
  Essential Consumer Protections:
  
  Critical Improvements to the House Climate Change Bill
  
  
  
  
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:52am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Boxer faces challenge of a lifetime on climate change bill

  Number of comments: 3
  Boxer faces challenge of a lifetime' on climate change bill
  By ROB HOTAKAINEN
  McClatchy Newspapers
  
  Published: Sunday, Jul. 12, 2009
  
  WASHINGTON -- If the Senate doesn't pass a bill to cut global warming, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer says, there will be dire results: droughts, floods, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 13, 2009, 5:31pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• GAO: mercury from power plants can be controlled -- and very cheaply

  Number of comments: 0
  In his oral testimony this morning to a Senate subcommittee, GAO’s John Stephenson reported that “at least 90% reduction” of mercury “appears achievable and affordable at most power plants.”
  
  His formal testimony is here: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Testimony&Hearing_ID=3cbea978-802a-23ad-49c8-900366f93da1&Witness_ID=bf2b89cf-e8a2-4601-a781-ef4239581850
  
  Stephenson noted that for the vast majority of power plants, the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 09, 2009, 5:34pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• It's Deja Vu all over again, as Haley Barbour testifies on global warming

  Number of comments: 0
  It will be the start of a new legislative push tomorrow as the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds its first big hearing on global warming following passage of the House bill last month.
  
  There is an interesting wrinkle I do want to call to your attention.
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 06, 2009, 2:43pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• EPA moves to clean up ocean-going ships

  Number of comments: 0
  This is excellent news and a critical part of the EPA's strategy to reduce pollution from ocean-going ships.
  
  These ships are like giant smokestacks on the sea. They cause pollution and public health problems not only for coastal communities but for millions who live inland.
  
  EPA' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 01, 2009, 4:25pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• While deals get cut in DC, a landmark greenhouse gas development in California

  Number of comments: 0
  It is painful to learn of the latest negotiations over the climate legislation. The farm lobby appears to have won some of its key objectives. These changes will not help the cause of making real reductions in greenhouse gases. And even some strong supporters of the Waxman-Markey legislation are now [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 24, 2009, 4:16pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• New report finds stunning (good) results on diesel cleanup potential, while Obama and Congress fumble

  Number of comments: 0
  This report came out yesterday from the Health Effects Institute and hasn’t received anywhere near the publicity it perhaps should have.
  
  http://www.healtheffects.org/Pubs/ACES-Phase1-PressRelease.pdf?id=310
  
  The study found that modern pollution controls are eliminating 99% of the particle soot emissions from big new diesel engines used in trucks and buses. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 19, 2009, 10:18am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Consumer Caution: Will the Waxman Markey bill really protect your interests?

  Number of comments: 0
  Clean Air Watch has produced a brief white paper exploring the provisions of the Waxman-Markey climate bill aimed at protecting consumers. And we have reason to be concerned.
  
  See at http://docs.google.com/View?id=dndqqzt_3gj4w9thn [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 17, 2009, 9:15am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Navistar sues to block EPA diesel truck pollution standards

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Truck and engine manufacturer Navistar Inc. has challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to certify heavy-duty diesel engines using selective catalytic reduction to meet the agency’s 2010 standards for emissions of nitrogen oxides.
  
  Navistar tried to go cheap on pollution control technology and has not [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 03, 2009, 8:26am EDT
  

• Republlican House leader Boehner continues irresponsible charges about climate bill

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  [Picture caption: John Boehner hits one WAY out of bounds]
  
  If you haven’t seen it already, you might be interested in the communication below from House Republican leader John Boehner about the pending Waxman-Markey bill. This apparently was sent all over the country. (It [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 21, 2009, 10:06am EDT
  

• Boucher to C-Span: I want more changes to climate bill

  Number of comments: 0
  Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher, who has now been identified as the front man for the electric power lobby, says he’ll vote for the compromise version of the Waxman-Markey bill that he helped negotiate.
  
