Making Progress
Every day, UCS and our supporters speak out for a healthy environment and a safer world. We get the best available science and analysis into the hands of legislators, corporate decision makers, and consumers and we develop innovative, practical solutions to protect our health, safety, and environment.
We are accomplishing great things together. Here are just a few of our success stories:
- May 1, 2009
California Passes World's First Low Carbon Fuel Standard
In April 2009, we achieved a major victory in California where they passed the world's first low carbon fuel standard. - May 1, 2009
Obama Repeals Bush Administration Power Grab
On February 4, 2009, President Obama revoked the Bush administraion's executive order 13422, which significantly increased the power of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) over the use of scientific information in making decisions about our health, safety, and environment. - May 1, 2009
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Goes Into Effect
RGGI--the nation's first cap-and-trade program, a market-based plan to reduce global emissions, went into effect in early 2009. - May 1, 2009
Toxics Release Inventory Strengthened
In March 2009, the Obama administration rolled back changes to the Toxics Release Inventory that were made in 2005 that had significantly limited the information that companies were required to provide about their release of toxic chemicals into local communities. - May 1, 2009
Department of Energy Scraps Worst Aspects of Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
In early 2009, the worst aspects of the Bush administration's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) program to reprocess spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors were officially scrapped. - May 1, 2009
Preserving Science in the Endangered Species Act
On March 3, 2009, President Obama signed a memo encouraging the secretaries of the Departments of Interior and Commerce to examine a Bush administration rule change that effectively exempted federal projects (like roads or dams) from Endangered Species Act review. - January 1, 2009
California Ballot Measures Reduce Global Warming Pollution
California Voters passed Proposition 1A, which will fund construction of a California high-speed train system, and defeated Proposition 10, which would have thrown billions of taxpayer dollars into transportation fuels that could have achieved little or no reductions in global warming pollution. - January 1, 2009
Pieces of Nuclear Reprocessing Scheme Effectively Cancelled
The U.S. Department of Energy scaled back many key aspects of its proposed Global Nuclear Energy Partnership--a controversial program to "reprocess" the nuclear waste from commercial nuclear power reactors. - January 1, 2009
Tax Credits for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Renewed
One of the last acts of the 110th Congress was renewing the critical investment and production tax credits for renewable energy and energy efficiency, which were set to expire on December 31, 2008. - January 1, 2009
California Voters Defeat Loophole-Ridden Energy Initiative
In November 2008, California voters defeated Proposition 7, an initiative that would have made it harder to increase renewable energy development in the state. - January 1, 2009
Obama Issues Scientific Integrity Memo
After five years of sounding the call for our government to restore integrity to federal science, we reached an important milestone in March 2009 when President Obama released a memorandum instructing the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a strategy aimed at preventing political interference in science. - January 1, 2009
California Reduces Emissions from Big-Rig Trucks
After months of pressure by UCS, our supporters, and a statewide coalition of health, environmental, and community groups, the California Air Resources Board voted in December to pass two new rules that will dramatically reduce toxic emissions and global warming pollution from big-rig trucks that operate in the state. - January 1, 2009
Florida's Environmental Regulatory Commission Recommends Clean Car Standards
In October 2008, Florida's Environmental Regulatory Commission recommended that the state legislature adopt clean car standards reducing global warming pollution from vehicles. - January 1, 2009
California Adopts Strong Global Warming Plan
In 2006 the California legislature passed a landmark bill to reduce global warming pollution to 1990 levels by 2020. In December 2008, the state released a strong, comprehensive plan to reach that goal including innovative policies that will promote renewable energy, recycling, efficiency, and cleaner cars and trucks. - January 1, 2009
Whistleblower Protections for Scientists Make Headway in Congress
Letters and calls from UCS supporters helped us take a major step toward victory in 2008 when both houses of Congress passed whistleblower legislation with wide bipartisan majorities. - January 1, 2009
Nuclear Weapons Complex Plans Seriously Curtailed
The National Nuclear Security Administration scaled back plans to overhaul the nation's nuclear weapons complex and design and develop a new generation of nuclear weapons. - January 1, 2009
Missouri Passes Renewable Electricity Standard
