Brian Willis
Sierra Club
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Past articles by Brian:
Sierra Club Launches New Report and Tools Exposing Utility ‘Greenwashing’ on Climate Pledges
The Sierra Club released a groundbreaking report and research tool today, which grades utilities based on their plans to retire coal plants, stop building new gas plants, and invest in clean energy -- allowing readers to judge each utility’s climate progress and how it compares to what science demands. → Read More
Thousands of Deaths Per Year, Billions of Dollars Lost: Trump Advances Dirty Power Plan
In the midst of intense public pressure for action on the climate crisis, former coal lobbyist and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler did the opposite today by finalizing the Trump Administration's plan to roll back the Clean Power Plan - the first-ever safeguards from carbon pollution for existing power plants. Wheeler’s alternative -- the Dirty Power Plan -- is a deadly → Read More
New Data Further Show Climate in Crisis as Trump Plays Politics at the Border
As Donald Trump attempts to manufacture a crisis along the border, a series of new reports indicates he is continuing to ignore a real, critical crisis that threatens the health and safety of communities across the country. → Read More
Wheeler Tries Another Desperate Rollback that Won’t Save Coal
Former coal lobbyist and acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced plans today to roll back carbon pollution standards for new coal-fired power plants, a move many onlookers view as another bid to help his former employers in the coal industry. → Read More
Sierra Club: Senate Recklessly Confirms Coal Bailout Architect and Fossil Fuel Proponent Bernard McNamee to FERC
The U.S. Senate confirmed coal bailout architect and fossil fuel proponent Bernard McNamee to the technology-neutral Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today, despite strong opposition from public health groups, environmental organizations, and elected leaders. → Read More
Xcel Energy Announces Ambitious Plan to Eliminate Carbon Emissions by 2050
This afternoon, Xcel Energy announced its commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050. This is the first major interstate utility in the U.S. to commit to eliminating carbon emissions. → Read More
McNamee’s Refusal to Recuse Himself From Considering His Own Coal Bailout Plan Disqualifies Him for FERC
Bernard McNamee, a long time fossil fuel lawyer and architect of the Trump Administration’s failed coal bailout attempt, testified today before the United States’ Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on his nomination to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). → Read More
Sierra Club Report: New Financial Tools for Coal Utilities to Help Cost Effectively Transition to Clean Energy
Club released an energy transition white paper today showing utilities and electricity market stakeholders how to harness financial tools to cost effectively accelerate the timeline for coal plant retirements, and build out cheap clean energy resources like solar and wind. → Read More
Wheeler Attacks Obama Admin’s Policies, Then Ridiculously Takes Credit for Their Benefits
Former coal lobbyist and acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Andrew Wheeler shamelessly took credit for the Obama Administration’s environmental achievements today when he touted Greenhouse Gas Reduction (GHG) numbers for 2017. → Read More
EPA Inspector General Report Slams Pruitt’s Spending
A report from the EPA’s Inspector General found that former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt did not have the justification or authority to approve the exponential increases in security and travel spending that occurred during Pruitt’s tenure. → Read More
Smog Pollution Standards Maintained
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced today that he would not revise or repeal the 2015 smog pollution standard that helps protect vulnerable communities with serious health conditions from dirty air, but serious threats to the standard remain. → Read More
Trump Administration Considers Forcing Taxpayers to Bail Out Coal and Nuclear Executives
Bloomberg reports that the Trump Administration is considering an order that would force grid operators across the country to buy electricity from failing coal and nuclear plants -- a move Bloomberg categorizes as “unprecedented intervention” into U.S. energy markets and an order that would raise electricity rates for Americans across the country. → Read More
Clean Water Coalition Submits 56,700+ Comments Demanding Scott Pruitt Keep Coal Ash Rules
Sierra Club and clean water coalition partners submitted 56,703 comments today demanding EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt keep in place federal protections against toxic coal ash - the dangerous waste product of coal-fired power plants. → Read More
Clean Water Advocates Mobilize More than 60 Local Voices Against Pruitt Proposal for EPA Hearing on Coal Ash
The Sierra Club and its allies mobilized more than 60 local community leaders from around the country to attend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) public hearing on coal ash, to demand national clean water protections from coal ash be kept in place. Local leaders from communities polluted by coal ash traveled to D.C. from states including IL, GA, IN, OK, NC, Puerto → Read More
Polluters Purchase Another Win From Pruitt, This Time Handicapping Medical Science that Saves Lives
Scandal ridden EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announce today that he is ordering staff to limit their use of scientific studies to those where the underlying data is publicly available, disqualifying the use of long-standing, landmark studies linking air pollution and pesticide exposure to harmful health impacts. These studies had long protected the confidential health → Read More
American Communities Cannot Delay Having Access to Clean Water
The Office of Budget and Management recklessly suspended the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2015 Clean Water Rule today, delaying it by at least two years. The Clean Water Rule, also known as the “Waters of the United States Rule”, provides vital clean water protections against dangerous pollution contaminating America’s waterways and drinking water supplies. → Read More
With NOPR Decision, FERC Brings Coal and Nuclear Industries Back to Reality
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) terminated its consideration of Rick Perry’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that would have bailed out uneconomic coal and nuclear plants that cannot compete against cleaner, cheaper energy sources like solar, wind, and energy efficiency. → Read More
New Analysis Finds Dramatic Costs of Perry's Directive to FERC
Sierra Club released new findings today showing that Secretary Rick Perry’s recent directive to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to force electricity customers to bail out uneconomic coal and nuclear plants would severely distort America’s energy markets and cause ratepayers’ bills to skyrocket. → Read More
Bloomberg Announces $64 Million in New Funding to Move America Beyond Coal as Trump EPA Tries to Prop Up Dead End Fuel Source
One day after the Trump Administration formally announced its plans to rescind the Clean Power Plan, the Obama Administration's climate change policy that has been held up in federal court, Michael R. Bloomberg announced a new commitment of $64 million to support the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign and other organizations working to advance the U.S. clean energy market at the state and local… → Read More
Local Public Health Activists in Wise County Hold Polluters Accountable for Dangerous Water Contamination
Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia ruled in favor of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and Sierra Club on a citizen request for federal inspection of Red River Coal Company’s Greater Wise mine. → Read More