Nixon EPA chief criticizes Bush "war on the environment"
Oct 24, 2004 by Guest Blogger
Don't miss Mother Jones's feature interview with Russell Train, EPA chief during the Nixon administration. Here's a glimpse:
We’re at war in Iraq. They tell us we’re at war against terrorism. I’d say that George W. Bush has declared war on the environment. And I think that people ought to stand up and be counted in opposition to that. . . .
I feel George W.’s heart is in the wrong place on this issue. Calling something the Clean Air Act, the Healthy Forest Act when what you’re really doing is opening up the forest to logging.
Measure the rollback in your own state
Oct 21, 2004 by Guest Blogger
How much have you been affected by the Bush administration's rollback of public health, safety, and environment protections? How much does your state need improved protections? Check out the excellent feature My Backyard from the Center for American Progress: a clickable map that allows you to go state by state and look up data on pollution, workplace health and safety, fuel economy, and more.
read in fullMaking cigarettes even less safe (can you believe it?)
Oct 17, 2004 by Guest Blogger
This story comes packed with just enough irony of its own:
Legislation just passed by Congress abolishes the requirement that the government inspect imported tobacco to ensure it is not laced with chemicals and pesticides banned in the United States but permitted elsewhere.
That means imported leaf, which U.S. tobacco companies are increasingly relying on, could make cigarettes even more harmful, said Tom Glynn, director of science and trends for the American Cancer Society.
read in fullThings getting better on the job or in the environment?
Oct 14, 2004 by Guest Blogger
The administration has been replying to critics of the attack on regulatory policy that its choices are being proved right, because things are getting better on the job and in the environment.
Reports suggest that the trends may not necessarily back the administration's claims about its policy choices.
Workplace Health and Safety: The agencies that should be protecting the men and women in America who work for a living have not been doing their job.
An alternative vision for protecting the public?
Oct 14, 2004 by Guest Blogger
The excellent Newsday series "Erasing the Rules" concludes today with a look at Senator Kerry's legislative record and campaign platform and inquires whether they represent an alternative to current regulatory policy:
In the mid-1990s when Republicans in Congress were pushing to make regulations harder to enact, consumer, labor and environmental groups sought an ally committed to government oversight and capable of grasping the complexity of the rules.
Their choice was John Kerry.
read in fullOf foxes, henhouses, and unbreathable air
Oct 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger
The excellent Newsday series, "Erasing the Rules," continues today with a focus on EPA.
There have been some exceptions to the pattern, such as the EPA's adoption earlier this year of tough new emissions standards for diesel engines.
read in fullFoxes in the henhouse, blood on the floor
Oct 11, 2004 by Guest Blogger
Don't miss "Erasing the Rules," the excellent series in Newsday on the Bush administration regulatory record.
On the matter of appointments to federal agency offices: the Bush administration has imposed not just ideological litmus tests but also has expressed an unwavering favoritism towards industry representatives.
read in fullFrom politicizing science to politicizing history
Oct 8, 2004 by Guest Blogger
The Los Angeles Times is reporting a doozy: VP wife Lynne Cheney has long opposed the National History Standards because they contain too much actual history and haven't been politically slanted in favor of her more "positive" vision of America's past.
read in full22-year-old Wildlife Protection Standard Waived
Oct 6, 2004 by Guest Blogger
U.S. Forest Service posted a temporary final rule in the Federal Register last week that will rollback regulation to protect endangered fish and wildlife from logging and development in national forests. The new rule gives U.S. Forest Service officials flexibility in how they calculate the risk to fish and wildlife populations when reviewing road-building, logging or other proposals.
read in fullSo much for hours-of-service win...
Oct 4, 2004 by Guest Blogger
Remember the public interest victory in the hours-of-service case? A Department of Transportation agency proposed new rules governing the maximum number of hours in a stretch that trucking companies can force their workers to drive without rest or days off -- but the rule change would have permitted trucking companies to game the system and force their workers to drive much longer than even the old rules.
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