Council on Environmental Quality Blog

Brenda Mallory to join Council on Environmental Quality as General Counsel.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took action to significantly cut smog, soot and other harmful air pollution from our cars and trucks. The new clean car and fuel standards – which are strongly supported by automakers, public health groups and other stakeholders – require better-performing pollution controls in vehicles, and cleaner gasoline. Cleaner gasoline will reduce pollution from cars and trucks that are currently on the road, and also enable fuel-efficient and low-emissions technologies to work better in new vehicles. That means cleaner air across the country, especially for the more than 50 million people who live, work, or go to school near high-traffic roadways.

Our returning service men and women have the skills and training our country needs to ensure continued progress toward a clean economy. The Solar Foundation and Operation Free release a report highlighting higher-than-average employment rates for veterans in the solar industry.

This week, I participated in an event at the White House on Women Leaders in Climate Finance and Investment that highlighted the pioneering role women leaders in the finance sector are playing to mainstream climate change into finance and investment decisions. Women around the world are often the first to feel the effects of climate and at the same time can offer unique perspectives and solutions.

This week, I am in Warsaw, Poland at the United Nations climate negotiations (COP 19) spreading the word about the President’s Climate Action Plan to our international partners.

Across America, states, cities, and communities are taking steps to protect themselves from extreme weather and other climate impacts. Today, President Obama signed an Executive Order to establish a Task Force of state, local, and tribal leaders to advise the Administration on how the Federal Government can respond to the needs of communities nationwide that are dealing with the impacts of climate change.

In early October, the White House will recognize Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who continue to serve their country by advancing clean energy and climate security in their communities. Help us honor these veterans by nominating a Champion of Change today.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) operations encompass more than 10,000 buildings in all 50 states, from air traffic control centers and research facilities to our regional offices and headquarters, a range that complicates efforts to green internal operations and infrastructure. But, over the last two years, DOT has improved its sustainability performance across all seven measures of the OMB Sustainability and Energy Scorecard.

As part of the Administration's work to make America a magnet for jobs by building a 21st century infrastructure, the President today signed a Presidential Memorandum that will modernize the Federal permitting process and cut timelines in half for major infrastructure projects that grow our economy and support healthy communities.

Today, in conjunction with a series of landmark steps announced by the Obama Administration to unleash troves of useful data from the vaults of government, the interagency US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) launched a new online tool that promises to accelerate research relating to climate change and human health—the Metadata Access Tool for Climate and Health, or “MATCH.”

As we approach National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 27th, it is important to remember that proper disposal of unused, expired, and unneeded prescription drugs can reduce drug abuse, save lives, and prevent unsafe chemicals from polluting our drinking water.

The CEO of a South Carolina sport equipment manufacturer describes how investments in public lands impact her business, and how the arbitrary budget cuts imposed by Congress will slow our economy and hurt families across the country.

Today, the Obama Administration’s National Science and Technology Council released "A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: A Progress Report" —an update highlighting the Administration’s recent achievements to make the Nation’s electric grid stronger, smarter, and cleaner than ever before. Modernizing the grid is a common sense approach to enhance energy reliability and speed the Nation’s transition to a clean-energy economy.