Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.) plans to hold congressional hearings on environmental justice

ATLANTA — A rift between black mayors and public health experts over long-held notions about the racial dimension of environmental problems took center stage yesterda

Today, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Representatives Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), introduced the Coordinated Environmental Public Health Network Act of 2007.

U.S. defense policy should take into account the security implications of climate change, according to a pair of former high-ranking government officials that testified yesterday before the House Science and Technology Committee.

The hearing showcased an April report from witness Gen. Gordon Sullivan and 10 other former military officials that argued climate change “acts as a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world” (Greenwire, April 18).

“There is a direct link between these phenomena and unrest, which causes the rest of the chain to become activated,” leading to extremism and terrorism, Sullivan said.

The Senate Commerce Committee yesterday moved along legislation meant to combat invasive marine species in the ballast water of ships.

The “Ballast Water Management Act,” S. 1578, would require mandatory ballast water treatment technology on all ships that travel to U.S. ports. It also would force the United States to adopt the International Maritime Organization convention on ballast water management.

On top of those requirements, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye’s (D-Hawaii) bill would let states create “no discharge” zones in sensitive state waters. The legislation authorizes a total of $200 million for the Coast Guard to implement the provisions. Any person who violates the standards would face a fine of up to $32,500 per violation.

Regulatory uncertainty over reducing and paying for greenhouse gas emissions reductions may be a key reason some companies are putting off environmental sustainability practices, according to a new U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey.

The national business organization surveyed nearly 600 of its members last summer to gauge corporate attitudes and practices regarding climate change and broader environmental sustainability.

While 60 percent of the survey respondents said they worry about compliance costs related to climate change rules, 66 percent of public company respondents said the federal government should do more to help mitigate global warming, including fostering the development of alternative energy. What’s more, just 23 percent of respondents said they have converted to cleaner technologies, and 21 percent of respondents said they have cut their use of fossil fuels.

Foreign diplomats pressed for stronger U.S. leadership on global warming yesterday as the Bush administration geared up to host a two-day session on voluntary approaches to confront climate change.

Representatives from nine key countries participated in climate-related forums on and off Capitol Hill, and many returned to the theme that President Bush wasn’t going far enough with his plan to establish a long-term goal for emission cuts.

“We need a driver,” said Su Wei, a top Chinese climate official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during an event hosted yesterday by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

Diplomats from three key emerging economies raised questions today about a proposal in Congress that would impose trade tariffs on their U.S. exports if they do not do enough to confront global warming.

Representatives from China, Brazil and Mexico talked of an escalating trade war across oceans and borders if developing countries were required to buy allowances in a new U.S. climate market for all of their energy-intensive goods they send to the United States.

Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said China’s emissions are rising because of booming global demand for steel, coke and other large industrial products. “I think this issue should be discussed within the context of the WTO,” Zhenhua said during an appearance at the National Press Club hosted by the nonprofit Center for Clean Air Policy.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences plans to reverse a recent funding shift that has cut or eliminated money for many long-running education, outreach and epidemiology programs, the agency’s acting head told lawmakers yesterday.

Among the entities to be spared from the budget ax, according to NIEHS acting director Samuel Wilson, are: centers that study how environmental factors affect children’s health, including the development of diseases like asthma; centers that examine how race, economics and behavior affect community health; and a program that helps states develop materials for teaching environmental science in their schools.

“I fully support these programs, because they are incredibly effective,” Wilson told the House Domestic Policy Subcommittee, reversing a policy shift put in place by former NIEHS Director David Schwartz, who had encouraged the development of new clinical research initiatives.

Switching to lower-emitting forms of energy and manufacturing to combat global warming could either boost jobs or cripple the labor market, according to senators and various witnesses called to testify yesterday before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.