By Lindsay McCormick

Lindsay McCormick is a Project Manager.  

A few weeks ago, a 21-year-old man tragically passed away after being overcome by chemical fumes while refinishing a bathtub.  The young man was working for a small painting business in Tennessee.  His death is currently being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but is suspected to have been caused by methylene chloride exposure.  If confirmed, this would add to the dozens of reported deaths caused by the chemical’s use in paint stripping products over the past several decades.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has within its grasp the ability to prevent this type of tragedy from happening again. In January, EPA proposed to ban methylene chloride in paint and coating removal products – including those used for bathtub refinishing, and is considering a ban on such use of another highly toxic chemical called N-methylpyrrolidone.  The agency based its proposal on an extensive assessment of the scientific literature, which demonstrated not only lethal risks from acute methylene chloride exposure but also other health impacts from both short- and long-term exposure to both chemicals.

Products containing these chemicals are available at hardware and other retail stores across the country, and unless EPA acts promptly to finalize a ban, there will surely be more avoidable deaths and other health impacts due to use of high-risk chemical paint strippers.  In EDF’s recent comments to EPA, we strongly urged it to finalize these bans as soon as possible to protect public health.  EPA should not wait for another reason to take action.

The political genius of President Trump’s speaking style is that there are so many falsehoods per minute that people’s eyes glaze over when they see the fact-checking. There’s so much to correct that it’s hard to keep track – and we’re left with just his false claims ringing in our ears.

So we decided to correct just three of the biggest untruths from his June 1 speech announcing America’s retreat from the Paris climate deal.

1. Yes, it’s about Pittsburgh – just in the opposite way

The president’s message is that by hobbling the booming clean energy economy of the 21st century, we’ll somehow find our way back to the old jobs that have been lost. It’s just not true.

Coal has been hurt by the marketplace, which prefers cleaner energy. Solar and wind have been creating jobs faster than almost any sector of the economy and there are now more than 194,000 Americans working just in the solar industry – nearly three times as many as work in coal. That’s because the government and private sector have invested and created smart incentives.

Living up to our Paris commitments would give energy innovators the policy predictability they need to move massive investments into the new low-carbon economy. Squandering that gives China and Europe a huge advantage in an economic race will only hurt American workers.

When has it ever worked to try to revive old technologies to create jobs? Call me when you see a new Blockbuster open up on the corner.

In Pittsburgh, which the president claimed he was saving, Trump’s decision didn’t go over well. The city’s mayor denounced Trump’s “misguided decision to withdraw” and promptly set a goal to power his city from 100 percent renewable energy.

2. They’re all laughing, now

The president wants respect, and wants America respected. What he seems to have missed is the enormous international credit we got for bringing the world to a climate agreement in 2015.

Apparently, he can’t see how much resentment we’re now getting for abandoning that deal. Climate change is a global problem and solving it requires an all-in approach - that’s why the Paris accord is such an important first step.  

The rest of the world – that’s 95 percent of global consumers we want to sell to – are going to see the country that has contributed the most climate pollution refusing to help fix the problem.

No one wants the United States to do more than our part, but we have to do our fair share. If not, we will suffer in every trade negotiation, every big business deal and every request for help. The Germans are already threating to stall talks to increase market access for our exports.

It’s not a stretch to say that the world is laughing at Trump’s justification for having the U.S. join Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries outside this deal.

3. There is no better deal, Mr. President

The self-styled deal-making president just gave up a bargain that was good for America, written on terms favorable to our sovereignty and our economy.

Trump said he wants to “renegotiate” the deal. Let’s set aside, for a minute, the fact that there’s nobody on the planet who really believes that the president wants to do that. Would it even be possible? The answer is an unequivocal no.

Under the Paris Agreement, every country determines its own path – so the idea of “renegotiating,” or leaving and then “reentering,” doesn’t even make sense. Besides, it’s not technically possible; the United Nations climate agency said so itself in an immediate response to the president’s announcement. 

The rest of the world, which negotiated in good faith with the U.S. for 20 years to reach the Paris accord, isn’t interested, anyway. The leaders of Germany, France and Italy also quickly confirmed there would be no renegotiation.

At the end of the day, this means a slower and more expensive path to solve the climate problem – along with more asthma attacks for our kids, more health problems for our elderly parents and more economic damage from climatic shifts.

President Trump’s decision has seriously damaged the U.S. Without gaining anything, he has hurt our standing in the world and our economy. With a move built on fiction and bad math.

In time, that will be obvious – but we don’t have that much time.

