For months, we've been waiting for the U.S. Department of the Interior to issue standards for natural gas drilling and extraction on federal land and tribal land. The proposed rule was finally released on May 4 and it is very disappointing.

Imagine for a moment that you're in the last few weeks of your current job.  Your final goal is to complete an important, long-term project that you've been working on for several years.  Finishing this project will be a major milestone and will benefit people both inside and outside your organization.  Suddenly, your employer makes a new policy: people aren't allowed to complete projects during their last few weeks with the organization.  You'd probably be confused, even furious, and rightfully so, because all of your hard work would have been for nothing.  A policy like that just wouldn't make sense, yet it's similar to what the House wants to do to those who have been working to develop and improve our nation's public protections. 

A new poll released April 24 by the Small Business Majority found that small business owners strongly support both government investments in clean energy and environmental standards that limit air emissions from power plants. The poll shows once again that small business owners believe standards and investments would drive innovation, create jobs, make our air cleaner, and protect Americans' health.

Last week, a coalition of environmental and public health groups filed a lawsuit to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the waste created when coal is burned (commonly known as coal ash). Coal ash is disposed of in almost every state, and areas near disposal sites can face increased risks of cancer and other diseases caused by drinking water contamination and exposure to toxins. The suit calls for EPA to set a deadline to adopt federal coal ash protections.