epa

EPA Will Mandate Tests on Pesticide Chemicals

The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time will require pesticide manufacturers to test 67 chemicals contained in their products to determine whether they disrupt the endocrine system, which regulates animals' and humans' growth, metabolism and reproduction, the agency said yesterday.

Posted in epa, Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2009
2:11 PM

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Erin Allweiss, NRDC, 202-513-6254

Groups Urge EPA to Release Renewable Fuels Standard Rulemaking

Call for Transparent Public Process in Determining Greenhouse Gas Impacts

WASHINGTON - March 31 - The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) called on the Administration to follow a transparent, science based process in determining the rules for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), including the key issue of greenhouse gas emissions.

“We must ensure biofuels are done right,” said Franz Matzner, acting legislative director for NRDC. “A key step is for EPA to accurately determine the global warming emissions associated with biofuels by using the best science and economic data available.”

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The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.


Posted in epa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2009
3:20 PM

CONTACT: Friends of the Earth

John Kaltenstein, (831) 334-2470, jkaltenstein@foe.org
Howard Breen, (250) 508-5818, hbreen@foecanada.org

US and Canada Seek International Approval of Air Pollution Reduction Zone for Ships

Coastal Emission Control Area Would Be Boon to Public Health and the Environment; However Canadian and Alaskan Arctic Waters Not Included

PORT NEWARK, N.J. - March 30 - U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced today during a noon conference at Port Newark, New Jersey, its submission of an Emission Control Area application to the International Maritime Organization.  If the application is successful, it would require steep pollution reductions from large ships in U.S. and Canadian coastal waters. 

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Friends of the Earth is the U.S. voice of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, with member groups in 77 countries. Since 1969, Friends of the Earth has fought to create a more healthy, just world.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2009
2:28 PM

CONTACT: Earthjustice
Sarah Burt, Earthjustice, 510-550-6755

US EPA Proposes to Slash Harmful Ship Emissions, Leaves out Arctic Protections

Earthjustice Statement

WASHINGTON - March 30 - At a joint news conference with the Coast Guards and New Jersey elected official, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson announced today that the USA has became the first country to ask the International Maritime Organization to create an emissions control area (ECA) around the nation's coastline.

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Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations, coalitions and communities.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2009
2:07 PM

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Kate Slusark, 212/727-4592

EPA to Clean Up Diesel Ship Pollution Nationwide

Obama Administration Will Use New Global Pact to Improve Air Quality in Port Communities

WASHINGTON - March 30 - The Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it is taking steps under a new global agreement to reduce ship pollution within 200 miles of U.S. shores. Under the new proposal, U.S. and foreign-flagged ships in this area will be required to use dramatically cleaner fuel and more effective pollution controls for their engines. Once implemented, the proposal will significantly improve air quality in port communities, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

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The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.


Winds of Change Evident in US Environmental Policy

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson speaksat the National League of Cities conference, Monday, March 16 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Daniel Reifsnyder, a 25-year State Department veteran, knew even before President Obama was elected that U.S. environmental policy was going to change. So in early November, he called a couple of his Environmental Protection Agency counterparts about drafting documents to lay the groundwork for endorsing a treaty to curb global emissions of toxic mercury.

EPA Halts Hundreds of Mountaintop Mining Permits

A mountaintop removal coal mining site at Kayford Mountain, W.Va. In the controversial practice, forests are clear-cut and holes are drilled to blast apart rock, as massive machines scoop coal from the exposed seams. The rock and dirt left behind is dumped into adjacent valleys, affecting streams and waterways.  (AP Photo/Jeff Gentner)

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency put hundreds of mountaintop coal-mining permits on hold Tuesday, saying it wants to evaluate the projects' impact on streams and wetlands.

The decision, announced by EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, targets a controversial practice that allows coal mining companies to dump waste from mountaintop mining into streams and wetlands.

It could delay 150-250 permits being sought by companies wanting to begin blasting mountaintops to access coal.

No More Freebies at EPA

After eight years in which the EPA was the Environmental Pass Agency, new administrator Lisa Jackson last week sent a new signal that polluters cannot pass "Go." In a memorandum, she stopped the agency's nearly decade-old "Performance Track" program where corporations set voluntary environmental goals.

Posted in epa, pollution

EPA: Global Warming Threatens Public Health, Welfare

The Environmental Protection Agency sent a proposal to the White House on Friday finding that global warming is endangering the public's health and welfare, according to several sources, a move that could have far-reaching implications for the nation's economy and environment.

Battle Over Clean Air is Bound to Get Dirty

After eight years, our long-suffering air is already breathing easier. In just the first month of the Obama administration, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson began revisiting Bush administration policies that some scientists say have set us back more than a decade on global warming. A prime candidate for reversal is the agency's decision to turn down a California request to set tough emissions standards that would effectively create a vehicle fuel efficiency standard of 42 miles per gallon by 2020.

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