"Supreme Court Rules Human Genes May Not Be Patented"
"The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that human genes cannot be patented, a decision that is likely to shape the future of medical and biotech research."
Source: Wash Post, 06/14/2013
Laws & Regulations
"Regulatory Nominee Vows to Speed Up Energy Reviews"
"The White House has blocked several Department of Energy regulations that would require appliances, lighting and buildings to use less energy and create less global-warming pollution, as part of a broader slowdown of new antipollution rules issued by the Obama administration."
Source: NY Times, 06/13/2013
"Democrats Call on Obama's Budget Office to Cough Up Rules"
"The Senate confirmed Sylvia Matthews Burwell as the new director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the end of April. Now Democrats in the House and Senate are calling on her to fix whatever's been delaying all the environmental, health, and safety rules at OMB for months (and in some cases, years)."
Source: Mother Jones, 06/06/2013
Judge Rejects Industry Suit To Omit Styrenes from Carcinogens Report
Styrene (used to make plastic packaging) was listed in June 2011 as "reasonably anticipated" to be cancer-causing in the biennial federal Report on Carcinogens. Industry not only challenged, but also mounted a political campaign, persuading a powerful House Appropriations subcommittee chairman to withhold spending for the report until NTP reconsidered the styrene listing.
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Groups Oppose North Carolina "Ag-Gag" Bill
NC's Senate is considering an industry-sponsored bill that would extend restrictions on undercover investigations beyond livestock operations to include other categories of industry. The state's Chamber of Commerce supports it, saying industries beyond agriculture want protection from the reporting of workplace abuses.
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"Appeals Court Hands EPA Big Victory on Smelter Curbs"
"Federal judges [Tuesday] rejected challenges from both industry and environmental groups to U.S. EPA's air standards for lead smelters."
Source: Greenwire, 05/29/2013
"Texas Prohibits Nearly 70% of Its Counties From Having a Fire Code"
"Victoria County, a little slice of the Texas chemical coast, has nearly 39 million pounds of concoctions that can poison and nearly 11 million pounds that can catch fire."
Source: Dallas Morning News, 05/27/2013
"Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Give EPA Power To Ban Dangerous Chemicals"
"In a rare display of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, a group of key senators unveiled legislation Wednesday that would require chemical companies to provide more health and safety information about their products and give regulators more power to force harmful compounds off the market."
Source: Chicago Tribune, 05/23/2013
State 'Ag-Gag' Laws Spreading, Protect Misdeeds from Scrutiny
While a Tennessee governor vetoed "ag-gag" legislation in that state, bills criminalizing the collection of information about abuses in livestock operations are still being pushed in other states — and the mechanism may be extended to stifle reporting on other environmental abuses.
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Secret White House Review Paralyzes Chemical Safety
An EPA initiative to protect American consumers from toxic chemicals, especially endocrine disruptors, has run into a brick wall put up by the Obama White House three years ago due to secret urging of the chemical industry — even though the law requires information and arguments on which federal regulations are based to be open and on the record.
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