In the News
Senate Dems amplify call for a biodiversity strategy
by Michael Doyle
Senate Democrats on Tuesday stepped up their push for a national biodiversity strategy. The nonbinding resolution introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), with the backing of five Democratic co-sponsors, calls for a strategy that would encourage federal agencies to "identify and pursue a full range of actions" that could conserve and enhance biodiversity. The resolution also calls for establishing four-year assessments of the progress made. “As the impacts of climate chaos become deadlier … Continue Reading
December 06, 2023
Arctic drilling, royalty bills clear House committee
by Nidhi Prakash
The House Natural Resources Committee approved legislation Wednesday to reinstate oil development rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to block a Biden administration proposal to limit oil and gas leasing in part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The committee voted mostly along party lines to advance Minnesota Republican Rep. Pete Stauber’s H.R. 6285, the "Alaska's Right to Produce Act." “This recent policy decision is just the latest in their efforts to shut down … Continue Reading
December 06, 2023
House committee approves bipartisan pipeline safety bill
by Nico Portuondo
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee easily passed bipartisan legislation Wednesday to reauthorize the nation's pipeline safety regulator. The "Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety (PIPES) Act," H.R. 6494, would extend safety programs for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for four years and inch the agency closer to developing standards for hydrogen service and carbon storage. It passed by voice vote. "This bill ensures the right … Continue Reading
December 06, 2023
Marin County allots $3.65 million to aid Golden Gate Village
by Richard Halstead |
Marin supervisors have authorized a $3 million loan and a $650,000 grant to benefit the Golden Gate Village housing complex in Marin City. The loan would be to the Marin Housing Authority to help cover predevelopment costs for revitalizing Golden Gate Village. The federally-owned complex that houses about 700 low-income people is badly in need of repair due to years of underfunding by the federal government. “This allows us to move the project forward as quickly as possible,” Marin County … Continue Reading
December 01, 2023
‘A joke’: Dems grouse about House Republican plans for COP28
by Emma Dumain
House Republicans are preparing to send more than a dozen of their own members to this year’s United Nations climate summit in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai — a record number for the GOP that not so long ago was a party seeped in climate denialism. But instead of celebrating a new era of Republican engagement on climate action, Democrats are grousing that they are being sidelined by colleagues they say don’t have any desire to meaningfully engage in the high-stakes talks known as … Continue Reading
November 30, 2023
Sausalito ferry dock project gets $6M federal infusion
by Adrian Rodriguez
A long-planned Sausalito ferry dock replacement project is getting a $6 million boost from the Biden administration. The Federal Transit Administration announced Thursday that it is allocating the funds to the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District to replace the Sausalito ferry terminal and boarding system. Golden Gate Ferry has provided service in Sausalito for more than 50 years, and the Sausalito dock was built in 1996. The service carries a half-million riders a year … Continue Reading
November 30, 2023
'This is pathetic': Lawmakers, Interior official spar over Arctic oil
by Heather Richards
Republicans on a House Natural Resources subcommittee excoriated a senior Interior Department official Wednesday over the Biden administration’s Arctic oil policies. The hearing of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee sparked a heated debate over future drilling on Alaska's public lands. Republicans also slammed Interior for not consulting with Alaska Native leaders before proposing new limits on oil and gas activity. At one point, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), the full committee … Continue Reading
November 28, 2023
US agency ends use of ‘cyanide bomb’ to kill coyotes and other predators, citing safety concerns
by Scott Sonner
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has halted the use of spring-loaded traps that disperse cyanide powder to kill coyotes and other livestock predators, a practice wildlife advocates have tried to outlaw for decades due to safety concerns. The M-44 ejector-devices that critics call “cyanide bombs” have unintentionally killed thousands of pets and non-predator wildlife, including endangered species, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. They have a scented bait … Continue Reading
November 24, 2023
As Groundwater Dwindles, Powerful Players Block Change
by Christopher Flavelle & Mira Rojanasakul
In much of the country, groundwater is being withdrawn faster than it can be replaced, a problem that states are struggling to address. And, as a New York Times investigation this summer found, the result has been declining water levels in nearly half the sites for which data is available. The federal government plays no role in regulating groundwater extraction, leaving that to individual states, but a growing number of advocates and experts say Washington must intervene to protect the … Continue Reading
November 21, 2023
How the U.S. Violates Its Own Trade Laws to Buy Seafood from China
by Ian Urbina
Few workplaces are as gritty and brutal as distant-water fishing ships from China, and there are a lot of them: With as many as 6,500 ships, China today operates the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet, which is more than double the size of its next competitor. It’s rarely easy for crew members to leave these ships, and often it’s forbidden. With ships so far from shore, constantly in transit, typically operating in international waters, where national governments have limited … Continue Reading