  But Boucher vows he will push for additional changes in the bill as it moves forward [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 20, 2009, 10:53am EDT
  

• Under the radar: WH taps Bob Perciasepe as EPA Deputy; Senate Republicans fume over Waxman bill

  Number of comments: 0
  Amid all the hoopla over the new vehicle standards, the White House officially nominated ex-EPA and ex-state official Bob Perciasepe to become Deputy EPA Administrator. http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/PressReleases/
  
  This is a great choice! For clean-air advocates, this should be a cause for celebration.
  
  Some of you may recall Bob [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 20, 2009, 9:24am EDT
  

• EEI Chief: Boucher’s Our “Staunch Ally”

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  
  He helped power polluters water down the Waxman climate bill…
  
  But now they want even more.
  
  It was only last week that the Washington Post quoted a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute as saying the electric power lobby would support [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 12:46pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Joe Barton unveils cynical Republican alternative to Waxman climate bill

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) today unveiled what I would characterize as a cynical Republican alternative plan to the compromise climate legislation being developed by Democrats in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
  
  The document (if you check the “document properties” of the attached summary) is [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 14, 2009, 1:15pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Waxman appears to win over some Brown Dog Democrats

  Number of comments: 4
  
  Some of you may recall that last November, when Henry Waxman successfully challenged John Dingell, I predicted that Waxman would be far more likely to produce effective and aggressive legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The latest news – that Waxman may have secured agreement from [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 13, 2009, 3:31pm EDT
  

• Climate "deniers" rev up for another kook fest

  Number of comments: 0
  Well, you can tell those opponents of action on climate are getting more and more desperate now that the House Energy and Commerce Committee appears poised to pass compromise legislation.
  
  The Heartland Institute, the last bastion of the flat earth society, has scheduled its “Third International Conference on Climate [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 13, 2009, 2:24pm EDT
  

• The influence game: polluters write big checks on global warming

  Number of comments: 2
  THE INFLUENCE GAME: Firms exact climate price
  
  JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
  
  The Associated Press
  
  WASHINGTON - Utilities, steelmakers and oil industry lobbyists have tried to ease the pain of President Barack Obama's push to curb global warming, and they've gotten an early return on the millions of [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 11, 2009, 6:39pm EDT
  

• Note to Senate: don't hold EPA air nominee hostage

  Number of comments: 0
  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Let-McCarthy-begin-her-job-at-EPA
  
  
  Petition powered by ThePetitionSite.com
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 11, 2009, 4:19pm EDT
  

• Pro-corn congressman threatens to oppose global warming bill to protect his favorite commodity

  Number of comments: 3
  A fascinating piece today in Greenwire, which notes that Minnesota Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is threatening to oppose global warming legislation because the US EPA is trying to do an honest job of evaluating corn-based ethanol.
  
  Peterson, a favorite of ethanol producer Archer [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 06, 2009, 2:50pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Obama White House said to be exploring oil drilling deal to help stuck-in-the-political-mud global warming bill

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  
  From May 6, 2009 Energy Daily:
  
  
  [Rep. Gene ]Green also confirmed a story published in the May 4 edition of The New Yorker that the White House is considering adding a provision to the legislation to allow limited offshore oil and natural [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 06, 2009, 8:59am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• EPA's `renewable' fuel proposal... is it corny?

  Number of comments: 3
  The U.S. EPA, seeming subordinate to the U.S. Agriculture Department, today rolled out its proposed "renewable" fuel standards. http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/index.htm#regulations
  
  As we predicted, EPA concedes the plan will lead to increased levels of some key pollutants, including a major upsurge in cancer-causing acetaldehydes.
  
  We project the proposed program will [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 05, 2009, 3:11pm EDT
  

• Will the corn lobby celebrate... while the risk of cancer goes up?

  Number of comments: 0
  
  As you may know, last week the White House Office of Management and Budget finally completed its review of proposed EPA rules to quadruple the amount of ethanol in gasoline. http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=200810&RIN=2060-AO81
  
  So EPA could propose this rule at any time. And the contents are worth [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 04, 2009, 12:39pm EDT
  

• Who's trying to buy the swing votes in Congress on global warming?

