As predicted, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to approve the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, setting the stage for a U.S. Senate showdown next week and a potential presidential veto after that. The vote played out largely along party lines in the House, with 262 members voting in favor of the legislation and […]
Read MoreIn a bid to protect public health and reduce the smog pollution that’s been linked to respiratory problems, asthma attacks, and cardiovascular damage, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday unveiled new air quality standards for ozone—though some suggested they might not go far enough. Ground-level ozone forms when emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile […]
Read MoreUNITED NATIONS – The timing was inadvertently impeccable as two stinging reports on harsh interrogation techniques – by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the United States and former military regimes in Brazil – were released on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the U.N. Convention Against Torture. Not surprisingly, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric […]
Read MoreMore than a century ago, Alabama enshrined a basic protection in the state’s constitution shielding its poorest citizens from being forced to pay debts they couldn’t afford. But a public hospital in the mostly rural southeast corner of the state has found a way around the law. Before patients can receive treatment at Southeast Alabama […]
Read MoreClick:discrete components A ruling by the Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday removes an obstacle for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline—a decision, environmental groups say, that means President Obama can and must exercise his authority to fully reject the pipeline. Nebraska landowners had challenged the constitutionality of a state law, LB 1161 (pdf), which allowed […]
Read MoreThough a final deal won’t be sealed until later this year, the framework agreement announced in Lausanne, Switzerland on Thursday between Iran and the P5+1 nations is having reverberations across the world—offering hope of rapprochement, peace, and better days ahead for those who support it and heckles and frowns from those who appear to think […]
Read MoreMass die-offs of birds, fish, and marine invertebrates have grown increasingly frequent and severe, hiking at a rate of approximately one major mortality event per year over the past seven decades, according to a new study published by Yale, UC Berkeley, and University of San Diego researchers. “While this might not seem like much, one […]
Read MoreAhead of the 2016 elections, the verdict is in: Most people in the United States—including a large number of Republicans—think global warming poses a serious threat to the world and want the government to take action to stave off climate crisis. A new nation-wide poll conducted by Stanford University, The New York Times, and environmental […]
Read MoreState and national labor leaders rallied in the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday, ahead of a day-long committee hearing on a so-called ‘right-to-work’ bill, which undermines collective bargaining by allowing workers to opt-out of paying the costs of union representation. Wisconsin Republicans, who have expanded their majority in the state legislature since the last labor […]
Read MoreWithin this century, global warming will bring about disruptive, decades-long droughts in the U.S. southwest and Great Plains, exceeding even the driest periods of the last millennium, according to new research released this month. The study, “Unprecedented 21st-Century Drought Risk in the American Southwest and Central Plains,” was published in the inaugural edition of the […]
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