Environmental Politics

"German automaker Volkswagen is apologizing for its violations of federal air pollution emission standards with a full-page ad in 30 U.S. newspapers, The Verge reports."

"North Carolina’s recent tactic of blocking citizens from challenging state permits for industrial polluters could result in a federal takeover of the state’s regulatory program."

"The UK is alone among G7 nations in dramatically increasing its fossil fuel subsidies, despite an earlier pledge to phase them out, a new report has found."

"Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton outlined a $30 billion plan Thursday to help parts of the country recover from the decline of the coal industry."

"Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo rejected a proposal on Thursday to build the first port for liquefied natural gas in New York State, saying it would pose a threat to the environment and make an inviting target for terrorists."

"The EU has warned the Obama administration that a global climate deal at the Paris summit must be legally binding, after the US secretary of state John Kerry said that it 'definitively' would not be a treaty."

Reporters trying to get information from federal agencies find press offices stonewalling and running out the clock on their interview requests. "The public information model," one agency flak said, "is dead." The result: the public is uninformed, the government is unaccountable, and people's health is endangered.

"Large chemical companies and their major trade association and lobbying arm, the American Chemistry Council, say they can maintain high safety standards through self-regulation and voluntary actions. Our report finds this isn't the case. Voluntary standards don’t work, and existing regulations are not effectively enforced."

"House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop has received praise and criticism from his Republican colleagues over his proposal to overhaul the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a sign of potential headwinds as the Utahan seeks to advance his bill."