Making Progress
- 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.
