Katie Valentine for Think Progress

NASA Administrator Gives Ted Cruz An Epic Lesson In How Science Works

Along with Republicans before him, Cruz has made the argument before that NASA should focus more on space exploration and less on issues facing our lowly planet.

Katie Valentine for Think Progress
By Katie Valentine for Think Progress

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, waves to the crowd at a Republican victory party Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Austin, Texas. Photo: David J. Phillip/AP Sen. Ted Cruz thinks NASA should spend less time studying the planet and more time finding ways to go out into space. Cruz (R-TX), who is chair of the Senate Space, Science, and Competitiveness

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Michigan Governor Signs Bill Requiring Drug Testing Of Welfare Recipients

“This pilot program is intended to help ensure recipients get the wrap-around services they need to overcome drug addiction and lead successful lives. We’ll then have opportunity to assess effectiveness and outcomes,.”

Katie Valentine for Think Progress
By Katie Valentine for Think Progress

Gov. Rick Snyder speaks at a news conference in Lansing, Mich. (AP/Paul Sancya) Welfare recipients in some Michigan counties will soon be tested if they’re suspected of using drugs, under a set of bills signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder this week. The Senate and House bills, which were signed into law Friday, will create a yearlong

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For Latino Voters, Climate Change Is Almost As Important An Issue As Immigration

In a recent poll, 9 out of 10 respondents favored taking action on climate change.

Katie Valentine for Think Progress
By Katie Valentine for Think Progress

Latinos strongly support efforts to tackle climate change and protect the environment, a new poll has found. The poll, which was completed for the NRDC by polling firm Latino Decisions, surveyed 805 registered Latino voters and found that about 9 out of 10 respondents favored taking action on climate change, with 92 percent calling for more use

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Thanks To Wind Energy, Texans Didn’t Lose Power During The Polar Vortex

Wind farms helped Texans meet an unprecedented winter power demand in the strain of recent cold weather.

Katie Valentine for Think Progress
By Katie Valentine for Think Progress

On Tuesday, frigid temperatures pushed Texas to a new winter record for power usage. But thanks in part to wind power, Texans were able to avoid major power outages, despite the stress on the grid. On Monday, cold weather and shut downs of some power plants forced the Texas grid operator to begin implementing its emergency plan to meet demand.

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Kinder Morgan Files Application For Another Tar Sands Pipeline Across British Columbia

After concerns about leaks this summer, the oil company filed a new proposal to nearly triple the capacity of it’s Trans Mountain pipeline.

Katie Valentine for Think Progress
By Katie Valentine for Think Progress

While the Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines have gotten much of this year’s press, a different pipeline project has been forging ahead in British Columbia. Today, American energy company Kinder Morgan filed a proposal for an expansion of its Trans Mountain Pipeline. The company aims to build a pipeline that would carry diluted bitumen

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West Virginia Landfills Will Now Accept Often Radioactive Fracking Waste

West Virginia’s Marcellus Formation has been found to have a higher level of radioactivity than other formations.

Katie Valentine for Think Progress
By Katie Valentine for Think Progress

A memo released earlier this year in West Virginia gives the state’s landfills the ability to accept unlimited amounts of fracking waste, the AP reports. The memo will create an exception for the state’s natural gas industry to longstanding laws on landfill waste, which stipulate that landfills can only take 10,000 or 30,000 tons of solid waste

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Pine Beetles Are Decimating New Jersey’s Pine Barrens As Winters Get Warmer

Pine bark beetles have killed tens of thousands of trees in New Jersey’s ecologically diverse Pinelands since an outbreak was first discovered in 2001.

Katie Valentine for Think Progress
By Katie Valentine for Think Progress

Bark beetles — which have already exploded in Canada and the western U.S. — are now ravaging New Jersey’s Pinelands. Warmer winters are creating an ideal habitat for pine beetles in New Jersey — a state where subzero temperatures used to kill them off each winter. In the past, temperatures of negative 8 degrees Fahrenheit would finish off most

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