Tag: Climate Change

E.P.A. Chief to Step Down, With Climate Still Low Priority

E.P.A. Chief to Step Down, With Climate Still Low Priority

By ; Published: December 27, 2012

Lisa P. Jackson is stepping down as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after a four-year tenure that began with high hopes of sweeping action to address climate change and other environmental ills but ended with a series of rear-guard actions to defend the agency against challenges from industry, Republicans in Congress and, at times, the Obama White House.

Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Lisa P. Jackson is stepping down as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

 Ms. Jackson, 50, told President Obama shortly after his re-election in November that she wanted to leave the administration early next year. She informed the E.P.A. staff of her decision on Thursday morning and issued a brief statement saying that she was confident “the ship is sailing in the right direction.” Continue reading “E.P.A. Chief to Step Down, With Climate Still Low Priority”

Sequestration To Cut $716 Million From U.S. EPA Budget

Sequestration To Cut $716 Million From U.S. EPA Budget

By Steven M. Siros

If budget sequestration takes effect on January 2, 2013, U.S. EPA will face a $716 million budget cut.  According to a September 14, 2012 report from the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), U.S. EPA’s budget would be reduced from approximately $8.4 billion to $7.7 billion. The OMB report projects that the Superfund program would face cuts of approximately $122 million; state and tribal assistance grants would be cut by approximately $293 million; and U.S. EPA’s program account would be cut by approximately $220 million. The OMB report goes on to acknowledge that these cuts would degrade U.S. EPA’s “ability to protect the water we drink and the air we breathe” and encourages Congress to act to prevent these cuts from being triggered. According to an U.S. EPA official, U.S. EPA is developing its 2014 fiscal year budget without accounting for these significant budget cuts. To see a copy of the OMB report, please click here.

Posted at 01:43 PM in Air, CERCLA, Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas, Hazmat, OSHA, RCRA, Sustainability, Toxic Tort, TSCA, Water | Permalink

 

How the Party Platforms Differ

How the Party Platforms Differ

By Published: September 4, 2012

The platform that the Democratic Party plans to approve Tuesday at its convention in Charlotte, N.C., offers a stark contrast to the platform that Republicans approved last week at their convention in Tampa, Fla., especially on social issues like abortion rights and same-sex marriage, the future of entitlements like Medicare and Social Security, and labor policy and taxes. Here is a look at some of the crucial differences.

Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A worker checked the stage at the Time Warner Cable Arena before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday. Continue reading “How the Party Platforms Differ”

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