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.

Accountability: Water Quality Trading in the Chesapeake Bay, CPR Briefing Paper 1205, May 2012
Type: Reports (May 22, 2012)
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Author(s): Rena Steinzor, Nicholas Vidargas, Yee Huang, Shana Campbell Jones
Letter to USTR on environmental provisions in trade promotion authority legislation

Letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk on environmental provisions in trade promotion authority legislation related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Type: Letters to Agencies (May 4, 2012)
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Author(s): David Hunter, Carmen Gonzalez
Bay Cleanup Needs Consequences

Bay Cleanup Needs Consequences, op-ed by Rena Steinzor

Type: Op-Eds (April 18, 2012)
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Author(s): Rena Steinzor
Facing Catastrophe: Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina World

As Hurricane Katrina vividly revealed, disaster policy in the United States is broken and needs reform. What can we learn from past disasters—storms, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and wildfires—about preparing for and responding to future catastrophes? In his 2012 book, Facing Catastrophe: Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina World, CPR Member Scholar Robert R.M. Verchick argues for a new perspective on disaster law that is based on the principles of environmental protection. His prescription boils down to three simple commands: Go Green, Be Fair, and Keep Safe.

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Author(s): Robert Verchick
Letter to EPA on North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Letter from seven CPR Members Scholars to EPA on U.S. policy toward the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the regional organization created by the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, and in particular on the Commission’s citizen submissions procedure

Type: Letters to Agencies (March 29, 2012)
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Author(s): Rebecca Bratspies, Carmen Gonzalez, David Hunter, A. Dan Tarlock
A Focus on Accountability: What the O'Malley Administration and the [Maryland] State Legislature Can Do to Save the Chesapeake Bay
Editorial Memo: A Focus on Accountability: What the O'Malley Administration and the [Maryland] State Legislature Can Do to Save the Chesapeake Bay, by Rena Steinzor
Type: Editorial Memos (Feb. 17, 2012)
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Protecting the Public from BPA: An Action Plan for Federal Agencies

Protecting the Public from BPA: An Action Plan for Federal Agencies. CPR White Paper 1202, January 2012, by Member Scholars Noah Sachs, Thomas O. McGarity and Rena Steinzor, CPR Policy Analyst Aimee Simpson and Senior Policy Analyst Matthew Shudtz.

Type: Reports (Jan. 25, 2012)
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Author(s): Thomas McGarity, Rena Steinzor, Aimee Simpson, Matt Shudtz

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