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This article presents news briefs related to environmental issues in the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s draft strategic plan on environmental justice has seemingly found a way to make the problems of poor communities vanish, Environmental justice, the agency says, means applying environmental policies fairly, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income. It sounds great, but the revision ignores the fact that the poor and people of color are disproportionately affected by issues like air pollution and hazardous waste, which was acknowledged in an executive order issued by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1994. The EPA denies that the new plan violates the order. Two years ago, scientists at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service found that a new set of proposed rules would make it harder to limit grazing on overused land, harming wildlife, vegetation, and endangered species. But after higher-ups finished with the report, the warnings disappeared. An environmental impact statement released this summer concludes that the rules might even be beneficial for wildlife.

The article reports that corporate leaders in the U.S. are recognizing that federal action on climate change is essential for their firm's economic survival. General Electric, Ford Motor Co., Duke Energy, Exelon, and JP Morgan Chase are among a growing number of Fortune 500 companies that have voiced support for a federal crackdown on carbon dioxide emissions. In June 2005, executives from firms including DuPont, United Technologies, and the utility giant Cinergy appeared before the U.S. House Science Committee to testify in favor of such mandated reductions. While not ratified by the U.S., the Kyoto Protocol treaty on global warming applies to the U.S.-based multinationals with facilities in 141 signatory nations. In the face of federal inaction, cities and states are proposing their own greenhouse-gas restrictions, creating an inconsistent patchwork of standards across the country. U.S. businesses know that they will be paying in the end for the U.S. administration's neglect of environmental issues.

The article focuses on the efforts of a U.S. based organization named Sierra Club working for environmental protection and awareness. It reports that the members of the Tehipite and Kern-Kaweah Chapters of the Sierra Club have been tireless in defending 328,000 acre Giant Sequoia National Monument. The Club and other groups sued the Forest Service, charging that the federation's management plan allows extensive logging in previously protected old-growth habitat in the name of wildfire prevention. According to Carla Cloer, chair of the Club's Sequoia Task Force and a Tulare County resident who has championed sequoia preservation for 25 years, this plan specifically targets trees big enough to sell, undermining the whole purpose of the monument.

The article informs that in U.S. President George W. Bush's first term, more than a third of his nominees for federal appeals courts and the Court of Federal Claims had worked as energy-industry lawyers and lobbyists. This time around, the National Association of Manufacturers has launched a multi-million-dollar campaign to boost the president's picks--seven of whom, including William Myers, were rejected last term as too extreme. Vermont Law School professor Patrick Parenteau foresees "very bleak times" ahead. Without a judicial commitment to environmental law, he says, deadlines don't get met, species don't get listed, environmental impact statements don't get written, wetlands don't get saved. The nonpartisan Environmental Law Institute found that, in cases dealing with the National Environmental Policy Act, Bush's first-term appointments to federal courts ruled against environmental challenges 83 percent of the time. It is reported that some Bush appointees and nominees espouse an extreme philosophy known as New Federalism, which rejects the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause as the basis of federal environmental law.

Presents an article about the monetary contribution given by a child for the land-protection efforts of the Sierra Club. Issues concerning the environmental policies of U.S. President George W. Bush; Worth of the monetary contribution.

Presents an update on environmental conservation efforts in Brazil and Mexico as of March 2005. Launch of an environmental police training camp in Brazil in November 2004; Budget set by the Mexican government for the purchase of acres of tropical forest from private landholder; Contributions of the U.S.-based environmental group Nature Conservancy to the project of the Mexican government.

Examines the environmental policies of U.S. President George W. Bush. Issues concerning the reports of the Environmental Protection Agency on air-pollution reduction; Consequences of the partnership between the government and the American Chemistry Council for a study on the impact of pesticides on children; Status of the protection for northwest salmon and steel-head habitat.

Presents an update on environmental issues as of November 2004. Details of a court ruling on companies that degrade protected areas and natural resources in Canada; Launch of a Web site by the Pennsylvania State University for farmers and gardeners.

Presents a survey released by the National Wildlife Federation regarding the influence of the oil and gas industry on the environmental policies imposed by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Percentage of respondents who agree with a policy allowing wetlands to be destroyed as long as they would be created elsewhere; Proposal of the Bush administration to replace the roadless rule with petitions for roadless protections on national forests; Efforts of the Club and Ducks Unlimited to protect the Central Valley wetlands of California.

Reports on the new laws for luxury liners that would protect the coastal waters of the U.S. as of July 2004. Law which would expand the scope of the no discharge zones in the coastal waters of the U.S.; Adoption of a mandatory dumping-disclosure law in Alaska in 2001; Acceptance of a voluntary cleanup agreement by Washington state in April 2004.

Reports that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell will be funding nearly a billion dollars in new environmental programs from 2004-2008 through taxes imposed upon polluters. Fees and charges to be imposed upon polluters; Comment from Rendell.