Missouri passes renewable electricity standard requiring 15 percent of the states energy come from clean energy sources, like the sun and wind. - January 1, 2009
California Air Resources Board Commits to Cut Pollution from Vehicles
In its newly adopted scoping plan to implement AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the California Air Resources Board made a solid commitment to implement a Clean Car Discount, or "feebates," program if the state's global warming standards for vehicles are blocked by the federal government or the courts. - January 1, 2009
California Boosts Renewable Energy Standard
The California Air Resources Board has committed to boost the percentage of the state's electricity generated from clean, renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, to 33 percent. - January 1, 2009
Protections Improve for the North Atlantic Right Whale
A victory for the endangered Northern Atlantic right whale was achieved when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a final rule protecting the right whale from deadly ship collisions. - September 1, 2008
Massachusetts Passes Conference Committee Version of Energy Bill
The Massachusetts legislature passed a conference committee version of a comprehensive energy bill containing a wide range of good provisions on renewable energy and energy efficiency. - September 1, 2008
Massachusetts and Connecticut Pass Global Warming Bills
In the summer of 2008 both Massachusetts and Connecticut signed bills to reduce their states' global warming pollution. - September 1, 2008
New Hampshire Joins the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
In June 2008, New Hampshire passed legislation to officially bring the state into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation's first multi-state program to reduce global warming pollution from power plants. - September 1, 2008
Pennsylvania Legislature Passes Energy Fund
The Pennsylvania legislature passed an energy fund including grants and loans for solar installation, deployment and manufacturing of other clean energy technologies, and energy efficiency. - September 1, 2008
Progress Curtailing the Use of Antibiotics in the Feed and Water of Animals
The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, a bill in Congress to curtail the use of these drugs in the feed and water of animals that are not sick, contains three main sections. Thanks to thousands of calls and letters from UCS activists, provisions related to two of these three sections passed in the summer of 2008 as part of other bills. - September 1, 2008
Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform
In a tremendous and precedent-setting victory for whistleblower protection and government openness, in the summer of 2008, Congress overwhelmingly passed and the president signed the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform Act. - September 1, 2008
Food and Farm Bill Produces Gains for Sustainable Agriculture
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act, otherwise known as the Food and Farm Bill, was finally enacted in June 2008 over a presidential veto. Although the bill is backward looking and misdirected in many respects, it produced significant gains for more modern and sustainable forms of agriculture. - September 1, 2008
Kansas Coal Plant Permit Denial is Upheld
Governor Kathleen Sebelius' courageous stand against building new coal plants in Kansas was victorious despite the legislature twice attempting to override her vetoes. - September 1, 2008
Pennsylvania Enacts Climate Change Act
Pennsylvania enacted the first global warming legislation in the state--the Pennsylvania Climate Change Act--in the summer of 2008. - September 1, 2008
Renewable Energy Development Makes Progress in Rhode Island
Rhode Island's legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill that would give renewable energy developers the long-term contracts they need to finance wind farms, solar installations, and other renewable energy projects. - May 1, 2008
Ohio Passes Renewable Electricity Standard
Ohio becomes the 26th state to require their utilities to provide an increasing proportion of their energy from the sun, wind, energy crops, and other clean, renewable sources. - May 1, 2008
Connecticut Passes Bill Requiring Reductions Global Warming Pollution
In early May, 2008, the Connecticut legislature passed a bill requiring substantial reductions in the state's global warming pollution. - May 1, 2008
House Protects Nation’s Waters from Aquatic Invasive Species
The House of Representatives passed the Ballast Water Treatment Act designed to protect our nation's waters from non-native species. - May 1, 2008
Bush Administration Delays Decision on Risky Nuclear Energy Program
The Bush administration delayed plans to publish a "record of decision" on whether and how to proceed with the proposed Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) program, its ill-advised plan to reprocess spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors. - May 1, 2008
Illinois Joins Lawsuit Against EPA on Clean Car Standards
Illinois joined California and 17 other states on a lawsuit to compel the EPA to grant the waiver needed for states to implement clean car standards. - May 1, 2008
Senate Protects Scientists at the Consumer Product Safety Commission
