Published: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 4:06 AM EDT

 School is out, vacations have started, and visitors from across the country are driving to one of the state’s great coastal attractions, Jekyll Island.

U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens are pushing legislation in hopes of stopping a tactic environmental groups sometimes use to get stricter regulations known as “sue and settle.” GreenLaw's Stephanie Benfield weighs in.

Nearly two dozen Washington County residents came out Thursday, (6/13/2013) to get more information about a proposed coal-fired power plant. The Washington County chapter of the NAACP has taken a stand against "Plant Washington" opening up in the area. They say the negatives of the plant outweigh the positives.

Fifty years ago, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution carried an article entitled “Jekyll at the Crossroads,” which staked the future of Jekyll Island on the interpretation of the state law limiting development of Jekyll Island to 35 percent of the land area that lies above mean high tide.

A broad group of consumer and environmental advocates, business officials and nonprofit leaders urged Georgia Power to add more renewable energy to its electricity mix over the next two decades.

Although the 65/35 law does not define “land,” Georgia’s Coastal Marshlands Protection Act of 1970 is quite specific in distinguishing between uplands and marshes. Under that law, marshes are neither “land” nor eligible for active use or development, except for strictly limited purposes.

April showers bring Mayflowers, which sometimes trigger allergies and asthma attacks. Only pollen is not the only factor contributing to the incidence of asthma attacks. The children of Georgia have a higher rate of the chronic airway disorder than the national average, so our children are especially vulnerable to air quality.

The Jekyll Island Authority is embroiled in an argument with a task force it appointed as part of its update of the island’s master plan.

The Green Energy biomass plant proposed for Lithonia received its air quality permit to operate from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on April 26.

The 23-page permit said that “at all times, including periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction, the Permittee shall maintain and operate this source, including associated air pollution control equipment, in a manner consistent with good air pollution control practice for minimizing emissions.”

Jekyll Island Master Plan will be greatly influenced by Georgia’s Attorney General’s opinion of whether marsh can be defined as “land”. Two ways to help preserve Jekyll Island with your voice are outlined.

Marcia Bansley, David and Mindy Egan and Jewel Harper are each receiving awards for their dedication to defending Georgia’s environment. New this year is the Legislators of the Year Awards, which honor outstanding public servants for contributing to our state’s environmental preservation. A celebration and awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday September 24, 2013 on the rooftop terrace of Nelson Mullins in Midtown, Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution discusses the difference of opinion between the Jekyll Island Authority and residents and environmentalists and why the issue has reached the state Attorney General's office.

In a major step forward for the clean energy economy and public health, thousands of
Georgia homes and businesses will be powered by clean wind energy imported from Oklahoma by 2016. Georgia Power has announced a deal to import wind energy from Oklahoma to Georgia customers.

Developers of Plant Washington, a planned 850-megawatt, coal-fired power plant outside Sandersville, say they are in a “dead sprint” to meet an imminent deadline to begin construction. If the plant is not “under construction” by April 13, it won’t be exempt from the first-ever carbon pollution limits for U.S. power plants.

As material and energy costs increase, water becomes scarce, and consumer preferences change, sustainability is becoming increasingly important. A new emphasis on sustainability will require workers with different skills than they may have now. Take a short survey to help identify the changes that are needed to ensure Georgia's universities and technical colleges continue to provide students with the type of education and training that businesses and industry need now and in the future.

The Ogeechee Riverkeeper plans to challenge the permit issued on March 25th by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division that allows King America Finishing to continue dumping flame-retardant chemicals into the river.

On Monday, GreenLaw filed a suit in federal court on behalf of the Sierra Club claiming the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to meet a statutorily imposed deadline of January 20, 2012 to act on a state regulation that had been submitted for incorporation into Georgia’s Clean Air Act State Implementation Plan.

GreenLaw is a member of the Georgia Water Coalition’s leadership team and has been working closely with the coalition this legislative session to promote clean water issues under the Gold Dome. Of particular interest to GreenLaw is the Emergency Response bill (HB 549), which relates to our Ogeechee River fish kill case, and revisions to the Coastal Marshland and Shoreline Protection Act (HB 402), which impacts the work we’re doing to protect Jekyll Island from overdevelopment.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, the Georgia Gives Day blog highlights our state's outstanding environmental organizations.

Citing recent air quality reports, on March 6 GreenLaw became the only organization to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding Atlanta’s clean air re-designation. The comments were filed on behalf of Mothers and Others for Clean Air and the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club.

A bill adopted by the Senate last week could funnel millions of tax dollars to one of the state’s major donors to political campaigns and threatens Georgia’s long-standing practice of managing water as a public resource, according to the Georgia Water Coalition.

Join the Altamaha Riverkeeper at a Celebration of the Ocmulgee River in Macon on March 21st!

Join the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Senator Lester Jackson (Dist. 2) for "Wind Energy Day" at the Capitol on March 20th.

Weekend for Rivers is Georgia River Network’s Annual Conference and River Celebration event that gives us all a chance to celebrate Georgia’s unique, beautiful rivers through storytelling, partying and paddling!

National Public Radio reports on the latest scientific evidence showing it only took 100 years to reverse the overall cooling trend of the last 5,000 years.