NewsRack: flenvcenter/Policy-and-Governance_Independent

Headlines for March 18, 2010 - Democracy Now!

mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Healthcare Bill Gets Boost as 2 Dems Pledge Support, Senate OKs $18B Jobs Bill, Obama Downplays Israeli Settlement Dispute, Lula Backs Palestinian Struggle in West Bank Visit, Thai Guestworker Killed in Gaza Rocket Attack, 5 Jailed US Citizens Charged in Pakistan, Penn. Regulators Probe Suspected Drilling Contamination, Senate Backs Reduction of Drug Sentencing Disparity, Report: Insurance Company Had Policy Targeting HIV-Positive Policyholders, US Reviewing Restrictions on Gay Blood Donors, Detroit to Close 44 Schools, Witnesses: Madoff Assaulted by Fellow Prisoner, Muslim Scholar to Make First US Appearance Since Lifting of Ban

Breaking: Anti-MTR Activists Risk Arrest at EPA HQ with Elaborate Protest - Common Dreams: Headlines

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

WASHINGTON- In an attempt to further pressure EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to enforce the Clean Water Act and halt mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR), activists early this morning erected two 20-foot-tall, purple tripod structures in front of the agency's headquarters.

Most Power Plants Still Spewing Toxic Mercury, Report Says - Common Dreams: Headlines

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

by Renee Schoof

WASHINGTON - Many of America's coal-fired power plants lack widely available pollution controls for the highly toxic metal mercury, and mercury emissions recently increased at more than half of the country's 50 largest mercury-emitting power plants, according to a report Wednesday.

The nonpartisan Environmental Integrity Project reported that five of the 10 plants with the highest amount of mercury emitted are in Texas. Plants in Georgia, Missouri, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Michigan also are in the top 10.

Get Ready for GOP Obstructionism on “No Child Left Behind” Reforms - AlterNet

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

This post was originally published on the Booman Tribune. In George W. Bush’s first year in office, prior to the terrorist attacks in September, he had most signaled his moderation through his commitment to a federal role in public education. Whatever its flaws, the No Child Left Behind legislation that he crafted with the help [...] ...

Breaking: Anti-MTR Activists Risk Arrest at EPA HQ with Elaborate Protest - WireTap Magazine

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Activists Risk Arrest with Elaborate Protest at EPA HQ; Demand Immediate Action to Stop Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Group Erects Purple Mountain Majesty At EPA; Say “If Administrator Lisa Jackson Won’t Visit the Appalachian Mountains, They Will Bring The Mountains to Her” WASHINGTON— In an attempt to further pressure EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to enforce the [...]

Paul Loeb: 'Soul Of A Citizen' Excerpt: Taking Money Out Of Politics: A Grassroots Effort For Clean Elections - Politics on HuffingtonPost.com

Paul Loeb — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Maine's Clean Elections Act passed with 56 percent of the vote, and it changed Maine's politics. By 2008, three quarters of the candidates in the state were participating.

Activists Risk Arrest with Elaborate Protest at EPA HQ; Demand Immediate Action to Stop Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining - Commondreams.org Newswire

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2010

Rainforest Action Network (RAN)

In an attempt to further pressure EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to enforce the Clean Water Act and halt mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR), activists early this morning erected two 20-foot-tall, purple tripod structures in front of the agency's headquarters.

News From Mother Jones: The Future of Meat - TreeHugger

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

News From Mother Jones: The Future of Meat

New Zealand dairy farmers criticized for polluting countryside - Earth Times

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Wellington - Dairy farmers, the backbone of New Zealand's economy, were slated Thursday for polluting the country, which promotes itself to foreign tourists as clean and green. An annual report on the state of the countryside said 15 per cent of New...

Glenn Hurowitz: The Energy Fetish - Green on HuffingtonPost.com

Glenn Hurowitz — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Co-authored by Stephen Lovett. Within the next few days, Senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman are going to unveil energy and climate legislation....

Auto Alliance Says Hands Off EPA's Ability to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions - TreeHugger

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Auto Alliance Says Hands Off EPA's Ability to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Copper mine opposition grows as Senate land swap bill moves forward - ICT - National - Southwest

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

SAN CARLOS, Ariz. – Land swap legislation that would pave the way for a controversial copper mining operation on land that is sacred to the Apaches is inching forward in the Senate.

William Bradley: The Mitt & Meg Show: "Taking Care of Business" - Politics on HuffingtonPost.com

William Bradley — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Billionaire Meg Whitman, the seeming political cipher who would be governor of California, is purchasing endless amounts of unanswered advertising. It's propelled her into a...

