Climate and Environment

Larry Summers’ latest departure raises questions new and old. And we wish Politico had buried this lede, preferably at least six feet deep.

In 2022, Biden’s EPA opened an investigation into Louisiana’s Departments of Health (LDH) and Environmental Quality (LDQ) for failing to sufficiently protect residents of “Cancer Alley”—a strip of predominantly poor, Black communities suffering the dire effects of pollutants spewed from nearby petrochemical plants. To their credit, LDH and LDQ cooperated with the investigation and worked to craft more stringent standards and oversight protocols. Former Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, however, had other ideas. His office filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s (clear) authority to pursue its investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which allows the government to terminate federal funding for an agency found to have engaged in discrimination. Liz Murrill, Landry’s successor, is picking up the torch to carry on his malevolent agenda. 

Soon after Biden renominated Powell, the ostensibly dovish Fed chair embarked on the most intense and sustained series of rate hikes in decades. We were told that this wouldn’t happen!

Inflation is falling, but Jerome Powell has nothing to do with it. Our democracy and climate face mounting instability—and he has everything to do with that.

In a recent delegation of power over climate regulation, Biden’s executive branch is denying its power to make an impact on issues affecting constituents’ everyday lives.

As Bloomberg reported on Tuesday morning, the Revolving Door Project and 146 other organizations sent a letter today urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to intervene in response to the recent approval of a widely opposed pipeline expansion project in the Pacific Northwest.

Learning about the federal government’s budget process can be daunting. Here are a few key terms to help better understand of the federal budget process as of late.

RDP Senior Researcher Vishal Shankar joins the Ralph Nader Radio Hour to discuss Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s ongoing sabotage of the Postal Service.

This week’s newsletter looks at executive branch attempts to counteract concentrated corporate power across our focus areas – from consumer protection in Big Tech, to housing, to climate regulation. While the FTC and DOJ antitrust division continue to be present in important fights to support consumers and tenants, proactive climate policy continues to be absent, as Biden’s rhetoric regarding challenging climate change rings hollow in areas where the president has considerable discretion.

In efforts to reduce average emissions across the incredibly pollutive transportation sector, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new tailpipe emissions standard. The new rule functionally mandates automakers to electrify portions of their fleets in order to comply with a reduced average emissions standard for vehicles starting with 2027 new vehicle classes. The proposal, while one of the most significant of the administration’s forays into regulating pollution reductions, has also faced steep criticism from some environmentalists for not going nearly far enough in achieving the 75 percent pollution cut necessary to actually address the climate crisis. On July 11, 2023, however, the American Petroleum Institute (API) led a sign-on letter campaign asking the EPA to roll over to industry on the rule. For far too long corporate feedback has been hugely – and disproportionately – influential for regulators. It shouldn’t be.