Conservation groups praise it as “a plan we can all be proud of” and “one we need implemented quickly” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Baton Rouge, LA—June 2, 2017) Today, Louisiana’s State Legislature passed SCR1, a resolution approving the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, the state’s blueprint for coastal restoration and protection activities. The resolution was authored by Sen. Morrish (R-Jennings), Sen. Alario (R-Westwego) and Rep. Leger (D-New Orleans). The master plan prioritizes $50 billion in coastal restoration and risk reduction activities over ...

The post Louisiana Legislature Approves 2017 Coastal Master Plan appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Conservation groups praise it as “a plan we can all be proud of” and “one we need implemented quickly” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Baton Rouge, LA—June 2, 2017) Today, Louisiana’s State Legislature passed SCR1, a resolution approving the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, the state’s blueprint for coastal restoration and protection activities. The resolution was authored by Sen. Morrish (R-Jennings), Sen. Alario (R-Westwego) and Rep. Leger (D-New Orleans). The master plan prioritizes $50 billion in coastal restoration and risk reduction activities over ...

The post Louisiana Legislature Approves 2017 Coastal Master Plan appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Conservation groups praise it as “a plan we can all be proud of” and “one we need implemented quickly” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Baton Rouge, LA—June 2, 2017) Today, Louisiana’s State Legislature passed SCR1, a resolution approving the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, the state’s blueprint for coastal restoration and protection activities. The resolution was authored by Sen. Morrish (R-Jennings), Sen. Alario (R-Westwego) and Rep. Leger (D-New Orleans). The master plan prioritizes $50 billion in coastal restoration and risk reduction activities over ...

The post Louisiana Legislature Approves 2017 Coastal Master Plan appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Jacques Hebert host solo on today's show. Joining him is Alek Krautmann Meteorologist, New Orleans/Baton Rouge Forecast Office NOAA National Weather Service to talk about about this year's Atlantic Hurricane Season Predictions and how to stay safe this summer. The second guest in today's show is Mike Steele, Communications Director at Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness-State of Louisiana, here to talk about Hurricane & Disaster Preparedness in South Louisiana. Below is a transcript of this week's Delta ...

The post Delta Dispatches: Hurricane Season 2017 appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

By Baroness Bryony Worthington

In response to the EU-China leaders’ joint statement on climate change and clean energy following the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Environmental Defense Fund leaders provide the following comments:

Statement from EDF Europe Executive Director, Baroness Bryony Worthington – June 2, 2017

“The European Union and China have today re-confirmed their international leadership on the issue of climate change. Their joint statement detailed numerous practical points of collaboration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions including work on emissions trading and technology research and development.  The challenge of climate change and its solutions are much bigger than the Trump administration, which now risks becoming increasingly isolated and irrelevant.”

Statement from EDF China Managing Director, Jianyu Zhang– June 2, 2017

“China has shown it understands the urgent need to act on climate change and that it will play a leadership role alongside the European Union. Both blocs stand to gain from huge investments in clean technologies and infrastructure and today's statement provides a clear plan of action. The contrast between the leadership on display today and yesterday couldn't be more stark.”

Statement from EDF President, Fred Krupp – June 1, 2017

“President Trump is giving away our good jobs to Europe and China. He is weakening our position in business deals and trade negotiations to come and he is risking a global economic backlash that will hurt American workers and businesses even more. That is why so many leading companies — and the vast majority of Americans — oppose this disastrous move. It cannot be the last word and we will fight to see that it isn’t.”

Statement from EDF President Fred Krupp — President Trump's Paris decision will live in infamy

America can’t afford to move backward.

By Dick Munson

The PUCO is still deciding whether to give final approval to the bailout for the Ohio-based utility giant’s old, inefficient coal plants. Refresher: In October, the PUCO gave a tentative $625-million subsidy to reduce FirstEnergy’s debt associated with its bad business decisions.

PUCO procedures require regulators to solicit responses and reconsider its initial decision. Ohio commissioners, however, have allowed FirstEnergy to start collecting without the final approval. The effective start date of the tariff was January 1, 2017 – nearly five months ago.

Regulators also agreed the utility could keep its windfall even if the tentative bailout were overturned by the PUCO or the Ohio Supreme Court. So as long as the PUCO puts off the decision, FirstEnergy gets to collect the non-refundable fees. In other words, while the regulators twiddle their thumbs, the utility is raking it in.

How much so? By the end of May, FirstEnergy will have collected a massive $55 million from customers. Meanwhile, opponents like Environmental Defense Fund can’t take the case to the Ohio Supreme Court until an official decision is reached.

The PUCO needs to decide soon. The clock is ticking.