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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Tribal and environmental groups are suing the U.S. State Department for approving a temporary plan by a Canadian pipeline company to increase the flow of crude oil from Alberta into Minnesota. The Sierra Club and other groups filed the federal lawsuit. The suit contends the State Department approved a plan by Enbridge Energy to construct and operate a pipeline that crosses the U.S.-Canada border without first reviewing environmental impacts. Enbridge won Minnesota regulatory approval to complete a $200 million upgrade of its 1,000-mile Alberta Clipper pipeline, boosting its flow by adding pumping stations

The lowly gas can. A staple in almost every garage in America, storing a little bit of gasoline for the lawn mower, weed whacker, snow blower, and chain saw. Unchanged for nearly 50 years. Until now. Thanks CARB and EPA. Back in 2008 the California Air Resources Board had stomped out all the major sources of air pollution in California, so they turned their Sauron-like gaze upon the evil, fume-spewing, toxin-dripping gas can as the next target of their regulatory empire. They mandated new containers and spouts that would eliminate those noxious off-gasses that contribute to smog in the valleys,...

The graphic focuses on 10 of the world's most powerful food and beverage companies: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever, Danone, Mars, Mondelez International, Kellogg's, General Mills, Nestle, and Associated British Foods. Oxfam calls these companies the Big 10 and keeps a scorecard on their environmental impact on a website devoted to the nonprofit's "Behind the Brands" campaign. The campaign aims to make the companies more environmentally and socially conscious. According to one of Oxfam's most recent reports, the Big 10 emitted 263.7 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 and if the companies were a nation, it would be the 25th...

Washington, D.C. may have the highest number of certified green buildings in the country, but research by Environmental Policy Alliance suggests it might not be doing much good.The free-market group analyzed the first round of energy usage data released by city officials Friday and found that large, privately-owned buildings that received the green energy certification Leadership in Energy Design (LEED) actually use more energy than buildings that didn’t receive this green stamp of approval.LEED is the brainchild of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a private environmental group.

Europe pledged Wednesday to press on with new charges for airline carbon emissions across its airspace as of January 1, after scoring a key victory over US rivals in the EU's top court. The decision was welcomed as vindication by the European Union, which told US airlines to get ready to obey the law in the same way EU companies respect American regulations. But it was not without collateral damage, with industry sources fearing a possible trade war after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of reprisals ahead of the ruling. A high-ranking source in the aviation sector told...

On Thursday, September 22, environmentalists want you to feel guilty about driving cars. In other words, it’s annual “World Car-Free Day.” Instead of celebrating the many ways that the automobile has liberated and improved the lives of ordinary people, environmentalists want to suggest that rejecting the car for a day is somehow virtuous. The governor of Massachusetts is going even further by advocating a car-free week – notwithstanding the governor’s real-world choice to drive around in an SUV this week.

In a stunning blow to the inexperienced administration of GOP Governor Susana Martinez, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Governor Martinez violated the state Constitution when she prevented a rule reducing carbon pollution from being published as codified state law. The lawsuit was filed by nonprofit New Energy Economy and reflects growing claims that Governor Martinez arbitrarily and illegally sought to suppress the rule. The rule requires facilities that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon pollution per year to reduce these emissions by 3% per year from 2010 levels starting in 2013. The rule aims to...

California has approved an extensive carbon-trading plan aimed at cutting greenhouse emissions. State regulators passed a "cap-and-trade" framework to let companies buy and sell permits, giving them an incentive to emit fewer gases.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the dunes sagebrush lizard, or sand dune lizard, as an endangered species, a move that could restrict oil drilling, grazing and off-road vehicle use in the lizard's habitat in southeastern New Mexico. The Center for Biological Diversity said an endangered species designation would require limits on herbicide spraying used by some ranchers and restrictions on oil and gas drilling, plus additional funding for research and the development of a recovery plan. ... A 60-day public comment period begins with the publication today of the proposal in the Federal Register. Fish...

NEW MEXICO is in a financial hole. The country is in economic turmoil. Yet, some state representatives have introduced environmental legislation that will drive up the cost of energy for citizens and tempt job-creating businesses to relocate to other states. A story in the Journal described new legislation introduced in the state House that would set up “state controls on greenhouse gas emissions.” Not mentioned in the article was ... the fact that greenhouse gas emissions have never been proven to change the temperature of the atmosphere. Aggressive “cap and trade” bills increase energy costs and do much more economic...