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Statement: Environment Oregon state director heads to White House event to celebrate Inflation Reduction Act
Statement: Inflation Reduction Act could be a ‘game changer’ for climate and clean energy
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Biden promises action on climate change during event at former coal plant
President Joe Biden took his campaign to slow down climate change and speed up our transition to clean energy to the site of the former Brayton Point coal-fired power plant on Wednesday. Brayton Point is now becoming a hub for the development and production of offshore wind technology. During the visit, he announced a new program to develop offshore wind power in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time and indicated that his administration would propose additional executive actions to tackle climate change in the coming days.
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.
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: Supreme Court hamstrings EPA’s ability to tackle climate change
The Supreme Court of the United States announced its decision on the West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) case Thursday, severely limiting the EPA’s authority to regulate climate pollution from power plants.
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.
Report: Damaging methane gas pipeline leaks happen every 40 hours in the U.S.
On Thursday, OSPIRG Foundation, Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group released a new report that finds from 2010 through nearly the end of 2021, almost 2,600 gas pipeline incidents occurred in the United States that were serious enough to require reporting to the federal government. That’s the equivalent to one every 40 hours.
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.