by Jasper Scherer and Allyson Chiu | Mar 8, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON– The Forest Service is spending too much on managing and fighting wildfires – more than half its annual budget — and not enough on preventing the fires, members of both parties on the Senate Energy Committee said Tuesday. The Forest Service...
by Nicolas Rivero | Mar 7, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON — It’s up to local communities to find ways to reduce U.S. transportation emissions because the federal government is unlikely to lead the way, some environmental leaders and government officials said Monday. Last December, Congress passed the FAST...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 7, 2016 | Energy, Environment
Construction of new nuclear reactors came to a halt for years amid questions about cost and safety. (Source: Energy Information Administration) WASHINGTON – Thirty-seven years after a partial nuclear meltdown at the Three Mile Island power plant stunted the growth of...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 2, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON – Regulations to restrict oil and gas drilling leases on federal land will lead to energy production shortfalls and lost federal revenue, House Republicans said Wednesday. But Democrats pushed back, saying current regulations do not go far enough in...
by Allyson Chiu | Mar 1, 2016 | Environment
Former Vice President Al Gore speaks at annual energy summit in Maryland. (Allyson Chiu/Medill News Service) NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Former Vice President Al Gore called on businesses to get greener and combat climate change at an energy summit Tuesday. However,...
by Noah Fromson | Mar 1, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON – A new type of buffer can help reduce the pollution of lakes and streams caused by fertilizers and other farm products, an agriculture expert said Tuesday. Kent Rodelius, vice president of the Agricultural Drainage Water Management Coalition, testified...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 1, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON–House Republicans criticized the Department of Energy’s funding of clean energy research in its 2017 budget proposal, calling instead for more investment in coal, natural gas and nuclear energy. The Energy Department’s overall request for $32.5...
by Allyson Chiu | Feb 29, 2016 | Business, Environment
WASHINGTON– With rising concerns about climate conditions, private companies are joining with the government to fund the innovative technology needed to upgrade renewable power sources and cut back on energy use, experts said Monday. The Advanced Research...
by Allyson Chiu | Feb 24, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON — Five years ago a nuclear accident in Japan devastated the country and served as a learning experience for the nuclear industry in other lands. The United States has taken major steps to increase safety at all of its nuclear power plants, experts...
by Jasper Scherer | Feb 23, 2016 | Environment, Politics
WASHINGTON — Oil-producing Gulf Coast states would lose hundreds of millions of dollars if Congress approves the Interior Department’s budget request, which proposes a repeal of offshore oil and gas revenue-sharing allotted to four states —...
by Isabella Gutierrez | Feb 22, 2016 | Environment, Politics
WASHINGTON— The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death leaves uncertainties surrounding government Clean Power Plan in doubt, a former governor said on Monday. Earlier this month in a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court ordered the Obama administration...
by Allyson Chiu | Feb 22, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON—Low-income communities, which often have the worst pollution problems, are expected to benefit from a federally mandated transition to cleaner energy sources, but only if states choose to make such areas a priority, environmental advocates said Monday....