June, 15 2012, 12:28pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Suzanne Struglinski, sstruglinski@nrdc.org, 202-289-2387 or Elizabeth Heyd, eheyd@nrdc.org, 202-725-0648
EPA Soot Standard Improves Health Protections
NRDC: ‘Proposal is a tremendous win for our health and the environment’
WASHINGTON
By strengthening national clean air standards protecting Americans against unhealthy levels of soot, the Environmental Protection Agency's air quality proposal issued today will dramatically reduce health problems caused by dangerous air pollution.
The following is a statement from John Walke, clean air director at the Natural Resources Defense Council:
"Updating these standards will protect us from the tiniest particles that can cause the biggest health problems. By limiting the smoke, soot, metals and other pollution our lungs and hearts absorb, EPA is protecting all of us from asthma attacks, lung cancer, heart disease and premature deaths."
"This a tremendous win for our health and the environment that could only be achieved by following the best science and upholding the Clean Air Act."
Background:
The Clean Air Act requires EPA to review air quality standards every five years and update the standards as needed. In 2006, the agency issued new national limits for fine particle pollution, known as PM2.5, or particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less -- smaller than a strand of hair. Smaller particles can cause more health impacts because they are able to penetrate deeply into the lungs and heart. A federal court rejected the Bush administration standards in 2009 for their failure to protect public health. EPA was supposed to issue a new set of standards by October 2011 but failed to meet that deadline. A court order issued earlier this month required the agency to issue its new proposal to update the standards today.
Fine particle pollution, or soot, comes from sources like power plants, oil refineries, and diesel trucks and buses. Today's proposal defines how much of this pollution is unhealthy for humans to breathe and sets clean air standards that will ensure healthy air quality. Separate federal and state pollution control programs then will work to meet these standards once finalized.
EPA is expected to issue final air quality updates by December 14.
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
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Once Again, Tom Cotton Blocks Bill to Shield Journalists From Betraying Sources
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Dec 10, 2024
Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Tuesday again blocked the passage of House-approved bipartisan legislation meant to shield journalists and telecommunications companies from being compelled to disclose sources and other information to federal authorities.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) brought the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act—which would prohibit the federal government from forcing journalists and telecom companies to disclose certain information, with exceptions for terroristic or violent threats—for a unanimous consent vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued Tuesday that passing the PRESS Act is "more important now than ever before when we've heard some in the previous administration talk about going after the press in one way or another," a reference to Republican President-elect Donald Trump's threats to jail journalists who refuse to reveal the sources of leaks. Trump, who has referred to the press as the "enemy of the people," repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to "kill this bill."
Cotton, who blocked a vote on the legislation in December 2022, again objected to the bill, a move that thwarted its speedy passage. The Republican called the legislation a "threat to national security" and "the biggest giveaway to the liberal press in American history."
The advocacy group Defending Rights and Dissent lamented that "Congress has abdicated their responsibility to take substantive steps to protect the constitutional right to a free press."
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Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
[image or embed]
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
Dhillon's most prominent work includes founding the Center for American Liberty, a legal organization that focuses heavily on anti-transgender cases in blue states. The organization's "featured cases" section highlights several lawsuits, such as Chloe Cole's case against Kaiser Permanente; a lawsuit challenging a Colorado school's use of a transgender student's preferred name; a case against a California school district seeking to implement policies that would forcibly out transgender students; and a lawsuit against Vermont for denying a foster care license to a family unwilling to comply with nondiscrimination policies regarding transgender youth.
Reed also highlighted Dhillon's attacks on state laws protecting transgender people, as well as her expression of "extreme anti-trans views" on social media—including calling gender-affirming healthcare for trans children "child abuse."
Last year, The Guardian's Jason Wilson reported that the Center for American Liberty made a six-figure payment to a public relations firm that represented Dhillion in both "her capacity as head of her own for-profit law firm and Republican activist."
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