In one of his first actions concerning the environment, President Obama directed the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, to immediately reconsider the Bush administration's denial of California's request to implement its groundbreaking "Clean Cars Program." If California's request is approved, drivers in California and at least 13 other states would have greater opportunities to buy cleaner, more fuel efficient cars.

The Office of Surface Mining has proposed changes to its stream buffer zone rule that would make it easier for mining companies to bury natural streams and valleys under piles of mining waste and vast ponds of toxin-laden sludge. The changes would weaken environmental standards for mountaintop removal mining operations that, even under the stricter existing buffer rule, have buried hundreds of miles of streams and contaminated mountain waterways.