Christian Coalition backs Sen. Graham on climate legislation - Grist Magazine

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Since coming out in support of climate legislation in October, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has faced a lot of vitriol from groups on the right, including Tea Party activists in Charleston. This criticism culminated in a formal censure from Charleston County that lambasted Graham for subverting “Republican leadership and party solidarity for his own benefit” and defiling “the ideals of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism.” But one unlikely group is coming to Graham’s defense: the Christian Coalition. The group released a radio ad last week defending the senator’s actions. The ad begins with an audio clip of President George W. Bush lamenting America’s ...

Obama's Regulatory Czar Deliberately Stalling Toxic Coal Waste Regulation - Truthout - All Articles

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

It may be unsettling to some that the man most responsible for overseeing coal ash regulation within the Obama administration has a track record of siding with polluters instead of the people most affected by toxic waste.

His name is Cass Sunstein

EPA’s Children’s Health Efforts Lacked Focus, Leadership Under Bush – GAO - CommonDreams.org Headlines

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

by Ben German

EPA initiatives launched in the mid-1990s to make children's health protection a cross-cutting agency focus have suffered from "diminished leadership" over the last decade, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday.

A 1997 White House executive order mandated new federal efforts to address children's health, and EPA created an Office of Children's Health Protection the same year.

US EPA to regulate Green House gas emissions from cars - Green Lifestyle and Sustainable Culture News - ENN

dotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdot — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

US EPA to regulate Green House gas emissions from cars

Outdoor Industry Leaders Call on Congress to Make Investing in Public Lands and Protecting Natural Resources a Priority in Climate Legislation - Commondreams.org Newswire

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2010

National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)

Seventy-five outdoor businesses, the Outdoor Industry Association, Outdoor Alliance and the National Parks Conservation Association have signed on to a letter calling on Congress to protect public lands from climate change impacts. The letter, which will be delivered to Congressional offices this week, is below. Healthy lands and waters help generate $730 billion in economic activity in the United States, which generates $88 billion in state and federal tax revenue.

read more

Free Trade Deal Won’t Strengthen Colombia’s Democracy Warn Canadian Election Monitors - Commondreams.org Newswire

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2010
Council of Canadians
Canadians who were part of an international election monitoring mission to Colombia say systematic human rights abuses, corruption and escalating violence casts doubts on whether the country’s May presidential vote will be free and fair.

“We’ve just provided Prime Minister Harper with a copy of our findings which underline the need for an independent human rights assessment before Canada moves forward with the controversial Colombia free trade deal,” says Carleen Pickard of the Council of Canadians.

read more

EPA Data Shows Streams Near Mountaintop Removal Coal Mines Toxic (Duh) - TreeHugger

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
EPA Data Shows Streams Near Mountaintop Removal Coal Mines Toxic (Duh)

The Green They Steal, The Greed They Wear - Commondreams.org Views

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

by Michael Moore
Friends,
It was amazing. Every story on the front page of Monday's New York Times told the story of the Age of Greed during which a system known as capitalism is slowly, but surely, killing us:
Insurance company greed: "Millions Spent to Sway Democrats on Health Care"
War profiteers: "Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants"
There's no profit in repairing our infrastructure: "Repair Costs Daunting as Water Lines Crumble"
read more

Richard T. Hughes: Why Conservative Christians So Often Fail the Common Good (Part 2) - Politics on HuffingtonPost.com

Richard T. Hughes — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Why do so many Christians -- especially fundamentalists and evangelicals -- so often fail to discern the themes of peace and justice that are so central to the biblical vision of the kingdom of God?

Sea lions killed for eating too many salmon - NFIC News Feed

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
By Abby Haight Portland, Oregon (AP) March 2010 Wildlife officials have tried everything to keep sea lions from eating endangered salmon, dropping bombs that explode under water and firing rubber bullets and bean bags from shotguns and boats. Now they are resorting to issuing death sentences to the most chronic offenders. A Read more... (http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8673&Itemid=118)

US EPA to regulate Green House gas emissions from cars - Global Pollution and Prevention News - ENN

dotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdot — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
US EPA to regulate Green House gas emissions from cars

Conservationists Propose 50-million-plus Acres as Jaguar Critical Habitat - Commondreams.org Newswire

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2010
Center for Biological Diversity
The Center for Biological Diversity Monday proposed designation of approximately 27 million acres in Arizona and 26 million acres in New Mexico as critical habitat for endangered jaguars. The Center suggested smaller areas in Southern California and West Texas as critical habitat as well.
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