Trump Administration

Climate Report Written by Federal Government Warns of Dire Impact on Economy
The second volume of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released on Black Friday to presumably draw less attention from the American public, was well-covered by the media. Unlike Volume 1, there was greater focus on economic impacts.
Opinion: The Farm Bureau Needs to Change its Climate Politics
This opinion piece makes the case that the American Farm Bureau's political influence has set back the agricultural industry by ignoring climate change and opposing environmental regulation.

Sound Transit's Lynwood Link Gets the Federal Funding it Was Waiting For
A great sigh of relief from transit planners in the Pacific Northwest (and probably the rest of the country as well).

Federal Judge in Montana Halts Construction of Keystone XL Pipeline
The Trump administration's denial of climate change may serve a political purpose, but in the courtroom, it can prove a liability. A federal judge in Montana took into account the administration's "discarding" of climate science in its ruling.

Opinion: Environmentalism Is Good for Business
A thriving natural environment creates opportunity for private developers and local economies, an economist argues.
Democrats in the House Improves Gateway Project's Prospects
The local and regional political leaders with a stake in the Gateway project connecting New York and New Jersey see a little light at end of the tunnel now that Democrats hold a majority in the House of Representatives.

Trump Administration's Error-Riddled Fuel-Economy Rules
The official case for repealing car fuel-economy rules is so full of errors it will be hard to defend in court.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Continue to Decrease in the U.S.
President Trump and his cabinet have been busy rolling back environmental regulations and promoting coal burning, and now they claim credit for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions last year even greater than in 2016.

Electric Vehicles See Progress at Local Level but Setbacks in Washington
The new IPCC report calls for decarbonization of transportation. While many cities are attempting to do their part, two recent federal developments in trade policy and tax legislation threaten to will make progress more difficult.

Trump Announcement Unites Big Oil and Environmentalists
President Trump announced at a campaign rally in Iowa that he would lift the ban on summertime sales of a 15 percent blend of ethanol, expected to increase smog levels. Both environmentalists and the oil industry oppose the action.

Washington Says Seven-Degree Increase Is Coming, Doesn’t Outline Solutions
A federal evaluation of fuel-efficiency standards says that while drastic climate change is imminent, there is little reason to do anything about it.

Federal Grants to Leverage Public-Private Partnerships for Faster Project Delivery
The Pilot Program for Expedited Project Delivery reflects the Trump Administration's approach to public transit investments.

Latest Obama-Era Regulations Targeted by the Trump Administration: Methane Rules
One Obama-era climate regulation still on the books deals with methane leakage from oil and gas wells. The greenhouse gas is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Another methane regulation targeted deals with flaring on federal lands.
The Far-Reaching Consequences of Remaking the Mercury Emissions Rule
The EPA intends to review the rulemaking process behind the mercury rule, the subject of a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2015, to place more value on a rule's compliance cost to industry and less to its beneficial impact on human health.

Making Older Coal Power Plants More Efficient Without Making Them Cleaner
At the center of the EPA's newly proposed Affordable Clean Energy rule is doing away with a permitting process known as New Source Review that requires coal power plants to add scrubbers and other expensive pollution control equipment when upgraded.

The Feds Finally Come Through for Albuquerque Rapid Transit
The city of Albuquerque has finally received the $75 million it needed to complete an ambitious plan for electric bus rapid transit along Central Avenue.

'Affordable Clean Energy Rule' Proposed to Replace Clean Power Plan
On Tuesday, EPA released its new rule to regulate emissions from existing power plants, essentially leaving it to the states to determine appropriate emissions levels rather than setting actual standards each state has to meet like the current rule.

Federal Judge Liberates the Obama Era Clean Water Rule
The Trump administration cannot legally delay the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, according to a ruling by a federal judge this week.

Analyzing the Decision to Rewrite the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule
Observers have been pointing out the contradictions in Secretary Ben Carson's justifications for a new approach to the Fair Housing Act.

Federal Appeals Court Orders EPA to Ban Harmful Pesticide
The ruling puts another stain on former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's legacy as it rebukes his denial of a petition to ban a pesticide that causes neurodevelopmental damage in children. Pruitt had rejected his own scientists' recommendation.
Pagination
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