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Report: Polluters dumped ~200 million lbs. of toxics into waterways
Statement: Inflation Reduction Act could be a ‘game changer’ for climate and clean energy
Biden promises action on climate change during event at former coal plant
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Statement: U.S. Postal Service more than doubles its electric vehicle commitment
The U.S. Postal Service announced on Wednesday that it would purchase at least 25,000 electric vehicles as part of its plan to replace an aging fleet, more than doubling its previous commitment. The announcement comes after the agency’s initial plan to “modernize” its fleet would have electrified only 10% of its vehicles, prompting calls for the agency to revisit its decision and a lawsuit filed by 16 states. The new commitments means at least 50% of the agency’s first 50,000 vehicle purchases will be electric.
Statement: Weatherization funding takes advantage of the ‘cleanest energy’
Report: Federal logging projects put 10 climate-saving forests on chopping block
Federal agencies are targeting mature and old-growth forests for logging despite these trees’ extraordinary ability to curb climate change and President Joe Biden’s directive to preserve them, according to a new report spotlighting the 10 worst logging projects in federal forests across the country.
Statement: New federal rule would help tackle country’s largest source of global warming pollution: transportation
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s administration announced a notice of proposed rulemaking on Thursday to address the climate impact of the nation’s transportation system. The rule, proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), will require state transportation departments and metropolitan planning organizations to report the carbon dioxide emissions of vehicles traveling on their respective sections of the federal highway system, and to set declining yearly emissions targets. The public will have 90 days to comment on the proposed rule.
Statement: Biden administration’s drilling proposal would put U.S. over a barrel
"By proposing as many as 11 new offshore drilling lease sales, President Biden is taking us down the same old path toward more spills and a warmer climate. This plan would lock in long-term risks that, with renewable energy on the rise, we increasingly don’t need."
Statement: EU to phase out new fossil fuel cars by 2035
The European Union reached a deal on Wednesday to pass a new climate law that will require new car sales to be zero-emission by 2035.
Statement: Canada Bans Single-Use Plastics
The Canadian government has announced that it will ban the manufacture and import of most single-use plastic products in December 2022 and the sale of these products as of December 2023.
Logging mature and old trees threatens U.S. climate goals
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday signed a memorandum to clarify the U.S. Forest Service’s direction on climate policy. The memo, "Climate Resilience and Carbon Stewardship of America's National Forests and Grasslands," follows a recent White House executive order highlighting the importance of conserving mature and old-growth forests on federal lands as a climate solution. The memo, which lays out “actions to restore forests, improve resilience, and address the climate crisis”, falls short in meeting the ambition outlined in President Joe Biden’s order on old forests and trees. Secretary Vilsack acknowledges the role that older trees play in absorbing and storing carbon and supporting biodiversity. But he fails to outline a plan for his agency to protect mature and old-growth forests and trees from commercial logging.
Rhode Island legislature commits to 100% of state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2033
The Rhode Island legislature has passed legislation that would set the fastest timeline for any state in the nation to procure 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources.
Environmental, public health groups to Senate: Act on toxic PFAS in drinking water
Eighty-two organizations, including Environment America and U.S. PIRG, delivered a letter Wednesday to the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee calling for comprehensive federal legislation to protect Americans’ drinking water from contamination by the toxic class of chemicals known as PFAS. The organizations, which hail from 30 states, asked the EPW Committee to designate all PFAS as hazardous substances, prohibit their use in firefighting foam, and direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue drinking water standards and stop the dumping of PFAS into our nation’s waterways.