Topic: Natural Resources Defense Council

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Eight ways $100 oil may affect you

Here are eight ways that higher energy prices are starting to affect America.
Ideas for a better world in 2011

To start the new year off right, the Monitor asked various thinkers around the world for one idea each to make the world a better place in 2011. We talked to poets and political figures, physicists and financiers. The results range from how to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world to ways to revamp Hollywood.

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Twice as many mega rainstorms in Midwest in past 50 years

Wisconsin saw the biggest rise (203 percent) in extreme rainstorms – 3 inches of rain or more in a day, new study says. Climate change is behind more Midwest flooding, say scientists.
Obama fast-tracks part of Keystone XL pipeline (+video)

After rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline proposal in January, President Obama gives a green light to its southern leg – a bid to ease a key bottleneck to new oil supplies and defuse critics on gas prices.
California ready to cut greenhouse gases. Next, doing it.

After five years, California has put in place rules to cut greenhouse-gas emissions statewide back to 1990 levels. But lingering effects of the recession have pushed implementation back a year to 2013.
Inside the Keystone pipeline: How much would it really help US consumers?

Politicians paint a rosy picture of lower gas prices and abundant supply, but Canadian firms behind the Keystone pipeline expect it to supply Gulf Coast export markets and raise Midwest oil prices.
Fracking study sends alert about leakage of potent greenhouse gas

A new study finds that fracking is releasing methane, a greenhouse gas, from a Colorado field at a higher rate than estimates suggested. Researchers must determine if the field is an anomaly or part of a bigger problem.
Obama opens door to offshore wind power along mid-Atlantic coast

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced plans Thursday to open four new wind-leasing regions for wind farms along the mid-Atlantic coast. States look forward to a positive economic impact.
Supreme Court to hear case of dream home quashed by EPA

The Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a case that shows the EPA is out of control, property-rights advocates say. Environmentalists say the couple involved is merely trying to scapegoat the EPA.
Readers Write: EPA may not be killing jobs, but it's letting honeybees die

Letters to the Editor for the weekly issue of December 26, 2011: One reader says that the EPA may or may not be a jobs killer, but its failure to crack down on pesticide use is killing the vital honeybee population. Another affirms the upsides to unemployment and a circuitous career path.
Keystone XL pipeline: a jobs coup for Republicans in tax deal?

A congressional deal to preserve a payroll tax cut, approved by the Senate Saturday, contains a provision designed to force President Obama's hand on the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Fracking: Pollution finding could hurt gas drilling

Fracking – a modern method to extract oil and gas – may be contaminating drinking supplies in Wyoming. But EPA report on the impact of fracking is not conclusive.
Halliburton 'destroyed' evidence after Gulf oil spill, BP charges

BP alleges that Halliburton, a subcontractor working on the Deepwater Horizon rig, destroyed evidence pertaining to what might have caused the explosion that triggered the Gulf oil spill.
Global warming a threat to polar bears? Judge orders review of US rule.

A judge rules that the US has met its obligations for protecting polar bears, but ordered a review of a special rule that excludes greenhouse gases from the list of threats to the bears.
Daryl Hannah arrested for protesting proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline

Daryl Hannah: The star of "Splash" and the "Kill Bill" movies was arrested outside the White House in an oil pipeline protest. Daryl Hannah is a longtime environmentalist who has previously been arrested for green causes.
Fuel efficiency: Will new rules cure US addiction to foreign oil?

President Obama on Friday unveiled fuel-efficiency standards of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 – a significant step in dealing with emissions and oil consumption.
Detroit goes green? Carmakers must average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025

Automakers must improve their mileage every year, up to a fleet-wide average of 54.5 mpg in 14 years. Green groups praise the new regulations, while opponents call them job-killers.
Why Republicans are fighting to save the 30-cent light bulb

House Republicans are attempting to repeal energy-efficiency standards that would phase out the least efficient – and least expensive – incandescent light bulbs. They see the regulations as another example of government meddling.
Hitting the beach for the Fourth of July? How to check a beach's water safety.

Just in time for the Fourth of July, a report on the environmental quality of America's beaches. Does your beach get five stars?
If Senate repeals ethanol subsidies, what happens at the gas pump?

The Senate vote on repealing tax subsidies for ethanol producers has big political ramifications, but the impact on the industry could be minimal. A continuing federal mandate that requires refiners to blend ethanol into gasoline provides adequate support for producers, experts say.
Bid to repair Lake Michigan and Great Lakes, one marsh at a time

A $2 billion restoration effort may help rehabilitate Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes, but environmentalists say it may be too late to reverse four centuries' worth of damage.
Difference Maker
Saving monarch butterflies stirs the 'poetical soul' of Homero Aridjis

Homero Aridjis, one of Mexico's top environmentalists and poets, has led the battle to save the habitat of monarch butterflies, Pacific gray whales, and sea turtles.
Obama says 'Drill, baby, drill.' Will new oil policy ease gas prices?

President Obama used his weekly address to announce steps to promote greater domestic oil production and reduce the burden of high gas prices. Republicans say it's not enough.
Renewable energy: Will new law help or hurt California economy?

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring California utilities to obtain 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.
House votes to strip EPA of power to curb carbon emissions

The House voted Thursday to bar the EPA from regulating carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases. The Senate on Wednesday rejected a similar proposal. Still, the fight is far from over.
Global warming: Congress set to decide if EPA can regulate greenhouse gases

The House and Senate both vote Wednesday on whether to curtail or delay EPA power to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions. The agency plans to issue emissions standards in 2012.
With 'riders,' GOP seeks to undo Obama environmental policies

House Republicans want to reshape federal environmental policies by adding amendments to the spending bill due Friday. Senate Democrats and the president oppose the 'riders.'