Our democracy has been under assault for years by powerful special interests who want to buy their way into our government. They have helped elect politicians who put their needs first and then do everything they can to make sure they can’t be held accountable by voters – introducing strict voter ID requirements, gerrymandering districts so it’s nearly impossible for them to lose, and more.
The oil and gas industry, aided by the erosion of campaign finance laws and nearly boundless lobbying budgets, asserts enormous influence over legislative processes in real time while also enjoying legacy influence in regulatory frame- works. The results can be devastating to the health of the environment and the public.
David Bernhardt is the most conflicted Interior Secretary ever, as well as the most conflicted member of this administration.
American families deserve an Interior Secretary who will take the mission of the office seriously and prioritize protections for our lands, air, water, and wildlife.
The Texas Railroad Commission, in response to a law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2013, is proposing long-overdue regulations for so-called 'gathering pipelines.
This summer the Trump administration unveiled a proposal to make it easier – a lot easier – to rubberstamp large-scale logging and clear-cuts in our National Forests without any public input.
These changes make it harder for impacted residents to give input on big projects. It would codify climate-denial by allowing the government to ignore the impacts of climate change on wildfires and our communities and put our forests at risk.
On July 9th, Governor Lamont formed a taskforce to make recommendations on how to manage PFAS contamination. This is good news but we want to make sure comprehensive steps are taken to 1) restrict firefighting foam, 2) restrict other sources of contamination like food packaging, 3) implement strict water testing guidelines and 4) set a health protective drinking water standard.
Tell Governor Baker that you don’t want new fracked gas infrastructure in Massachusetts.
Toxic chemicals such as PFAS are found in many common products such as clothing, carpets, fabrics for furniture, adhesives, paper packaging for food, firefighting foam, and heat-resistant/non-stick cookware.
As the Texas Hill Country adds population, more and more subdivisions want to send their sewage to treatment plants which discharge the treated effluent directly into creeks and rivers. Discharge of treated effluent into waterways is banned inside the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, where water percolates through cracks and fissures in the limestone creek beds directly into the sensitive Aquifer below. But the practice is still allowed just upstream in the Contributing Zone, even though waterways there flow directly into the Recharge Zone, taking whatever pollutants they contain with them.