Environmental Politics

Alter CEQA but don't weaken it

2013-05-20 00:00:00

Does California's signature environmental law protect the state's air, water and wilderness by acting as a check on runaway projects proposed by overzealous developers? Or does it encourage baseless lawsuits that unfairly delay and even derail...

One Cabinet pick approved, two narrowly advance

2013-05-16 16:57:00

WASHINGTON — President Obama's nominee to lead the Energy Department won unanimous confirmation by the Senate on Thursday while two other Cabinet choices narrowly advanced out of committee, amid complaints from Democrats over Republican delaying...

Clock is ticking, slowly, on rules for coal-fired power plants

2013-05-12 20:48:00

POOLESVILLE, Md.�— On a curve of the Potomac River 37 miles northwest of Washington, the Dickerson power plant has stood sentry over small villages, crop fields and horse farms for more than half a century. Burning mostly coal and some natural...

Federal omission in closing oyster farm broke law, court told

2013-05-14 20:53:00

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Interior Department violated federal law by failing to conduct an environmental review before ordering a Northern California oyster farmer to shutter his operation, attorneys for the farmer told a federal appeals court panel...

Republican senators boycott vote on EPA nominee

2013-05-09 16:37:00

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans boycotted a committee vote Thursday on President Obama's nomination of Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency, drawing accusations of obstructionism from Democrats. Republicans on the Senate...

Senate Republicans stonewall Obama's EPA nominee

2013-05-09 10:42:00

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans boycotted a committee vote Thursday morning on President Obama’s nomination of Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency, prompting accusations of obstructionism from Democrats and calls to...

Pesticides, parasites and poor forage hurting bee pollinators

2013-05-02 14:56:00

Although honeybee loss slowed last year, it remains at dangerously high levels, according to a new federal report that concluded there was no single remedy for the colony collapse that has hit America’s hard-working crop pollinators. The report,...

Calming the West's water wars

2013-05-03 00:00:00

Last week, Texas and Oklahoma squared off in a Supreme Court battle over water rights that has the drought-ridden West on edge. At issue is a state's control over its own water: Texas seeks to buy or otherwise tap water from Oklahoma under the terms of an...

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere crosses historic threshold

2013-05-10 15:03:00

WASHINGTON -- The ratio of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere has surpassed 400 parts per million in an average daily reading at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory, the highest concentration of the heat-trapping greenhouse gas in millions of...

Tesla drives California environmental credits to the bank

2013-05-05 17:57:00

When Tesla Motors reports its first-ever profit Wednesday, much of the money will come courtesy of the state of California. In its zeal to push electric cars into the market, the state has created a system in which Tesla can make as much as $35,000...

Honeybee decline linked to disease, parasites, genetics, report says

2013-05-03 09:10:00

A new federal report has found that the nation's honeybee decline, which threatens up to $30 billion worth of agriculture production, is being caused by several factors, including disease, parasites and poor genetics. After colony collapse disorder...

Jerry Brown eases up on push to revamp California's environmental law

2013-04-17 19:26:00

SACRAMENTO — As Gov. Jerry Brown toured China over the last week, he repeatedly contrasted that nation's speedy construction of modern transportation systems and other key public works with what he characterized as a lack of vision back home. A...

Technicians working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency record data on soil core samples take in the 200 block of West Garfield Avenue in August of 2012.

2013-05-17 08:15:00

Gina McCarthy, President Obama's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, took a step closer to confirmation Thursday.

2013-05-16 09:45:56

Gina McCarthy has led the EPA's air pollution division since 2009. The division has recently issued rules to curtail emissions from new power plants.

2013-05-02 00:00:00