The number of planned coal plants across America has plummeted from 150 to 60 in the past five years.

The Bush administration kept secret for nearly five years data that showed increased cancer risks from drinking water polluted by coal-ash impoundments, according to a new report issued Thursday. Under President Bush, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials never made public an October 2002 study that outlined increased risks of as high as 1 in 50 additional cancer cases.

Yale University scientists reported recently that global warming could change the feeding patterns of ticks that commonly carry Lyme disease, resulting in more persistent strains and more severe infections.

A new landmark study published today documents for the first time the process in which increased mercury emissions from human sources across the globe, and in particular from Asia, make their way into the North Pacific Ocean and as a result contaminate tuna and other seafood.

Tackling global warming means that humanity will be able to burn less than a quarter of the proven reserves of fossil fuels by 2050, a new study published in Nature finds. To achieve a less than 2ºC rise in temperature means that only 1,000 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) can be emitted between 2000 and 2050. By comparison, the world has emitted a third of that amount in just nine years.

Barack Obama promised on his very first day in the White House to help move America towards a new green future. Now, 100 days on, environmentalists in general have been impressed by the speed and sheer sweep of Obama's efforts.

About three-quarters of the world's fossil fuel reserves must be left unused if society is to avoid dangerous climate change, scientists warn.

Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced today that they will be working on legislation to reduce harmful sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and mercury emissions from America's power plants.

The United States can dramatically cut global warming emissions and reduce consumer and business energy bills at the same time, according to the findings of a soon-to-be-released, two-year study by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposal today finding greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to the public's health and welfare, a determination that could trigger a series of sweeping regulations affecting everything from vehicles to coal-fired power plants.

Over the past 10 weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency has been pumping out proposals and directives on everything from climate change to pollution from ships. By moving so quickly, President Obama's EPA has in effect reproached the Bush administration for dawdling on climate change. In calling for tougher regulations, it has also criticized Bush officials for catering to businesses and industry.

Pam Kleiss of PSR Wisconsin discusses the health effects of coal plants.

In his eighth and final State of the Union address, President Bush again delivered empty rhetoric instead of real solutions to curb global warming pollution. The president declared his commitment to lead an effort to reach a post-2012 international climate agreement, but this declaration was disingenuous at best. In December, the U.S. delegation to the UN climate summit in Bali, Indonesia, served only to obstruct negotiations intended to lay the groundwork for a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol.

Recognizing the serious public health threat of global warming, PSR calls for mandatory, economy wide controls on greenhouse gases and comprehensive reforms in U.S. energy policy. Today, PSR joined the Sierra Club, U.S. PIRG and the National Audubon Society to launch a new ad that lays out seven key principles for new global warming and energy policies that will put the country on the path to a clean energy future.

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) appreciates the efforts of senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA) to craft legislation to address global warming but calls on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to make necessary improvements before passing the bill. The legislation, introduced today by Lieberman and Warner, is seen as a first step in implementing mandatory controls on greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide.

Doctors and nurses from around Washington are saying “the science is in hand” on the toxic flame retardants PBDEs and are urging quick passage of a bill to ban all forms of the chemical.

The priorities set forth in the fiscal year 2008 budget for the Department of Energy show an agency with a mindset stuck in the cold war. The budget proposes to build a new nuclear weapons complex and continues to promote reliance on polluting fuel sources. This budget is flawed, and Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) calls on the Congress to reject these proposals.

PSR is pleased the president acknowledges the energy crisis looming in this country and the challenges we face in addressing global warming. However, once again the president’s proposals are far short of the leadership we need in these areas.

House Democrats completed their agenda for the first 100 legislative hours of the new Congress by passing the CLEAN Energy Act (H.R. 6). Approved by a margin of 264 to 163 with the help of 36 Republicans, the measure would provide $14 billion for the development of renewable energy, alternative fuels and energy efficiency technologies.

Ignoring the recommendations of its own expert science advisors, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 21st a final decision on new national air quality standards for particulate matter that will fail to protect public health. The EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, its Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee, and an unprecedented number of national medical and public health organizations all called upon the EPA to set much tougher standards. Instead, EPA chose to adopt standards which scientific studies have shown are not adequately sufficient to protect the health of Americans from particle pollution.