Environment & Energy

Our planet faces unprecedented environmental challenges, threatening ecosystems, species, coastal communities, and all too often, human life itself. Heading the list of threats is climate change, with its promise of drastic environmental, economic, and cultural upheaval. But we also face persistent problems of air and water pollution, toxic wastes, cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and other Great Waters, and protecting natural resources and wildlife.

Central to the environmental health of the nation and the planet is decreasing our dependence on energy derived from burning fossil fuels. Our continued reliance on these sources is literally endangering the planet's ability to sustain life as we know it. Yet many policymakers, with the financial and rhetorical support of energy companies bent on making a profit at the cost of the planet's health, continue to resist desperately needed reforms. Read about CPR’s work protecting the environment in reports, testimony, op-eds and more. Use the search box to narrow the list.

Politics and progress: Will the White House stall its own climate change plans?

Politics and progress: Will the White House stall its own climate change plans?, op-ed by Rob Verchick and Thomas McGarity

Type: Op-Eds (July 25, 2013)
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Author(s): Robert Verchick
Reforming TSCA Progressive Principles for Toxic Risk Regulation

Despite 40 years of regulatory effort, chemical regulation in the United States has been a dismal failure, and our current law – the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) – deserves much of the blame for this regulatory dysfunction. When Congress enacted TSCA, the final legislation reflected a deal under which chemicals then on the market were “grandfathered” in, while new chemicals would be subject to a quick review by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But experience shows that a vast majority of those reviews are based on inadequate data.

Type: Reports (July 8, 2013)
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Author(s): Matt Shudtz
Toxic chemicals bill trumps state rights

Writing in The Hill, Rena Steinzor discusses the problems with the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, sponsored by the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg and his colleague Sen. David Vitter.

Type: Op-Eds (June 26, 2013)
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Author(s): Rena Steinzor
Adapting to Climate Change in the United States: Seven Principles for Achieving Fairness

The impacts of climate change do not fall equally. As the waves rolled over New Jersey, New York, and much of the Atlantic seaboard during Hurricane Sandy last fall, climate scientists’ austere graphs predicting severe climate impacts suddenly popped to life. With that in mind, Alice Kaswan writes, policy-makers at all levels of government, whether considering the use of existing authorities or developing new ones, should attend to seven key principles and themes.

Type: Reports (May 4, 2013)
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Author(s): Alice Kaswan
West Explosion Highlights Need for Regulatory Oversight

West Explosion Highlights Need for Regulatory Oversight, op-ed by Thomas McGarity

Type: Op-Eds (May 3, 2013)
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Author(s): Thomas McGarity
Federal Regulations Protect Our Communities

Federal Regulations Protect Our Communities, op-ed by Victor Flatt

Type: Op-Eds (April 30, 2013)
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Author(s): Victor Flatt
Letting Nature Work in the Pacific Northwest: A Manual for Protecting Ecosystem Services Under Existing Law
Type: Reports (April 17, 2013)
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Author(s): Robert Adler, Robert Glicksman, Dan Rohlf, Robert Verchick, Yee Huang
Rena Steinzor's testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the Energy Consumers Relief Act.

Rena Steinzor's April 12, 2013, testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the Energy Consumers Relief Act.

Type: Legislative Testimony (April 12, 2013)
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Author(s): Rena Steinzor

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