In the News
Womack, Westerman introduce new bipartisan legislation involving outdoor recreation facilities
by Spencer Bailey
Arkansas congressmen Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman have joined with California Democrat Jared Huffman to introduce H.R. 6906, otherwise known as the LAKES Act. LAKES, or Lake Access Keeping Economies Strong, will expand opportunities to improve and develop outdoor recreation facilities across the country at areas managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), according to a release from Womack's office. USACE currently manages almost 257,000 facilities across 43 states. Under … Continue Reading
December 22, 2023
Biden expands US ban on Russian seafood to include third-country processing
by Cliff White
U.S. President Joe Biden has signed an executive order expanding the U.S. ban on Russian seafood to include imports of Russia-originated seafood processed in third countries, including China. The unnumbered executive order, issued 22 December, expands U.S. Executive Order 14068 to prohibit the importation of seafood “harvested in Russian waters or by Russia-flagged vessels, even if these products are then transformed in a third country.” “The United States has been clear: those who are … Continue Reading
December 13, 2023
GOP: Biden pulling a fast one on Snake River dams' fate
by JENNIFER YACHNIN
Republican lawmakers accused the Biden administration Tuesday of seeking to circumvent Capitol Hill in its bid to breach a series of dams on the Lower Snake River, at the same time dismissing the White House’s nods to congressional authority as little more than a “red herring.” Oregon Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz leveled the allegations during a Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries hearing that focused on the future of four dams on the Snake River, which are at the … Continue Reading
December 13, 2023
Redwood forest trail would be renamed after Dianne Feinstein under new bill in Congress
by Shira Stein
WASHINGTON — Two California Democrats want to rename the main trail in Headwaters Forest Reserve after the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The Headwaters reserve in Humboldt County consists of 7,472 acres of redwood forests and has two public trails, one along the South Fork Elk River and one along Salmon Creek. The northernmost trail, now called the Elk River Trail, is what Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, and Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, told the Chronicle they want to rename as the Senator Dianne … Continue Reading
December 13, 2023
House Democrats unveil green transmission bill
by Emma Dumain, Kelsey Brugger
Two of the House’s biggest clean energy enthusiasts Wednesday dropped their long-anticipated pitch on transmission in a bid to coalesce Democrats around a landmark permitting plan to accelerate renewable energy development. The bill from Democratic Reps. Sean Casten of Illinois and Mike Levin of California would ease transmission build-out, expand renewable energy and fix the country’s jumbled electricity system. And with 76 original cosponsors representing both the progressive and more … Continue Reading
December 12, 2023
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
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 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
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 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