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Over the past five years, average temperatures in the American West have risen nearly twice as fast as the average global increase, according to a new analysis of U.S. government weather data. This is especially grim news for some of our nation's fastest growing cities, such as Denver, Albuquerque and Las Vegas, which receive water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. Rapid warming has already severely impacted crop production, commercial salmon fisheries and tourism revenues. To stem this crisis, NRDC is urging western lawmakers to take the lead in pushing tough global warming legislation through Congress.
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Backed by NRDC, and thanks to the help of industry giants like Apple and GE, the New York City Council has passed groundbreaking legislation that would institute a citywide recycling program for some 25,000 tons of used electronics that New Yorkers accumulate annually. Under the measure, which is expected to be signed into law by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, manufacturers would be responsible for collecting and recycling their own used and obsolete TVs, computers, iPods and other electronics -- creating a big incentive to design less toxic and easier-to-recycle products. We are now urging the mayor to approve a separate Council-passed bill that would establish mandatory collection standards for the program.
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In a major NRDC victory for clean air, a federal appeals court has ruled that each coal-fired power plant in the nation must adopt rigorous measures to control mercury, arsenic, lead, chromium and all other toxic emissions. The landmark ruling has especially far-reaching ramifications for new coal-fired power plants across the country, some of which are already under construction. The decision will delay and increase the costs of new coal-burning power plants and will give added legal leverage to citizen-led campaigns that oppose these environmentally reckless projects.
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