  Number of comments: 4
  We’ve been impressed by several stories in recent days regarding campaign contributions and global warning, including a front-page piece yesterday in USA Today and an excellent story in this morning’s Environment and Energy Daily.
  
  So we were inspired to take our own peek at the filings that political [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 28, 2009, 3:32pm EDT
  

• Senate Spoil Sports

  Number of comments: 3
  Most of the news coverage this week, understandably, has focused on the Markey climate hearings. And now attention is being focused on the efforts by "moderate" House Democrats to gut the Waxman-Markey bill on behalf of Duke Energy, the Edison Electric Institute and other forces of darkness who assert with [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 24, 2009, 9:27am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Northeast carbon auctions seen boosting energy efficiency, creating green jobs

  Number of comments: 0
  [wwwp.dailyclimate.org]
  
  Thursday, April 23 2009
  
  First fruits of cap-and-trade
  
  Some of the first workers on energy efficiency programs are now hitting the streets with salaries paid by the proceeds of the cap-and-trade program started by 10 Northeast States. The green collar corps are starting to march.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 23, 2009, 9:27am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Duke CEO Rogers: we want more nukes, slower pace to carbon cleanup

  Number of comments: 1
  
  We were interested to see the testimony of Duke CEO Jim Rogers, who is scheduled to testify tomorrow at the House global warming hearings. Though Rogers notes he was invited to appear as a member of the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), he calls [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 21, 2009, 4:30pm EDT
  

• Clean Air Watch debates global warming with Grover Norquist

  Number of comments: 3
  From KSRO radio in California:
  
  [ksro.com]
  
  Is Obama's EPA Clean Up Just Hot Air?
  Posted 4/20/2009
  
  
  President Barack Obama has chosen global warming as the ground on which to make his first tough political stand. The President declared greenhouse' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 20, 2009, 12:32pm EDT
  

• White House completes review of EPA "endangerment" finding on global warming

  Number of comments: 0
  The White House Office of Management and Budget reports that it completed its review yesterday of EPA’s proposed finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to health and the environment. (See below)
  
  I think this means we could expect the announcement at any time – perhaps as soon as [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 14, 2009, 8:40am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Rep. Joe Barton readies the case against global warming legislation

  Number of comments: 3
  From a commentary in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
  
  [www.star-telegram.com]
  
  BARTON: Study the (scary) figures on cap and trade
  By JOE BARTON
  Special to the Star-Telegram
  
  
  Buried underneath the mountain of new debt created by President Barack Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget proposal — which, by the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 13, 2009, 8:18am EDT
  

• Obama science guy: maybe fake trees would help with global warming

  Number of comments: 1
  
  From a fascinating piece written by Associated Press science writer Seth Borenstein:
  
  Obama looks at climate-engineering to cool Earth
  
  by Seth Borenstein / Associated Press
  Wednesday April 08, 2009, 4:49 PM
  
  WASHINGTON -- The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 09, 2009, 10:59am EDT
  

• Take THAT, George Will!

  Number of comments: 1
  A good piece in today's Washington Post, demolishing the pro-polluter propaganda recently spewed by alleged pundit George Will.
  [blogforcleanair.blogspot.com]
  
  Today's piece in the Post notes that the Arctic ice is indeed shrinking to record levels:
  
  [www.washingtonpost.com]
  
  New Data Show Rapid Arctic Ice Decline
  Proportion [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 07, 2009, 8:05am EDT
  

• Two years and counting, since Supreme Court decision on global warming; is Van Hollen the answer?

  Number of comments: 0
  It’s been exactly two years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the US EPA had legal authority to deal with global warming, as long as the agency found that global warming posed a health and/or environmental threat. [www.supremecourtus.gov]
  
  And the clock continues to tick.
  
  Here is [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 02, 2009, 12:57pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• EPA proposes to clean up dirty ocean-going ships -- a reaction

  Number of comments: 0
  The US EPA proposed today to protect air quality in port communities by cleaning up pollution from dirty diesel ocean liners.
  
  Here is a reaction from my friends with the Clean Air Task Force, who have participated in international negotiations on this issue:
  
  
  For release, 12:01 pm [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 30, 2009, 12:14pm EDT
  

• Clean Air Watch hears from a potentially fetid fellow... who calls himself a "patriot"

  Number of comments: 1
  [A note to Clean Air Watch from paulpastor@windstream.net ] :
  
  
  
  Frank,
  
  I woke up this morning and read a story about a kid getting suspended from riding the bus for farting.
  
  They also mentioned in the article that another child at a nearby school [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 24, 2009, 8:40am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• EPA sends proposed global warming endangerment finding to the White House

  Number of comments: 0
  AGENCY: EPA-AR
  
  RIN: 2060-ZA14
  
  TITLE: Proposal for Endangerment Finding for Greehouse Gases under the Clean Air Act
  STAGE: Proposed Rule
  
  ECONOMICALLY SIGNIFICANT: No
  ** RECEIVED DATE: 03/20/2009
  
  LEGAL DEADLINE: None
  
  
  Thanks to the ever-alert Matt Madia of OMB Watch, who spotted [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 23, 2009, 11:18am EDT
  

• Quick hits: the politics of special interests remain allive and well in DC

  Number of comments: 0
  A few quick hits:
  
  Murky money: Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski hinted broadly yesterday that she’d probably oppose a move by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to meld energy and climate change legislation into a single package for a vote on the Senate floor. The Alaska Republican spoke at a [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 17, 2009, 11:07am EDT
  

• Power lobby hires Democratic insider to work the climate debate

  Number of comments: 1
  The Edison Electric Institute, the electric power industry lobby, has hired a Democratic party operative to be one of its operatives on the upcoming climate and other key energy battles.
  
  EEI announced that it had hired Brian Wolff, a close confidant of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and recently executive [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 09, 2009, 5:48pm EDT
  

• Keeping track of Duke's Jim Rogers

  Number of comments: 0
  For the latest, check out [www.jimrogerswantsyourmoney.com] [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 06, 2009, 3:53pm EST
  

• Ethanol update:corn crowd seeks EPA bailout -- while denouncing California

  Number of comments: 1
  
  We’ve been warning in recent days that Duke Energy’s Jim Rogers is pressing for a government bailout in response to the global warming challenge – and we’ll have more to say on that soon…
  
  But this morning there’s another industry seeking corporate welfare – [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 06, 2009, 9:29am EST
  

• Too little, too late

  Number of comments: 0
  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  Too
  Little, Too Late

  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  Why
  the electric power lobby remains out of touch on global warming

  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  Now
  that President Obama has unveiled his budget – and tipped his
  hand about the administration’s goals for passing climate
  legislation, it might be time [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 02, 2009, 9:20am EST
  

• News notes: coal, cars and diesel fumes in the week ahead

  Number of comments: 1
  D.C. is facing a rare March snowstorm. (You may recall that in “Camelot,” King Arthur notes that winter “exits March the second on the dot.”)
  
  Still, it will be potentially quite a newsy week. The list below is not meant to be comprehensive, though we hope it casts a [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: March 01, 2009, 4:39pm EST
  

• How the electric power lobby remains out of touch on global warming

  Number of comments: 0
  President Obama has made it clear that he wants action now to reduce global warming pollution. And key members of Congress are rallying around ideas that would force polluters to pay for carbon permits rather than allow the polluters to receive them for free.
  
  So what's the strategy of' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 27, 2009, 5:54pm EST
  

• Federal appeals court: Bush blew it on particle soot decision

  Number of comments: 0
  In a stunning rebuke to the former Bush administration, a federal appeals court today said the EPA had acted illegally in setting weak national clean air standards for particle soot.
  
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the EPA to go back to the drawing board [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 24, 2009, 1:53pm EST
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Science update: Who's giving George Will advice on global warming?

  Number of comments: 0
  
  We’ve seen some interesting nonsense lately from the crowd that would like to block limits on global warming emissions. You may recall that earlier this month, Rep. “Smokey” Joe Barton of Texas told his congressional colleagues that “another ice age” was looming:
  
  [blogforcleanair.blogspot.com]
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 19, 2009, 1:29pm EST
  

• EPA official: we may need to stimulate volcanoes to slow down global warming

  Number of comments: 0
  
  We've heard from far-out talk in the past about trying various ways to slow down global warming, including trying to set off volcanic eruptions. Yes, it sounds like vintage Ray Bradbury. But now the idea is getting blessed by a top U.S. Environmental Protection Agency' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 13, 2009, 12:05pm EST
  

• Who's trashing "green" jobs?

  Number of comments: 1
  Would you be surprised if I told you it’s oil industry front groups, led by ex-aides to Tom DeLay and Dick Cheney?
  
  From some of the grim details (including the utter cluelessness of CNN, which recently fired its entire environmental unit), see at [www.ourfuture.org] [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 06, 2009, 9:48am EST
  

• The word from Smokey Joe Barton: "another ice age" looms

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Just when you thought there was scientific consensus on global warming, a minority view raises its ugly head. In this case, both a political and scientific minority.
  
  Republican Congressman Joe Barton of Texas, once christened “Smokey Joe” by the editorial page of the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 05, 2009, 5:05pm EST
  

• Winds of change for coal burning... but will the U.S. Senate keep burning it?

  Number of comments: 1
  The U.S. Justice Department has announced a "national initiative" to crack down on illegal coal burning. (See below.) And a power company in Montana has just cancelled plans to build a new coal-fired power plant. But will the U.S. Senate continue to tolerate coal burning in its own back yard [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 05, 2009, 8:22am EST
  

• Obama's move on cars: a breath of fresh air

  Number of comments: 0
  Commentary in the (Bergen, N.J.) Record:
  
  [www.northjersey.com] [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 01, 2009, 9:04am EST
  

• How the economic recovery plan falls short

  Number of comments: 0
  Dear friends,
  
  A few thoughts below on major shortcomings in the economic recovery plan, approved this week by the House Appropriations Committee.
  
  --Frank O’Donnell
  Clean Air Watch
  www.cleanairwatch.org
  
  
  **
  
  But first, a quick review of relevant headlines:
  
  New evidence that the Antarctic [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 22, 2009, 4:02pm EST
  

• Markey to become chair of House environment panel

  Number of comments: 0
  A big development today, as Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) declares he intends to take over the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on Energy and the Environment. Markey disclosed this in today’s Boston Globe:
  
  [www.boston.com]
  
  This is a very significant development, and one that' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 08, 2009, 8:51am EST
  

• Pelosi: we've got the votes on global warming...but we might not take a vote this year!

  Number of comments: 0
  
  From Environment & Energy Daily:
  
  CLIMATE: Pelosi says House can pass cap and trade, but timetable is uncertain (01/06/2009)
  
  
  Darren Samuelsohn, E&E senior reporter
  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said yesterday that she has enough votes to pass cap-and-trade legislation [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 06, 2009, 2:51pm EST
  

• New Year's news notes: the latest on "clean coal" and much more

  Number of comments: 2
  Dear friends,
  
  It’s a new year, but many of the unresolved issues still loom large. See a few thoughts, below. This is not meant, of course, to be a comprehensive list, but perhaps it can help as a starting point for tracking some relevant matters. And Happy New Year.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 05, 2009, 10:32am EST
  

• News flash: federal appeals court backpedals on critical power plant standards

  Number of comments: 0
  This could prove a holiday gift to breathers.
  
  A federal appeals court is backpedaling on its earlier decision to vacate critical EPA rules designed to reduce power plant emissions – the so-called Clean Air Interstate Rule. (CAIR)
  
  In a ruling this morning (see at [pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov] ), the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 23, 2008, 11:44am EST
  

• News notes: Some challenges ahead for the new Obama green team -- and some suggestions

  Number of comments: 0
  A few quick notes before many of you break for the holidays. (Clean Air Watch will remain on duty throughout.) These involve some of the major challenges that will be faced by the new Obama energy and environment team.
  
