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Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

The list of over 3,000 regulations on the chopping block--outlined in a speech at the Federation of Small Businesses Conference Monday--includes guidance on contaminated land and hazardous waste management, food labeling regulations, and building regulations such as requirements for onsite green technologies.
The overhaul, which is part of Cameron's Red Tape Challenge campaign, include proposals to "wind down" the code for sustainable homes and limit Environmental Impact Assessments for building projects, according to Naomi Luhde-Thompson from Friends of the Earth.
"Removing EIA would put the environment and people at risk," writes Luhde-Thompson, "with a far greater cost to the public of possible environmental damage.
The reason for these cuts, according to Cameron, is that they will make it "vastly cheaper" for businesses to abide by environmental rules.
"The Government must stop making the environment a scapegoat for the economic challenges we face," said Friends of the Earth's Policy and Campaigns Director Craig Bennett.
Bennett continued, "Important rules that safeguard our health and environment are being lost in this ideologically-driven war on red-tape."
In the speech, Cameron bragged that thanks to him the UK now has the "first Government in modern history to leave office with fewer regulations than when it entered."
Yet Bennett charged, "Building a strong economy and protecting the environment are two sides of the same coin - we won't build a strong, sustainable economy if we sacrifice the long term-future of our planet for short-term financial gain."
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

The list of over 3,000 regulations on the chopping block--outlined in a speech at the Federation of Small Businesses Conference Monday--includes guidance on contaminated land and hazardous waste management, food labeling regulations, and building regulations such as requirements for onsite green technologies.
The overhaul, which is part of Cameron's Red Tape Challenge campaign, include proposals to "wind down" the code for sustainable homes and limit Environmental Impact Assessments for building projects, according to Naomi Luhde-Thompson from Friends of the Earth.
"Removing EIA would put the environment and people at risk," writes Luhde-Thompson, "with a far greater cost to the public of possible environmental damage.
The reason for these cuts, according to Cameron, is that they will make it "vastly cheaper" for businesses to abide by environmental rules.
"The Government must stop making the environment a scapegoat for the economic challenges we face," said Friends of the Earth's Policy and Campaigns Director Craig Bennett.
Bennett continued, "Important rules that safeguard our health and environment are being lost in this ideologically-driven war on red-tape."
In the speech, Cameron bragged that thanks to him the UK now has the "first Government in modern history to leave office with fewer regulations than when it entered."
Yet Bennett charged, "Building a strong economy and protecting the environment are two sides of the same coin - we won't build a strong, sustainable economy if we sacrifice the long term-future of our planet for short-term financial gain."
______________________
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

The list of over 3,000 regulations on the chopping block--outlined in a speech at the Federation of Small Businesses Conference Monday--includes guidance on contaminated land and hazardous waste management, food labeling regulations, and building regulations such as requirements for onsite green technologies.
The overhaul, which is part of Cameron's Red Tape Challenge campaign, include proposals to "wind down" the code for sustainable homes and limit Environmental Impact Assessments for building projects, according to Naomi Luhde-Thompson from Friends of the Earth.
"Removing EIA would put the environment and people at risk," writes Luhde-Thompson, "with a far greater cost to the public of possible environmental damage.
The reason for these cuts, according to Cameron, is that they will make it "vastly cheaper" for businesses to abide by environmental rules.
"The Government must stop making the environment a scapegoat for the economic challenges we face," said Friends of the Earth's Policy and Campaigns Director Craig Bennett.
Bennett continued, "Important rules that safeguard our health and environment are being lost in this ideologically-driven war on red-tape."
In the speech, Cameron bragged that thanks to him the UK now has the "first Government in modern history to leave office with fewer regulations than when it entered."
Yet Bennett charged, "Building a strong economy and protecting the environment are two sides of the same coin - we won't build a strong, sustainable economy if we sacrifice the long term-future of our planet for short-term financial gain."
______________________