skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, June 23, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Security guard kills MI church gunman, preventing 'large-scale mass shooting'; NM Pride celebrations urge 'resilience' after U.S. v. Skrmetti ruling; Beleaguered L.A. affordable housing proposal goes before judge; Data change means ID saw largest college enrollment drop in spring term.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

U.S. awaits Iran's response following strikes on three nuclear sites. Department of Homeland Security warns about possible attacks here, and advocates call for resilience as LGBTQ rights face threats around the nation.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Giant data centers powering artificial intelligence want cheap rural land but some communities are pushing back, Hurricane Helene mobilized a North Carolina town in unexpected ways, and Cherokee potters make ceramics that honor multiple generations.

As World Leaders Craft Climate-Change Plan, ALEC Plots Its Downfall

play audio
Play

Tuesday, December 8, 2015   

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - At the same time world leaders gathered in Paris to find a solution for global climate change, another group has been meeting in Arizona to formulate a plan to scuttle their efforts.

Members of the American Legislative Exchange Council met behind closed doors for three days in Scottsdale, in part to develop a game plan to undermine any agreements to limit carbon pollution. According to Mary Bottari, deputy director of the Center for Media and Democracy, ALEC's members, which include global oil and gas companies and giant utility firms, are planning a full-court press at state legislatures in 2016.

"They actually have model bills rolling back renewable energy. They have model bills rolling back wages, by pre-empting prevailing wages for construction workers, or living wages for other folks," she said. "So, it's a very interesting, very 'retrograde' agenda."

Bottari, whose group tracks ALEC and its activities, said ALEC normally pushes its agenda by promoting model legislation to states. However, she said, the group now has moved beyond that to a direct campaign against President Obama's proposed Clean Power Plan, which calls for a 32 percent cut in carbon emissions across the United States by 2030.

ALEC has organized the attorneys general in 24 states to sue the Environmental Protection Agency in the name of states' rights. Bottari said they want to block the administration from implementing any plan to limit the types of pollution that most scientists say are man-made contributors to climate change. She said ALEC has some heavyweight players in its corner.

"Giants like Exxon-Mobil and Chevron, and also energy traders like Koch Industries and those kinds of folks," she said. "These people do not want to see a global climate agreement; they want to continue burning fossil fuels 'til the end of time."

Even if ALEC can't stop plans to halt climate change, Bottari said, it hopes to cast doubt on the validity of the science behind them, or delay action on any treaties until after the presidential election.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Advocates said prison gerrymandering gives voting districts with a correctional facility an unfair advantage in the West Virginia political system. They want state lawmakers to make changes before the 2030 Census. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Prison policy advocates are urging West Virginia lawmakers to put an end to "prison gerrymandering," which they said distorts political representation…


play sound

As Congress debates the GOP's sweeping budget reconciliation bill, some lawmakers are working to include a provision which would delay a methane …

Health and Wellness

play sound

More St. Louis County libraries are teaming up with the American Heart Association to offer blood pressure cuffs for checkout, to help people take …


According to federal data, SNAP benefits cover 34,000 children and 9,000 seniors in South Dakota. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Federal data show roughly 75,000 South Dakota households rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table and hunger-fighting groups paint a troubling p…

Environment

play sound

From poultry to beer, Minnesota has an avid interest in producing food with ingredients and practices mindful of the state's water resources and the …

The Venice Dell project, if built, would add 120 units of affordable housing to the Venice Beach neighborhood. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Los Angeles faces a severe shortage of affordable housing but Monday, the city is asking a judge to put a hold on a lawsuit which aims to clear the …

play sound

As outdoor recreation picks up for summer, a clean-water advocacy group reminds people that some fish around Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River are …

Social Issues

play sound

Advocates for immigrants' rights in Washington state are voicing concerns about the possible expansion of the H-2A visa program, which they say …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021