MNN - Mother Nature Network

Jan. 31, 1990: U.S. President George H.W. Bush proposes elevating the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet-level status.

 

Jan. 31, 2006: In his annual State of the Union address, U.S. President George W. Bush acknowledges that America is "addicted to oil." He outlines a strategy to replace 75 percent of U.S. oil imports by the year 2025.

 

Jan. 31, 2009: U.S. President Barack Obama removes funding for nuclear waste storage at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain (at right), effectively killing the effort. Decades overdue and billions of dollars over budget, the Yucca Mountain project is opposed by some scientists, environmentalists and southern Nevada residents and political leaders. Electric utilities that paid into a fund to pay for the site have sued to get their money returned.