Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. — In sharp contrast to the policies of the previous administration, the Biden administration is going all out to combat pollution of the natural environment. As part of this renewed effort and with funds provided by the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November, 2021, the Environmental…
Water Pollution
Biden Administration Accelerates Removal of Lead Pipes With $15 Billion in New Spending
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Are you better off than you were three years ago? That’s a perennial question that pops up like a weed every four years in Washington politics, or at least the media coverage of it. Think about it. Three years ago, in November 2020, the global Covid-19 pandemic was at…
PEPCO to Pay More than $57 Million for Polluting the Anacostia River
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — In one of the largest and most significant corporate pollution settlements in the history of electric power and the law, Potomac Electric Power has agreed to pay more than $57 million to help mitigate contamination of the Anacostia River from its power plants. We just received the press…
Concerns Mount as Japan Initiates Release of Fukushima Nuclear Water into the Pacific Ocean
Special Report – By Valentina Francis – LOS ANGELES, Calif. — In a pivotal move that has ignited international debate, workers in Japan have commenced the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. This decision, stemming from the aftermath of the…
Rebuilding American Infrastructure With Millions in Grants
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. â There was a time in a previous reality when creating tens of thousands of good paying jobs while rebuilding America would have been big news in newspapers and on television news channels. Not anymore. Social media sensationalism and silly memes and videos have replaced the grocery store checkout…
New Wilderness Scenic Areas Proposed by Shenandoah Mountain Act
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — It’s understandably difficult for the American public to get excited very often about legislation proposed in Congress, especially considering all the crazy crap coming out of the House since the extremist Republicans took over this year, like a new plan to cut Social Security that is dead on…
The Future of Humanity on Planet Earth
Superorganism: Toward a New Social Contract for Our Endangered Species – Published online by Cambridge University Press – June 23, 2023 – Editor’s Note: As I’ve been writing for many years, the future of humanity on planet Earth is in jeopardy and there is no guarantee we will survive for much longer. Like many naysayers,…
Conservative Supreme Court Rules to Limit EPA’s Power in Regulating the Destruction of Wetlands
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — In another disastrous ruling destroying decades of established legal precedents, the conservative majority on the United States Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Idaho farmers and against the Environmental Protection Agency in a case involving the protection of wetlands near waterways. In response to the decision…
Biden Administration Proposes Stronger Mercury and Air Toxic Standards for Power Plants
New standards would reduce hazardous air pollutants from coal-fired power plants, further protect public health and advance environmental justice – Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration released a set of proposed new pollution standards on Wednesday to update the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for coal-fired power plants, advancing tougher requirements to…
Biden Administration Announces $250 Million in Spending to Tackle Climate Pollution
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is making $250 million available to develop innovative strategies to cut climate pollution and build clean energy economies. The money will distributed in the form of planning grants through the Environmental Protection Agency, and the funding will go to states, local governments, Tribes,…
Norfolk Southern Policy Lets Officials Order Crews to Ignore Safety Alerts
By Topher Sanders and Dan Schwartz – ProPublica – ProPublica learned of the policy after reviewing the rules of the company, which is engulfed in controversy after one of its trains derailed this month, releasing toxic flammable gas over East Palestine, Ohio. The policy applies specifically to the company’s Wayside Detector Help Desk, which monitors…
Biden Administration Announces Details of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration announced guidelines for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program this week created under the Inflation Reduction Act, which will dole out $27 billion in federal spending over the next few years to mobilize billions more in private capital to reduce pollution and improve public health, lower…
EPA to Accelerate Lead Pipe Replacement and Protect Underserved Communities
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Biden administration announced a major national initiative on Friday to begin work to replace lead pipes across the country using funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Environmental Protection Agency, which is still trying to recover from being gutted and corrupted by the Trump administration, will lead…
Biden Administration Announces $981 Million in Spending for Rural Infrastructure Investments
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Back during the height of news covering during the midterm election campaign, mainstream media pundits and commentators often blamed Democrats for ineffective messaging and failing to get the word out on how President Joe Biden’s legislative successes would help suffering people even in rural America, where working class people…
Biden Administration Announces the Release of $6 Million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funds to Support Tribal Nations in Reducing Nutrient Pollution in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. — In case you were wondering how the administration was spending the money allocated under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in November, 2021, the availability of $6 million in funds was announced Monday to support Tribal Nations across the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin to reduce nutrient pollution in the third largest…
Biden Administration Launches New National EPA Office to Advance Environmental Justice
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. – With less than six weeks to go before the critical midterm elections, the Biden administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have announced the establishment of a new national office charged with advancing environmental justice and civil rights to deliver on President Biden’s commitment to elevate these critical issues to…
The Story of Wild, Native Brook Trout and Why They Are So Ecologically Important Like the Canary in the Coal Mine for Climate Change
When the Brook Trout Leaps – By Anonymous – The slender dew-tipped grasses are trembling in the breeze, The east is blushing rosy red beneath the Sun’s caress, The wild rose bends to kiss the stream—but only Nature sees, And the reed-harps play weird music just above the water cress. The quail is calling loudly…
Biden Administration Announces $65 Million Investment from Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill in Clean Water Projects, Roads and Trails
Staff Report – The Biden administration announced more than $65 million in spending this week for the U.S. Forest Service to invest in projects nationwide to prepare for climate change by improving roads, trails, fish habitat and water quality. Made possible by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the first round of a $25.5 million…
Biden Administration Launches Major Funding Effort to Create More Outdoor Recreation Opportunities Across America
The FICOR Program Will Also Help Prepare the Country for the Worst Impacts of Climate Change – By Glynn Wilson – ANALYSIS – If you are a long-time nature lover who understands the environmental, biological, economic, psychological and sociological needs to protect and expand green spaces across the country, or a new convert who discovered…
Earth Day 2022: Will We Ever Learn?
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Millions of people all over the world came out on April 22, 1970 to celebrate the first Earth Day, and the era of environmental activism was launched. The movement was an evolution from the non-violent activism for civil rights and against the war in…