Reports on the plan of the U.S. administration on the Roadless Area Conservation Rule which protects national forests and grasslands from logging and mining. Percentage of public comments supporting wild national forests.

Presents updates on several environmental issues as of December 2003. Decision of the Salt River Project to cancel its plans to stripmine coal near the western New Mexico lake; Information on Yellowstone National Park; Agreement of McDonald's to stop buying chickens from suppliers that use growth-promoting antibiotics.

Presents updates on environmental issues in the U.S. as of July 2003. Reason that the National Park Service issued a report concluding that Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara, California was not national-seashore material; Ruling of a U.S. district court judge on the suit filed by environmental groups against the U.S. government regarding its efforts to loosen labeling standards for dolphin-safe tuna; Function of the Conservation Security Program.

Provides information on several environmental issues in the U.S. as of July 2003. Number of additional years the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the Army Corps to adhere to stringent dumping restrictions; Percentage change in sulfur dioxide pollution under the Clear Skies proposal; Number of oil and gas wells the Bureau of Land Management wants to allow in Wyoming's Jack Morrow Hills.

Looks at the efforts made by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to reduce its environmental policies without full public knowledge. Rules announced by the Interior Department in April 2003; Changes in environmental policies announced by the government during holidays.

Comments on the rule changes on environmental regulations by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in weakening or rescinding federal rules; Other ways to rescind a regulation; Average civil penalty for violations of environmental regulations levied by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Presents updates on environmental protection in the U.S. as of March 2003. Withdrawal of BP from Arctic Power; Move of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to overrule the decision to open the Idaho wildlands to logging; Details of the proposed Mammoth Yosemite Airport in Mammoth Lakes, California.

Focuses on the Energy Policy Act signed by U.S. President George H. W. Bush in 1992. Legal case filed by Sierra Club environmental group concerning the administration of the law; Utilization of alternative fuels and regulation on gas consumption; Significance of the law on environment.

Focuses on various environmental rules considered obsolete and outmoded by the U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Ban on roadbuilding in national forest under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule; Regulation imposed on snowmobile at the Rocky Mountain National Park; Discussion on arsenic standards for drinking water.

Details the reasons U.S. Congress refuse to grant President George W. Bush the 'fast track' authority which could be utilized to expedite trade agreements. Impact on the authority of the Congress to amend trade deals; Discussion on the constitutionality of trade authority; Effect of expanded trade deals on the U.S. environmental laws.

Presents an update on the environmental policies of United States President George W. Bush as of October 2001. Suspension of limits on carbon dioxide emissions; Delay in the implementation of rules on arsenic levels in drinking water; Views of scientists on the policies.

Lists the alleged anti-environment actions taken by United States (U.S.) President George W. Bush. Proposal to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska; Prohibition of federal funding to carry out court orders protecting plants and animals; Proposal to increase the budget of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for oil drilling and exploration.

Reports on the plan in Ontario, Canada that will increase protected lands. Comments from Canadian Premier Mike Harris; System that permits mineral exploration; Plans in exchange for losing access to the protected parks.

Focuses on the environmental decisions and plans of Department of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Failure of plan to protect endangered species; Failure of cleanup plan for Everglades National Park in Florida; Compromise on Pacific Northwest forests; Restoration plan for `the great American rangelands'; Proposed reform of the 1872 Mining Law; Establishment of National Biological Survey.

Discusses media reaction to the ruling that the government must indeed file an Environmental Impact Statement on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Judge Charles Richey made the decision in July 1993 in a pioneering lawsuit brought last year by the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, and Friends of the Earth. Cause of the media hysteria; Unfettered power's danger to democracy as well as to the planet.

Discusses the implications of the inauguration of United States President-elect Bill Clinton for the environment. Restoring rule of law to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Interior, Agriculture, and Transportation departments; Clinton's desire to jump-start the economy; Strategic plans of the Sierra Club; Uncertain quality of the new Senate and House; More.

Contends that most voters don't see any conflict between their economic anxieties and their environmental beliefs. Thoughts about politicians and corporations who dream of business as usual at the expense of the environment; The ability of the American people to care about more than one thing at a time.

Discusses the Senate's vote to block consideration of S. 1220, a bill introduced by Bennett Johnston (D-La.) and Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyo.). This vote caused an outburst from Steve Symms; S. 1220 considered too junior; Not taken seriously; Public trust in politicians is at an all time low; Recession may distract voters from environmental concerns; November's victors will determine our collective environmental fate; More.

Editorial. Asks United States President George Bush to live up to his stated commitment to the natural world and warns him that the Sierra Club will not take his failure to do so passively. How the `environmental president' has let down the nation; Bush's energy strategy; Examples of commendable action by Bush administration.

Los Angeles, California mayor Antonio Villarosa has vowed to stop the use of energy generated by coal power plants. The Navajo Generating Station supplies 21 percent of Los Angeles' electricity. The plan stemmed from the Griffith Park wild fire in May 2007.

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