Environmental
NAM: Manufacturers Lose As EPA Doubles Down On Regs
December 14, 2012 2:10 pm | News | CommentsOver the past 30 years manufacturers have been subjected to more than 2,000 regulations. More rigorous regulations are not the answer when jobs are at risk, and we just witnessed the loss of another 7,000 manufacturing jobs last month, NAM says.
Poll: Science Doubters Say World Is Warming
December 14, 2012 2:03 pm | by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsNearly 4 out of 5 Americans now think temperatures are rising and that global warming will be a serious problem for the United States if nothing is done about it, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds. Belief and worry about climate change are inching up among Americans in general, but concern is growing faster among people who don't often trust scientists on the environment.
New Filtration Group Combines Two Proven Industry Leaders
December 14, 2012 10:10 am | News | CommentsKaydon Custom Filtration, a global leader in bulk oil and fuel purification and Purafil, Inc., a global leader in gas phase and biological air filtration, have joined forces to form Kaydon Environmental Services Group. This consolidated group creates a unique, global environmental leadership focused on providing quality solutions for both air and liquid applications.
EPA Finds Contamination At Rocket Test Site
December 12, 2012 11:42 pm | News | CommentsLingering radioactive contamination exists at a former rocket test lab outside of Los Angeles that was the site of a partial nuclear meltdown, federal environmental regulators said Wednesday. The EPA launched a $42 million study to investigate radioactive pollution at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, 25 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
UN Chief Urges Faster Response To Global Warming
December 4, 2012 11:33 am | News | CommentsU.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged governments to speed up slow-moving talks to forge a joint response to global warming. Ban described climate change as an "existential challenge for the whole human race" as he addressed the opening Tuesday of the high-level segment of annual U.N. climate talks involving environment ministers and climate officials from nearly 200 countries.
Fossil Fuel Subsidies In Focus At Climate Talks
December 3, 2012 1:42 pm | by Karl Ritter, Associated Press | News | CommentsQatar — the host of U.N. climate talks that entered their final week Monday — is among dozens of countries that keep gas prices artificially low through subsidies that exceeded $500 billion globally last year. Renewable energy worldwide received six times less support.
Revised 'Fracking' Regulations Released In NY
November 30, 2012 10:55 am | by George M. Walsh, Associated Press | News | CommentsA revised set of proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing natural gas has been released by New York environmental officials who will begin taking public comment on them in December. It has been a year since the last public hearings on the original proposal. New York has not yet approved the technology, which drillers want to use to tap gas in the Marcellus Shale formation.
'Green' Program Set For NY GM Plant
November 29, 2012 2:11 pm | News | CommentsGeneral Motors Co. executives will give the media a tour of one of the company's western New York plants to unveil a new environmental program. GM says it's committed to reducing the environmental impact of its vehicles and facilities, and the company says the Lockport plant is a "stand-out" example of GM's sustainability commitment.
NAM: EPA Regulations Will Hurt Economic Growth
November 28, 2012 1:53 pm | News | CommentsThe National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) today released a new study, A Critical Review of the Benefits and Costs of EPA Regulations on the U.S. Economy, which finds six major Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations will cost manufacturers hundreds of billions of dollars and cause the loss of several million jobs.
First Section Of New Shelter For Chernobyl Ready
November 27, 2012 8:27 am | News | CommentsWorkers have raised the first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that is eventually to cover the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. Project officials on Tuesday hailed the raising as a significant step in a complex effort to liquidate the consequences of the world's worst nuclear accident, in 1986.
U.S. Defends 'Enormous' Climate Efforts
November 26, 2012 1:19 pm | by Karl Ritter, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. defended its track record on fighting climate change on Monday at U.N. talks, saying it's making "enormous" efforts to slow global warming and help the poor nations most affected by it. Other countries have accused Washington of hampering the climate talks ever since the Bush administration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol.
NY Gov: Fracking Regs Likely Delayed Into 2013
November 20, 2012 10:18 pm | by Mary Esch, Associated Press | News | CommentsA health impact review of shale gas drilling by national experts will make it impossible to meet a looming deadline for new fracking regulations, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday, pushing a much-delayed decision on the contentious issue into 2013.
NY University Shale Gas Center Closes
November 20, 2012 1:26 pm | by Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe University at Buffalo on Monday closed its seven-month-old shale gas research institute, which was under investigation by the State University Board of Trustees after a group of professors accused it of having undisclosed ties to industry.
