Posts Tagged ‘Regulations’
Pennsylvania Supreme Court To Decide On Fracking Zoning Rule
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments against a new law that regulates the state’s booming natural gas industry. Representatives of seven municipalities say the law, known as Act 13, takes away their ability to control gas drilling operations through local zoning, leaving them defenseless to protect homeowners, parks. . .
FTC Seeks To Limit Deceptive Green Marketing Claims
Hoping to limit the number of deceptive claims, the Federal Trade Commission on Monday released an updated version of its green marketing guidelines that hold companies to truthful standards in marketing their products. The revision to the Green Guides is the first since 1998, when phrases like “carbon offset” and. . .
Federal Court Strikes Down EPA Clean Air Rule
A federal court on Tuesday vacated an Environmental Protection Agency’s rule that set strict limits on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, pollutants that cause acid rain and smog, in 28 mostly Eastern states and Texas. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sent the rule back to. . .
FDA Finally Bans BPA In Baby Bottles
The federal Food and Drug Administration finally issued their rules to ban bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby bottles and Sippy cups. The FDA’s timely move comes well after BPA had already been removed from baby bottles and Sippy cups, by the manufacturers of those products. Public outcry over having BPA in. . .
U.S. Bucks Global Trend On Shutting Down Nuke Power
The U.S. seems to be bucking the trend of phasing out nuclear power plants. Unlike Europe, which seemed to have discovered a newfound desire to decommission all of their nuclear power plants. Europe found this new determination after seeing what happened in Japan after the Fuskushima disaster. Japan is still. . .
Republicans In a Stunning Reversal Agree To End Oil Subsidies
In a stunning reversal the Senate Republicans agreed to end big oil subsidies this past Saturday. Republicans joined with their fellow Democrats to support President Obama’s call to end tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, reversing a procedural vote on Thursday that had killed the Mendendez Bill (S.. . .
Washington State Hits Electric Cars With Annual Fee
You got to love the way states try to nickel and dime us to death. Washington State is enacting a new fee for electric car owners. If you own a 100 percent all electric vehicle that uses the roads in the State of Washington, you will now have to ante up. . .
EU Targets Drug Water Contamination
For the first time the European Union (EU) is proposing to test pharmaceutical products in EU waters. The Commission is proposing to add 15 chemicals to the list of 33 pollutants that are currently monitored and controlled in EU surface waters. The popular pain-relieving drug Diclofenac is one of three. . .
Atlantic Sturgeon Declared Endangered
The Atlantic sturgeon is a species of fish that has been with us since the last ice age. It’s what most scientists would call prehistoric looking. The sturgeon can live for sixty years, grow to 14 feet, and weigh 800 pounds. Despite its historical longevity, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric. . .
Forest Service Tries to Weaken Protections
The U.S. Forest Service today released a new proposal for the nation’s 193-million-acre national forest system that will weaken rules protecting fish and wildlife from logging, livestock grazing, mining and off-road vehicles. The new proposal, which was released as part of the final environmental impact statement for the rule, is. . .
U.S. Bans Mining From Grand Canyon For 20 Years
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the U.S. would enact a twenty-year ban on uranium mining claims near the Grand Canyon. The ban affects one million acres by the Grand Canyon. The current administration had been issuing temporary bans since entering office, but today marks a significant departure from past. . .
Endangered Species Act Reinstates Grizzlies
In a good news legal decision for the grizzlies of Yellowstone National Park, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for the bears. The issue of keeping the bears on the Endangered Species Act has been battled in the courts since 2007,. . .
Great Lakes Wolves Lose Federal Protection
Roughly 4,000 wolves in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota will lose their status as an endangered species on January 27, 2012, under the newly issued U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rule. The announcement comes nearly eight months after a separate population of some 1,200 wolves in Montana and Idaho were removed. . .
Canada Quits Kyoto Protocol
Despite having all previous signatory country’s agreeing to extend the Kyoto protocol on climate change at the Durban climate talks, Canada’s Environmental Minister Peter Kent on his return from the talks, announced that Canada is withdrawing from the Kyoto protocol. Canada will be the first country to do so. Canada,. . .
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