By Michael A. Weber •
January 19, 2009
Soon-to-be-President Barack Obama has appointed animal advocate Cass Sunstein to head the relatively obscure, yet powerful Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
The regulatory czar, as the position is generally called, is responsible for every regulatory agency in the country, such as the EPA, and will oversee all administration rules.
Sunstein is best known for his balanced views between government regulations and cost-benefit analysis and for his theory of behavioral economics and he is widely considered to be a great choice for the office. However, a new controversy is arising over his views on animal rights and animal welfare.
By Alex Felsinger •
January 5, 2009
Over a hundred conservation, wildlife, and animal welfare groups have sent a letter to incoming Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack urging him to rethink the often cruel practice of “lethal control” of wildlife by the USDA. The coalition contends that animals are killed through such means as shooting from airplanes and helicopters, poisoning, gassing dens, bludgeoning after capture, and strangling in wire snares.
In 2007, the USDA spent $100 million of taxpayer money to kill 2.4 million wild animals, including 90,262 coyotes, 2,277 gray foxes, 2,412 red foxes, 2,090 bobcats, 1,133 cats, 552 dogs, 577 badgers, and 340 gray wolves.
By Michael A. Weber •
December 18, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama has rounded off his energy and environment Cabinet, to almost entirely positive remarks from conservation and environmental groups. Drawing from diverse backgrounds, Obama has picked a team that seems to reinforce his promises to reach across aisles while making huge strides towards protecting the earth.
The line-up:
- Secretary of Interior: Ken Salazar (Democratic Senator from Colorado)
- Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack (Former Democratic Governor of Iowa)
- Secretary of Energy: Stephen Chu (Nobel Prize winning physicist)
- EPA Administrator: Lisa Jackson (Former New Jersey environmental protection commissioner)
By Sarah Lozanova •
October 13, 2008
This article is part of EcoWorldly’s week-long spotlight on Politicians You Can Believe In. To read more, subscribe to our RSS feed, or view our posts about politics.
As part of Prime Minister Gordan’s reshuffle, a new department was created that is likely to boost growth in the renewable energy industry, while addressing climate change.
The UK is a country that is particularly vulnerable to the affects of climate change and has identified it as an issue of vital national importance. The EU’s goal to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2020 may help mitigate this predicament, but requires significant action.
Energy and climate change had been addressed across two departments, the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) . As an attempt to bridge the gap between energy strategy and climate change policy, the UK has created a new department, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
By David Anderson •
October 1, 2008
In his new book to be released next week, Van Jones lays out a sensible roadmap to solve our long term economic problems. How? By making sustainability the centerpiece of a national renewal. And, if we justify spending hundreds of billions on an economic solution no one completely understands, why can’t we make it an even greater priority to create a sustainable economy that will last us the next thousand years?
