Earth Equity News

CEQ Considers Mandating the Inclusion of Carbon Footprints in Environmental Impact Statements. By Jim Tankersley, LATimes, January 1, 2010. "The White House is poised to order all federal agencies to evaluate any major actions they take, such as building highways or logging national forests, to determine how they would contribute to and be affected by climate change, a step long sought by environmentalists... The new order would expand the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, a landmark statute that turns 40 today. The act already requires federal agencies to consider environmental impacts such as land use, species health and air and water quality when approving projects. By formalizing a requirement to consider effects on climate -- a step some agencies already take -- the administration would introduce a broad new spectrum of issues to be considered. It could also open up new avenues for environmentalists to attack, delay or halt proposed government actions. The environmental impact statements originally required by the act have become routine battlegrounds for environmentalists, developers and others... The head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Nancy Sutley, said in an interview this week that federal agencies 'should think about both the effect of greenhouse gas emissions, and the effects of climate change, on decisions they make.' She added that the administration's decision was not yet final." California and Massachusetts already require the inclusion of projected carbon footprints in state-level environmental assessments.