  
  Renewable ruckus: The U.S. EPA was supposed to issue [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 18, 2008, 10:10am EST
  

• Energy Czar Carol Browner brings passion and brains to the job

  Number of comments: 0
  
  An excellent piece about Obama "Energy Czar" Carol Browner from a Texas perspective by award-winning reporter Bill Dawson in the new Texas Climate News: [www.texasclimatenews.org] [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 17, 2008, 10:15am EST
  

• What is "clean coal?"

  Number of comments: 0
  
  An industry propagandist describes it as an "evolutionary term."
  
  For more, see the excellent post at [gristmill.grist.org] [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 06, 2008, 9:38am EST
  

• Obama’s national security adviser: a bad guy on global warming?

  Number of comments: 0
  As President-elect Obama fills out his national security team, we feel compelled to note that his choice as his national security adviser – retired Marine General Jim Jones – appears to have been a real bad guy on the topic of global warming.
  
  And since global warming is a [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:42am EST
  

• Native American tribe to White House: don't relax clean-air requirements

  Number of comments: 0
  A new objection has surfaced to the Bush administration’s midnight march of dirty-air deals.
  
  In this case, a Native American tribe – the Forest County Potawatomi Community [www.fcpotawatomi.com] --
  has gone to the White House in an effort to block an upcoming rule change that would permit more [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 26, 2008, 9:38am EST
  

• Waxman victory: a breath of fresh air

  Number of comments: 0
  As you may know by now, Rep. Henry Waxman of California officially was selected to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the new Congress, replacing Rep. John Dingell of Michigan. The vote by the House Democratic Caucus was 137-122 in favor of Waxman.
  
  Waxman’s victory is a [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2008, 11:33am EST
  

• Smokey Joe Barton backs Dingell in clash with Waxman

  Number of comments: 0
  With a showdown vote looming today on the clash between Congressmen Henry Waxman and John Dingell, one of Congress' most notorious polluter sympathizers has spoken.
  
  Republican Congressman Joe Barton (once named "Smokey Joe" by the editorial pages of the Dallas Morning News for his loyalty to anything with' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2008, 8:09am EST
  

• Waxman wins round one in battle with Dingell

  Number of comments: 0
  This just in from our friends with E&E News:
  
  HOUSE: First round of Energy and Commerce battle goes to Waxman
  Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) scored a slim opening round win today in his bid to take the gavel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee from Chairman [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2008, 2:04pm EST
  

• More on Waxman and Dingell, and reactions to Obama's climate remarks

  Number of comments: 0
  Today’s USA Today piece on the Waxman-Dingell battle was quite good, if you haven’t seen it. [www.usatoday.com]
  
  The first skirmish is tomorrow in the House Steering and Policy Committee, which will make a recommendation. The House Democratic Caucus will vote, probably Thursday morning, to decide the issue. We [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2008, 4:46pm EST
  

• NPR's "Living on Earth" show examines the Dingell-Waxman clash

  Number of comments: 1
  In a segment, appropriately named
  Clean Air Champ Challenges Motor City Maven
  
  The piece is available online at [www.loe.org] [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 15, 2008, 1:00pm EST
  

• Congress and Clean Air: the Battle between Waxman and Dingell

  Number of comments: 0
  See the Gristmill blog at [gristmill.grist.org]
  
  Please note, for the record, that I did not originate the phrase "Tailpipe Johnny," though I may have been the first to report it in a national magazine in 1982.
  
  The phrase properly should be credited to the late Republican Congressman [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 10, 2008, 5:37pm EST
  

• Environmental leaders push back against biofuels bullies

  Number of comments: 0
  For Immediate Release
  October 31, 2008
  
  Contact:
  Nick Berning, Friends of the Earth, 202-222-0748
  Jonathan Lewis, Clean Air Task Force, 617-894-3788
  Don Carr, Environmental Working Group, 202-939-9141
  
  Biofuel Industry Effort to Undermine Global Warming Standards Criticized
  
  * *
  Environmental groups send letter to EPA calling on it [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 31, 2008, 12:45pm EDT
  

• White House begins review of "dirty air in the parks" rule

  Number of comments: 0
  Yes, friends, the race the on for the Bush administration to push out those 11th-hour, polluter-friendly rules.
  
