An ongoing debate considers whether or not the U.S. government can impose new restrictions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the country’s highways. Last fall, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released a new rule that would require state and local transportation officials to set declining goals for greenhouse gas emissions stemming from road projects that are funded with federal money. The rule was a response to climate activists who have voiced concern that more federally funded transportation projects, without restrictions, could promote further dependence on cars for future generations. Climate advocates argued that the new rule could instead encourage state…

The Biden administration recently announced a temporary pause on new natural gas exports as part of its climate agenda. The announcement, which came in January 2024, was met with a mixed response. Those in favor, largely Democrats, applauded the administration for its work to protect the environment as well as for the potential to lower fuel costs for American consumers. Conservatives, however, argued that the move could make it harder for other countries to replace dirtier fuel supplies with cleaner natural gas from the U.S. and that it could be a threat to American jobs. “President Biden’s politically motivated ban…

The House of Representatives passed legislation in September to try and stop states from banning or limiting the sale of gas-powered cars. The Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act (H.R. 1435) passed by a 222-190 vote, with Republicans largely in favor, and is a reaction to California’s 2022 mandate that all new cars sold in the state after 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles, though the bill did not mention California or its mandate specifically. The state’s air resources board acknowledged that the move is “aggressive” and described its timeline to eliminate new gas-powered car sales by 2035 as “ambitious but…

Following the historic fires in Maui, Hawaii, climate activists and lawmakers ramped up a plea to President Biden to declare a national climate emergency. Such a declaration would allow the president to take more actions aimed at reducing the toll and destruction of climate-driven disasters. “Tomorrow, you could wake up and your whole community could be ashes,” Kaniela Ing, a Maui resident and the national director of the Green New Deal Network, a climate justice organization, told Politico amid the Maui fire disaster. “That’s the urgency we’re operating under, so if there was ever a moment to declare a climate…

As part of a crackdown on the nation’s largest source of emissions that contribute to climate change, the White House in April proposed rules to make cars and light trucks more efficient and push more consumers to drive electric vehicles. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the standards would cut 7.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide through 2055, the equivalent of eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions from the entire current U.S. transportation sector for four years. The rules set tailpipe emission limits for passenger vehicles between model years 2027 and 2032 and, due to their stringency, will effectively…

U.S. consumer advocates could be moving to limit the use of gas stoves in Americans’ homes in order to protect children’s health. This winter, members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) began floating ways to stop indoor use of gas stoves, citing research linking them with an increased risk of childhood asthma. For example, the CPSC pointed to a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that said gas stoves are responsible for 12.7% of childhood asthma cases in the U.S. “When gas stoves are turned on and burning at a hot temperature,…

As lawmakers consider legislation to fight climate change and lower energy prices, one idea that has emerged is imposing a carbon border tax. Advocates say that levying a fee on imports with a large carbon footprint would set an example for the rest of the world while also supporting American manufacturers. Opponents, however, argue that such a tax would be difficult to enact without setting a similar domestic border tax and that it could damage the country’s international work fighting climate change. The idea was first floated by Democrats in 2021 with support from the Biden administration. Those talks went…

In spring 2021, President Joe Biden struck a deal with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to remove U.S. sanctions on a Russian company building a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. While analysts suggested the move was made to protect U.S. relations with Germany, the decision was opposed by both Republicans and Democrats as well as several European countries. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, constructed by the Russian state-controlled gas company Gazprom, is projected to double natural gas exports into Europe once German regulators certify the recently completed project. The pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea and bypasses Poland and…

In one of his first acts in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order revoking the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have routed approximately 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Canada to Nebraska on its way to Gulf Coast refineries. Biden’s move — the latest development for a project that has become a flashpoint for the climate change debate — was applauded by environmentalists and American Indian groups but sparked objections from the oil industry. The controversial project has spanned multiple presidential administrations. Former President George W. Bush approved the original Keystone pipeline,…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is weighing whether or not to ban a pesticide used at tens of thousands of farms across the U.S. that has been linked to brain damage in children. The pesticide in question — chlorpyrifos — has been used in the U.S. since 1965 to protect crops such as berries, nuts, citrus and vegetables. Anyone can be exposed to the pesticide through the food they eat, but farmworkers and those living near farms that use chlorpyrifos are at a higher risk of exposure. The use of chlorpyrifos in homes was largely banned in 2000 and…