Washington, DC— The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will vote next week on the confirmation of Tracy Stone-Manning as Director of the Bureau of Land Management. Last month, more than 100 local and national conservation organizations sent a letter to the Senate urging support for her confirmation. Read the letter here, and watch the live stream of the vote here.
Leading national environmental organizations, EDF Action, the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, NRDC Action and Clean Water Action, launched a digital ad campaign to thank Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Mark Kelly, Maggie Hassan, Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff, Jeff Merkley and Amy Klobuchar for their support of the For the People Act. The ads also highlight why environmental groups have joined the democracy fight -- “A Healthy Democracy = A Healthy Environment.”
AUSTIN, TX -- Earlier this week, Governor Abbott released a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), demanding changes that Abbott falsely claims will ”increase power generation capacity and to ensure the reliability of the Texas power grid.” Unfortunately, Abbott’s letter promotes polluting, unreliable fossil fuels, attacks safer clean energy options, and ignores solutions that would actually benefit everyday Texans.
Montana— The Global Indigenous Council today released “FAMILY,” a short film highlighting the deep cultural connection Indigenous Nations share with wolves and the major threats currently facing imperiled wolves in the lower 48 states. WATCH “FAMILY” on the Global Indigenous Council YouTube page here.
Albany, N.Y. -- Today, the New York State Outdoor Rx Task Force released a highly anticipated report on promoting veterans’ mental and physical health through outdoors therapy. The report recommends expanding nature-based therapy and programming for veterans and adjusting or eliminating entrance fees to state parks and public lands to allow for greater access to the outdoors, especially for veterans from diverse, historically marginalized, and underrepresented communities.
New York City; Newburgh, NY - New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said on Wednesday that two proposed fracked gas power plants — Astoria NRG in Queens and Danskammer in Newburgh, Orange County — appear to be “inconsistent with or would interfere with the attainment of the Statewide GHG emission limits” established in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
Sierra Club and multiple partners in South Carolina have reached a settlement agreement that cuts Dominion Energy’s request to raise customers’ rates by 87 percent and gains a commitment from Dominion not to seek additional rate increases until January 2024 at the earliest.
Today, DTE Energy filed its electric and gas energy efficiency (referred to in Michigan as “energy waste reduction”) plans with the Michigan Public Service Commission to reduce energy waste in its service territory. Through the process mandated by state law, Michigan utilities must file plans to allocate resources that improve energy efficiency and reduce wasted electricity in their service territory. DTE is required to deliver customers at least 2% energy savings annually, following the outcome of their most recent Integrated Resource Plan. As Michigan’s largest utility, DTE serves millions of customers and how it funds and prioritizes energy efficiency spending could have huge impacts on the communities affected.
St. Louis, MO -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) needs to withdraw and rewrite the draft water pollution permit for Ameren’s Labadie coal plant so it complies with the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should intervene if DNR refuses to enforce federal laws like the CWA. This is the message that concerned citizens will send to the DNR during a virtual public hearing for the draft permit tonight.
La Cámara de Representantes aprobó hoy la Ley INVEST, una iniciativa sobre transporte de superficie e infraestructura hidráulica de cinco años y $715.000 millones, además de $44.000 millones que se han agregado durante el proceso de aprobación.