November 17, 2023
PG&E releases potential plan for removal of Eel River dams
by Sage Alexander
On Friday, PG&E released a potential draft plan for removing Scott Dam and Cape Horn Dam on the Eel River. The framework is part of the process of surrendering the utility company’s federal license to operate the Potter Valley hydroelectric project, established more than 100 years ago. The project hasn’t generated power since 2021, but dams still block fish passage. In statements, environmental and fish advocacy groups celebrated that the plan, which includes full dam removal, would … Continue Reading
November 15, 2023
Dems tell DOE to reboot LNG export reviews
by Carlos Anchondo
The Department of Energy should update how it decides whether licenses for natural gas export projects are in the public interest, more than 60 Democratic lawmakers told the agency in a letter Tuesday. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and others said DOE is assessing proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects using “outdated and insufficient methods of measuring climate impacts.” They urged the department to develop an approach that’s informed by “updated … Continue Reading
November 14, 2023
NOAA withdraws SIMP proposal; US Representative Jared Huffman calls move “disingenuous”
by Chris Chase
NOAA Fisheries announced on 14 November it is withdrawing its proposal to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), drawing criticism from environmental groups and members of Congress. NOAA first announced a major expansion proposal on 28 December 2022 that would have more than doubled the number of species that the program targets. The program, created six years ago to block the import of products that had been either mislabeled or harvested through illegal, unreported, or … Continue Reading
November 13, 2023
How the nonreligious in Congress view Speaker Mike Johnson
by Jim Saksa
As a congressman of faith, Mike Johnson is hardly alone. Like the new Republican speaker, 88 percent of House members called themselves Christian at the start of the 118th Congress. Like him, a majority are Protestants. Breaking it down further, Johnson is one of 57 Baptists, making it the second largest denomination in the House, behind the 122 Catholics. Despite Christianity’s numerical advantage in Congress, Johnson has argued repeatedly that his religion is under nationwide attack by, as … Continue Reading
November 10, 2023
UAE oil giant’s two missions: a greener image and ‘accelerated growth’
by Corbin Hiar
The oil and gas executive helming the next United Nations climate summit warned world leaders in September that global warming is “our common enemy” — and that “we are running short on time” to defeat it. Weeks afterward, Sultan al-Jaber told his fellow petroleum producers that “for too long, this industry has been viewed as part of the problem.” Slashing climate pollution, he said later at an Arctic gathering in Iceland, “is a massive task that will require nothing short of global … Continue Reading
October 27, 2023
Democrats revive legislation against single-use plastics
by Manuel Quinones, Ellie Borst
House and Senate Democrats reintroduced broad legislation this week to reduce plastic waste. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Rep. Jared Huffman of California released the latest version of the "Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act" amid a series of hearings meant to generate momentum behind legislation to address solid waste. "Plastic pollution is a public health crisis that can only be solved with bold actions,” said a statement from Merkley, who chairs the Environment and Public Works … Continue Reading
October 26, 2023
Democrats unveil ‘most comprehensive plan ever’ to address plastics problem
by Joseph Winters
As plastic litter builds up in the environment, polluting landscapes and poisoning ecosystems, U.S. lawmakers have unveiled their “most comprehensive plan ever” to tackle the problem. Three Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday introduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023, a sweeping bill to reduce plastic production and hold companies financially responsible for their pollution. Previous iterations of the legislation were introduced in 2020 and 2021, but this year’s … Continue Reading
October 26, 2023
Dems blast GOP plan to limit protections for Rice’s whale
by Rob Hotakainen
Democrats are pushing back at a House Republican effort to block a Biden administration proposal that gives more protected space in the Gulf of Mexico to the endangered Rice’s whale. At a hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries on Wednesday, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the ranking member, said the GOP effort — part of a bill sponsored by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) — read “like a love letter to the oil and gas industry.” Among his complaints, … Continue Reading
October 23, 2023
US government, companies face complicated path to removing Uyghur labor from seafood supply chain
by Chris Chase
In the wake of the Outlaw Ocean project report headed up by Ian Urbina - which found evidence of Uyghur and forced labor inside the seafood supply chain - governments and companies alike have kickstarted efforts to stop the current issues outlined in the report and determine how to prevent future incidents. The report, the result of years of investigation across the seafood supply chain, found evidence that companies inside China have used labor from China’s ethnic Uyghur minority - a … Continue Reading
October 17, 2023
New DOE guidance seeks to quicken $9B efficiency payouts
by Brian Dabbs
The Department of Energy is aiming to speed up the disbursement of nearly $9 billion in Inflation Reduction Act energy efficiency rebates for homeowners across the country. DOE released new guidance Friday that clarifies arcane sections of the program, potentially allowing state officials administering the rebates to get the money out the door quicker. The department is also allowing states to award some rebates to homeowners that have retrofitted their homes since Aug. 16, 2022 — the date … Continue Reading