Eco-Justice

WASHINGTON (July 6, 2011) – The House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and the Environment today unveiled a proposed fiscal 2012 spending bill that would threaten basic environmental protections across the board, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

LOS ANGELES (July 6, 2011) – An agreement reached by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday strengthens health and safety protections for thousands of residents living near the Baldwin Hills area of south Los Angeles who are currently affected by drilling operations by the Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP). The settlement resolves four lawsuits filed in November 2008 by Community Health Councils, Inc. (CHC) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the City of Culver City, Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles (CCSCLA), and the Citizen’s Coalition for a Safe Community.

LOS ANGELES (July 6, 2011) – An agreement reached by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday strengthens health and safety protections for thousands of residents living near the Baldwin Hills area of south Los Angeles who are currently affected by drilling operations by the Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP). The settlement resolves four lawsuits filed in November 2008 by Community Health Councils, Inc. (CHC) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the City of Culver City, Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles (CCSCLA), and the Citizen’s Coalition for a Safe Community.

WASHINGTON (June 30, 2011) – A federal judge today upheld a May 2008 decision that polar bears throughout their range should be protected as a “threatened” species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The listing was the result of a 2005 petition and litigation filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace. The polar bear was the first species added to the Endangered Species List due solely to the threat from global warming.

WASHINGTON (June 30, 2011) – A federal judge today upheld a May 2008 decision that polar bears throughout their range should be protected as a “threatened” species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The listing was the result of a 2005 petition and litigation filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace. The polar bear was the first species added to the Endangered Species List due solely to the threat from global warming.

WASHINGTON (June 29, 2011) -- Pollution from stormwater runoff and sewage overflows continue to plague America’s beaches, which saw the second-highest number of closing and advisory days in more than two decades last year, according to the 21st annual beachwater quality report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Are beachgoers swimming in sewage or other dangerous pollution? Just in time for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, find out how America’s beaches fared in the Natural Resources Defense Council’s 21st annual beach water report, “Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches.” This year’s national results will be released in a telephone briefing Wednesday, June 29.  

WASHINGTON – (June 22, 2011) The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a fundamental attack on Clean Water Act protection today, opening a new front in the war against the environment, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

LOS ANGELES (June 21, 2011) –California’s two major rail yard operators are illegally disposing hazardous waste thereby increasing the risk of serious health problems such as chronic respiratory disease and cancer in neighboring communities, according to a 90-day notice letter sent today by the Natural Resources Defense Council, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice. The letter contends that the rail yard operators are in violation of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act due to the high levels of particulate matter released by their diesel-based operations.

WASHINGTON (June 20, 2011) -- A Supreme Court decision today confirmed the Environmental Protection Agency’s vital role in protecting against dangerous carbon pollution. David Doniger, policy director of the Climate Center at the Natural Resources Defense Council, made the following statement: "Today's ruling reaffirms the Environmental Protection Agency’s duty under the nation’s 40-year-old Clean Air Act to safeguard public health and welfare from dangerous carbon pollution. Now the EPA must act without delay....