UN: Greenhouse Gases At Record High In 2011
November 20, 2012 12:40 pm | News | CommentsThe U.N. weather agency says concentrations of the main global warming pollutant in the world's air reached a record high in 2011. The World Meteorological Organization says the planet averaged 390 parts per million of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, up 40 percent from before the Industrial Age when levels were about 275 parts per million.
California Sells Out Of First Pollution Permits
November 19, 2012 5:21 pm | by Jason Dearen, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe effort to curtail carbon emissions involved the sale of 23.1 million permits — each allowing for the release of one ton of carbon — for $10.09 apiece, the California Air Resources Board said. The permit sales last week opened the largest carbon marketplace in the nation and the second-biggest in the world after the European Union.
Google Invests $75M In Iowa Wind Farm
November 15, 2012 11:58 am | News | CommentsGoogle is investing $75 million in an Iowa wind farm as part of its effort to encourage development of cleaner energy sources. The deal announced Thursday gives Google Inc. a stake in the Rippey Wind Farm in Greene County, Iowa. RPM Access LLC is the primary owner.
Calif. Panel Rejects Quake Study Near Nuke Plant
November 14, 2012 8:00 pm | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsCiting harm to marine life, California coastal regulators rejected a utility's plan to map offshore earthquake faults near a nuclear power plant by blasting loud air cannons. The unanimous vote by the California Coastal Commission came after an hours-long public hearing attended by environmentalists, fishermen and residents who were overwhelmingly opposed to the seismic testing.
Global Warming Talk Heats Up After Sandy
November 14, 2012 8:22 am | by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsClimate change is suddenly a hot topic again. The issue is resurfacing in talks about a once radical idea: a possible carbon tax. A carbon tax works by making people pay more for using fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas that produce heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
Governors Want Wind Energy Tax Credit Renewed
November 14, 2012 8:12 am | by Jeff Barnard and Nicholas, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe fate of a tax credit that advocates say is needed to maintain tens of thousands of wind energy jobs will be decided during high-stakes, last-minute negotiations between President Obama and House Republicans over fiscal issues, officials said Tuesday. The wind energy production tax credit is due to expire at the end of the year.
Congress Protects Airlines From EU Emissions Tax
November 14, 2012 8:00 am | by Jim Abrams, Associated Press | News | CommentsCongress on Tuesday stepped in to protect U.S. airlines from having to pay into a European Union program to cut emissions that its critics say is unilateral and illegal. House action to pass the bill came a day after the EU, facing protests from numerous countries and a possible trade war, said it was postponing enforcement for non-EU airlines.
Calif. Group Sues To Invalidate Cap-And-Trade
November 13, 2012 7:21 pm | by Jason Dearen, Associated Press | News | CommentsCalifornia's largest business group filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the validity of the state's cap-and-trade program on the eve of the first pollution permit auction. The California Chamber of Commerce's lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court was not expected to stop Wednesday's planned cap-and-trade auction.
Justice Dept., DEP Sue Over Superfund Site
November 13, 2012 11:22 am | News | CommentsThe U.S. Department of Justice and the state Department of Environmental Protection have sued 17 companies in an attempt to recover some of the costs of cleaning up a Superfund site about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. According to the complaint, the site was run by Remacor, which processed magnesium shavings and scrap until a 2005 fire destroyed facilities there.
China Seeks To Stem Environmental Protests
November 12, 2012 10:27 am | by Gillian Wong, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Chinese government will require that future industrial projects include assessments of their risk to social stability, following several large protests around the country over pollution, a top official said Monday. The government will also increase transparency and public involvement in decisions regarding large projects with potential environmental impact.
2 Oil Companies Pay $35M In MTBE Suit
November 8, 2012 10:11 am | News | CommentsNew Hampshire's attorney general says two oil companies are paying the state a total of $35 million to settle pending claims from a lawsuit alleging that they added MTBE to gasoline, knowing that it would contaminate ground water supplies. The state, which sued the companies and others in 2003, contends they knew they were supplying a product with unique hazards.
EPA Penalizes Behlen Manufacturing
November 6, 2012 11:43 am | News | CommentsBehlen Manufacturing has agreed to pay a penalty of nearly $60,000 for several EPA violations at its plant in Columbus. The Environmental Protection Agency says Behlen also agreed to spend a minimum of nearly $75,600 to install anti-pollution equipment.
