Environmental Politics

"WASHINGTON — In a politically charged hearing Thursday, Republicans in the House of Representatives accused Energy Secretary Steven Chu of breaking the law in how he handled the restructuring of a loan for the California solar-energy company Solyndra. Chu said he did nothing illegal but instead made a tough decision that gave him the best shot at getting taxpayer money back that had been loaned to the company. Chu said his department's top lawyer said his plan was legal."

"The climate change think tank formerly known as the Pew Center of Global Climate Change is no more, after the Pew Charitable Trusts pulled $3.5 million in yearly funding to the organization. That single donation, as the name of the think tank implied, formed the overwhelming majority of the group's funding, 80% (Economic Times)."

President Obama is beating a retreat from some of his strong environmental promises as the campaign season begins.

Energy Secretary Chu faces a grilling on the Solyndra loan today from a hostile House committee.

"U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has said it may take similar skills to navigate Washington politics as it does to make advances in physics research, a field in which he won a Nobel Prize in 1997.

"A new lobbying group has formed in Albany, N.Y., to argue on behalf of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas at the state level, in what may signal the start of open support from labor unions for the controversial drilling practice."

"A 5-month investigation by Environmental Health News reveals that the chemical industry spent at least $23.2 million over the past five years to lobby California officials and donate to campaigns in an effort to defeat bills that would have regulated flame retardants. The four top recipients, three Democrats and one Republican, never voted in favor of any of the five bills. During the years of lobbying, the flame retardants have been building up in people’s bodies, including breast milk, around the world."

"Republicans have been attacking environmental regulations, arguing that they hurt the economy and that the costs outweigh the benefits. But four decades of data show they are wrong."

"A Coast Guard admiral who led the government's response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster is taking over as the nation's chief overseer of offshore drilling safety, the Obama administration said Monday. Rear Adm. James Watson begins his post as director of the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on Dec. 1."

"A coalition of clear air advocates and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have filed a legal settlement that establishes firm, enforceable deadlines for action on plans to clean up regional haze pollution in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands."

As Republican politicians pound the narrative theme that government regulations are killing jobs, employment data show that the GOP story simply isn't true. Economists who are used to this argument don't expect the facts to change many people's minds.