  And the latest to pop up is what the Bush EPA opaquely describes as the “increment modeling” rule. It is now under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 31, 2008, 11:15am EDT
  

• While Bush administration stalls on mercury, states try novel cleanup approach

  Number of comments: 0
  Northeastern states are pursuing a novel approach, attempting to use the Clean Water Act to demand reductions in airborne mercury emissions.
  
  You have to stand up and applaud these folks.
  
  But also marvel that the Bush administration has been so in the pocket of the coal-burning electric companies [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 28, 2008, 2:51pm EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• The big polluter payoff, the return of Newt Gingrich, and more...

  Number of comments: 0
  We’ve been reporting for the past month that the Bush administration is moving ahead with a big polluter payoff: final rules to gut the Clean Air Act’s new source review program that would enable coal-fired power plants to increase their emissions. [blogforcleanair.blogspot.com]
  
  And finally the major media have [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 28, 2008, 9:47am EDT
  

• HEAT: PBS' FRONTLINE examines the politics of global warming

  Number of comments: 0
  You can see the entire program here: [www.pbs.org] [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2008, 10:21am EDT
  

• Bush administration goes to bat for power polluters at Supreme Court

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Trust the Bush administration's EPA to roll out bad news late on a Friday afternoon. They've done it again!
  
  In this case, the Bush team is going to bat the Supreme Court for power polluters. The administration has asked the High Court to review [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 17, 2008, 5:22pm EDT
  

• Did the White House step in and weaken the EPA lead standard on behalf of polluters?

  Number of comments: 0
  An alert bit of spotting by Matt Madia of OMB Watch:
  [ombwatch.org] [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 17, 2008, 4:41pm EDT
  

• New EPA lead standard: an improvement, but weaker than sought by agency's children's health advisory panel

  Number of comments: 0
  The US EPA is tightening the national airquality standard for lead. But it is not tightening it as much asrecommended by the agency's children's health advisory panel. And the agency has ignored the advice of its science advisers, who had recommended the new standard be averaged over an hourly basis. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 16, 2008, 11:21am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Chamber of Commerce crybabies don't like criticism

  Number of comments: 0
  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sure loves to dish it out.
  
  Remember the silly commercial it did attacking the so-called Lieberman-Warner climate bill? [www.youtube.com]
  
  But it turns out the Chamber can't take it when someone dares to criticize its positions.
  
  In this case, the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 14, 2008, 2:24pm EDT
  

• Bulletin: international group oks new pollution standards for ocean-going ships

  Number of comments: 1
  
  We have just received very positive news from London, where our friend, David Marshall of the Clean Air Task Force, has been participating in the International Maritime Organization meeting on ocean ship pollution. David reports that there has been an agreement on new standards. See [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 09, 2008, 1:16pm EDT
  

• Lead lobby makes 11th-hour White House pitch to undermine new air standards

  Number of comments: 1
  This issue has been a little under the radar, but you may recall the US EPA is under a court directive to decide by next week (Oct. 15) if the current (and grossly outdated) national air quality standards for lead should be revised. (The answer is “Yes.” Clean Air Watch [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 08, 2008, 11:33am EDT
  by Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch

• Dingell climate plan would punch California, other states

  Number of comments: 1
  
  Here is a link to the new draft climate legislation released yesterday by Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and his colleague, Rep. Rick Boucher.
  
  [energycommerce.house.gov]
  
  Some quick thoughts:
  
  We are encouraged that Reps. Dingell and [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 08, 2008, 9:11am EDT
  

• Canadian oil sands development threatens Great Lakes region

  Number of comments: 0
  You may recall that the recent “economic rescue” package included incentives for production of oil sands. Environmentalists have expressed real concern about this pork provision.
  
  And today, there is news that the environmental problems could be much worse – and more widespread – than previously realized.
  
  New [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 08, 2008, 9:03am EDT