On March 6, 2008, the Senate approved comprehensive consumer product safety legislation that will provide whistleblower protections to employees at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). - January 1, 2008
USDA Announces New Label for Meat from Grass-Fed Livestock
In October, the USDA announced the launch of a new "process verified" label for meat from grass-fed livestock. UCS and our supporters have long advocated for this label, which will help consumers choose meat from "smart pasture operations" that are better for the environment and human health. - January 1, 2008
Congress Denies Funding for Dangerous New Nuclear Weapons
On December 19, 2007, Congress denied all funding for research on the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program, a dangerous proposal to build a new generation of nuclear weapons, ultimately replacing the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal. - January 1, 2008
Congress approvs bill holding the FDA more accountable
Congress has given final approval to a bill that will significantly improve the drug review process at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and hold the FDA more accountable, protecting us from unsafe drugs. - January 1, 2008
Congress Allocates Millions to Reopen EPA Libraries
Congress has allocated $3 million in the Environmental Protection Agency's 2008 budget to reopen the libraries that they closed over the course of the previous two years. The EPA must report its progress to Congress within three months. - December 14, 2007
Senate passes 2007 Energy Bill
In December 2007, the Senate overwhelmingly passed an Energy Bill that will significantly strengthen fuel economy standards for vehicles for the first time in more than a generation. - September 1, 2007
House of Representatives Passes Renewable Electricity Standard
UCS and our supporters played a critical role in the House’s historic passage of a renewable electricity standard. - September 1, 2007
Scientists Expose Political Interference at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
On May 9, 2007, UCS Scientific Integrity Program Senior Scientist and Program Director Dr. Francesca Grifo testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources about political interference in endangered species science and the UCS survey of U.S. Fish and Wildlife scientists - May 1, 2007
San Francisco Passes Clean Construction Ordinance
San Francisco has joined New York as the two cities in the United States who have laws on the books to clean up dirty diesel pollution from construction equipment. - February 2, 2007
Scientists Urge Senators to Restore Scientific Integrity
At a congressional hearing in February 2007, UCS Senior Scientist Francesca Grifo testified about the results of a new UCS report exposing government interference in global warming research. - January 1, 2007
Washington Passes Renewable Energy Standard
Washington will be generating more clean, renewable energy thanks to an effective coalition, the support of UCS, and the help of our Washington activists. On November 6, 2007, Washington voters passed the Clean Energy Initiative (I-937) by a 52-48 percent margin. - January 1, 2007
California Requires Cleaner Electricity
In California, the state legislature passed and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a landmark law (SB 1368 - Perata) that requires new power plants and most new contracts for electricity in California to meet a minimum global warming pollution performance standard. - January 1, 2007
John Bolton Announced He Will Resign from United Nations Post
John Bolton has announced he will resign as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, abandoning the Bush administration's plans to have the Senate confirm his nomination. In his time at the UN, Bolton undermined U.S. foreign policy, alienated allies, and hurt our nation's security. - January 1, 2007
Arizona Increases Its Renewable Energy Standard
In Arizona, the Corporation Commission raised their renewable energy standard (RES) to 15 percent by 2025, up from its original 1.1 percent by 2007 requirement. - September 1, 2006
West Coast Establishes Clean Air Corridor
On June 22, 2006 the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission permanently adopted the stronger California auto standards on both smog-forming and global warming pollution. This in turn triggered Washington state’s adoption of the standards, officially making the West Coast "clean air corridor" for auto emissions a reality. - September 1, 2006
House Cuts Funding for Reprocessing Fuel from Nuclear Reactors
The House of Representatives cut the Bush administration's $250 million request for a new and dangerous plan to "reprocess" used fuel from commercial nuclear reactors. - September 1, 2006
California passes landmark global warming bill
After years of hard work, AB 32--the bill to cap California’s global warming emissions at 1990 levels by 2020--has been passed by the state legislature, and Governor Schwarzenegger has committed to sign the bill into law. - May 23, 2006
UCS Helps Curb Toxic Pollution
Last week, UCS and our supporters achieved an important victory: we helped preserve our right to know what toxic chemicals are being released in our neighborhoods! - May 1, 2006
Governor Schwarzenegger Embraces Climate Action Team Report
