Environment

WPC's Center for the Environment brings balance to the environmental debate by promoting the idea that human progress and prosperity work in a free economy to protect the environment.

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What's New

'Toxics' Proposals Would Prioritize Ignorance over Science and Increase Environmental Risk

Feb. 1, 2012 in Publications
By

Todd Myers, Director, Center for the Environment

, February 2012

In 2007, the Legislature, responding to lobbying by environmental activists, banned flame-retardant compounds known as PBDEs. The activists claimed the compounds created a risk of health problems that outweighed the safety benefit to consumers. Four years later, the environmental activists are back, arguing the flame retardants that replaced the banned PBDEs, known as “Tris,” should also be banned. The new bill, HB 2266, would not only ban Tris, but a number of other useful compounds as well, and would require companies to make a list of alternatives that could be used in the future.

Those Pesky Global Temperatures Lose A Bet for Climate Scientist

National Center for Policy Analysis January 23, 2012 in In the News
Source: 
National Center for Policy Analysis
Date: 
January 21, 2012
Link: 
http://environmentblog.ncpa.org/those-pesky-global-temperatures-lose-a-bet-for-climate-scientist/

A Day to Honor Dr. King, Break Down Barriers...and be Green

January 16, 2012

As we honor the message of Dr. King, we should take the opportunity to break down barriers by making the world a little closer through trade. While the environmental community encourages us to buy from others in our own community, those whose culture and experiences are most like ours, we want to encourage you to enjoy the work, skill and craftsmanship of those in cultures unlike ours.

Cuba: Leader in Business Innovation

January 13, 2012

Over at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, which describes itself as "The Pioneer of Sustainable Business Education," the institute is committed to educating about the ways business can promote environmental sustainability. On its web page, BGIs purpose statement reads: "We believe that business—as society’s most influential institution—is a powerful force for social change."

Western Washington Lawmaker Proposes Plastic Bag Ban

KXLY 4 News (Spokane) January 12, 2012 in In the News
Source: 
KXLY 4 News (Spokane)
Date: 
January 11, 2012
Link: 
http://www.kxly.com/news/30192050/detail.html

City of Seattle Calls Kyoto Protocol 'Political' and 'Cumbersome'

January 10, 2012

After years of touting its commitment to meeting the carbon emissions reductions of the Kyoto Protocol, the City of Seattle is dismissing its failure to meet that target with a waive of the hand. Indeed, city staffers now echo exactly our critique of City Hall's carbon emissions reduction efforts.

In an interview with the Seattle Times published on Sunday, the head of Seattle's Office of Sustainability and the Environment offered this assessment of the Kyoto Protocol: