[Source: KQED] Though it may have been eclipsed in headlines and worrying by the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis has not gone away. As new President Joe Biden tries to implement policies with the goal of redirecting economic development toward greenhouse gas reduction, he’ll have to contend with pressure not only from groups on the Read More…
Category: U.S. News
Environmental justice groups block Mary Nichols’ path to EPA
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Through four governors, two Obama terms and the Trump administration, Mary Nichols has led the charge to clean up California’s smog and fight climate change. In the process, she has earned herself a reputation as one of the most influential environmental regulators in the country. So with Joe Biden headed to Read More…
Biden picks Michael Regan to head Environmental Protection Agency
[Source: FOX News] President-elect Joe Biden tapped Michael Regan to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, Fox News has confirmed. Regan has served as head of North Carolina’s environmental agency since 2017. A longtime air quality specialist at the EPA, Regan has served under both the Clinton and George W. Bush Read More…
Trump EPA finalizes rollback making it harder to enact new public health rules
[Source: The Washington Post] The Trump administration finalized a rule Wednesday that could make it more difficult to enact public health protections, by changing the way the Environmental Protection Agency calculates the costs and benefits of new limits on air pollution. The new cost-benefit requirements, which apply to all future Clean Air Act rules, instruct Read More…
A Biden-Harris take on environmental justice: what to expect
[Source: The National Law Review] With a historic election all but in the rear-view mirror, a key question is whether and how President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will deliver on the sweeping environmental justice (EJ) agenda advanced on the campaign trail. Defined by the EPA as the “fair treatment and Read More…
California environmental groups tell Biden not to pick Mary Nichols for EPA
[Source: KQED] A coalition of some 70 California environmental justice groups, national environmentalists and other organizations sent a letter to Joe Biden’s transition team Thursday asking the incoming president to avoid picking Mary Nichols as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Nichols has been reported to be Biden’s top candidate to lead the EPA. The outgoing Read More…
Schumer calls for an environmental justice leader to serve as next chair of the CEQ
[Source: Senate Democrats] Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released the following statement today urging that the next Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality be someone who will defend environmental safeguards, meaningfully engage with environmental justice communities, and coordinate a bold climate and clean energy agenda that works for everyone, regardless of Read More…
Biden shortlist for White House key environmental post shows focus on environmental justice
[Source: Reuters] President-elect Joe Biden is vetting three environmental justice leaders to head up the White House agency that will take the lead in coordinating efforts to safeguard communities disproportionately affected by pollution, according to sources familiar with the process. The shortlist for head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) signals a Read More…
Trump Nemesis Mary Nichols on Short List to Run Biden EPA
[Source: Bloomberg New] If Joe Biden wins the presidency, his EPA chief could be a clean air champion from California who has fought President Donald Trump on automobile pollution or an environmental justice activist from Mississippi. Biden’s campaign has heard recommendations for both California air regulator Mary Nichols and Mississippi’s Heather McTeer Toney to lead Read More…