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger fully embraced the UCS-coordinated Climate Action Team report and its recommendations for dramatically reducing the state's global warming emissions. - May 1, 2006
New Jersey Passes Renewable Energy Standard
In New Jersey, UCS supported a successful RES campaign with the help of more than 600 New Jersey activists who participated in the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities' public comment period. - May 1, 2006
Wisconsin passes expanded renewable energy standard
The Wisconsin State Assembly unanimously passed a bill containing a much-expanded renewable energy standard (RES), and Governor Doyle signed the bill on March 17, 2006. - January 1, 2006
Congress Denies funding for Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator
The Bush administration has sought to justify developing the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP)--a new nuclear weapon--in order to attack deeply buried command centers or underground stores of chemical and biological weapons. This week, Congress announced they would deny all funding for the RNEP. - January 1, 2006
Northeastern States Agree to Reduce Global Warming Pollution from Power Plants
On December 20, 2006 after two years of negotiations, seven northeastern states reached a landmark agreement to reduce global warming pollution from power plants. This pact, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, aims to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a chief heat-trapping gas. - January 1, 2006
California expands funding for solar incentives
On December 13, 2006 the California Public Utilities Commission expanded funding for solar incentives in 2006 to $300 million and released a proposal to create an 11-year, $3.2 billion incentive program for solar energy systems on California rooftops. - January 1, 2006
Bon Appetit Announces Policy to Require Turkey Suppliers to Eliminate Unnecessary Use of Antibiotics
. Bon Appetit, a food service company providing dining and catering services for universities, corporations, and other institutional clients, announced a policy to require its turkey suppliers to eliminate unnecessary use of antibiotics. - January 1, 2006
San Joaquin Valley Passes Rule to Reduce Air Pollution
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District unanimously passed rules that require developers to eliminate pollution from new projects or pay a reasonable fee that would be used to reduce air pollution from other sources. - January 1, 2006
California Votes to Strengthen Diesel Idling Regulation
UCS Vehicles Engineer Don Anair and UCS California activists played major roles in the unanimous October California Air Resources Board (CARB) vote to strengthen the state's existing diesel idling regulation to limit truck idling to five minutes. - December 1, 2005
House and Senate Block the Use of Political Litmus Tests for Federal Science Advisory Committees
The House and Senate passed amendments to domestic spending legislation that would prevent officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and related departments from choosing candidates for federal science advisory committees based on political affiliation. The Senate amendment went even further, prohibiting the deliberate dissemination of false or misleading information. - September 1, 2005
National Clean School Bus Grant Program Passes
In a major victory, years in the making, the National Clean School Bus Grant Program was passed as part of both the Energy and Transportation bills. - September 1, 2005
California Passes Global Warming Emissions Sticker for New Cars
A new law passed by the California legislature will revise the existing "smog index sticker" placed on all new cars sold in California to include information on the vehicle's global warming emissions. - August 5, 2005
FDA bans the use of the animal-antibiotic Baytril in poultry
After several years of pressure from the Union of Concerned Scientists and the coalition group Keep Antibiotics Working (KAW)--the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made history by banning the use of the animal-antibiotic Baytril in poultry due to worries about the increase in antibiotic-resistant infections in people. - December 1, 2004
Production Tax Credit extension and expansion
Congress has restored the vitally important federal renewable energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind and biomass energy, and expanded the credit to new sources. - December 1, 2004
Colorado Passes Renewable Electricity Standard
In a tremendous Election Day victory for clean energy supporters across the country, Colorado voters approved a precedent-setting renewable electricity standard (RES) ballot initiative by a 53.4 percent to 46.6 percent margin. - December 1, 2004
California Establishes Funding for Diesel Clean-Up Incentive Programs
Two bills--the Emission School Bus Program and The Carl Moyer Diesel Cleanup Program--that raise $140 million per year for clean air programs were passed in the California state legislature and signed by the governor in 2004. - December 1, 2004
California Regulates Global Warming Emissions from Automobiles
Perhaps the most exciting victory for clean vehicles and the environment in 2004 was California's adoption of precedent-setting regulations on global warming emissions from automobiles.
