The Obama administration moved for the first time Friday to stop energy companies from releasing unwanted natural gas from oil wells drilled on federal lands, a practice that environmentalists say Continue Reading
The Interior Department proposed rules Friday to cut methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations on federal lands, the latest move in President Barack Obama ’s climate change agenda. Continue Reading
A federal appeals court on Thursday declined to temporarily block a key Obama administration environmental rule to limit carbon emissions from power plants, rejecting requests by states and companies that Continue Reading
A massive natural gas leak in southern California that has forced thousands of residents from their homes is giving momentum to the Obama administration’s plan to clamp down on methane Continue Reading
Nineteen times this year, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide has exceeded the EU limit of 200 micrograms per cubic meter as an hourly mean. London failed annual European Union limits Continue Reading
Milan is banning cars, motorcycles and scooters for six hours a day over the next three days. In Rome, cars with odd-numbered plates have been banned for nine hours on Continue Reading
Thick layers of toxic smog often blanket the skies in Hanoi, limiting visibility to less than a mile away. When the pollution gets really bad in Beijing , children are Continue Reading
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China and the United States account for a bulk of the total global emissions, but China’s per-capita rate far exceeding the rest of the world. File photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI PARIS, Nov. 4 (UPI) — More than half of all global emissions came from 10 countries, with China and the United States leading the pack, the International Energy Agency said. Analysis published Wednesday by the IEA, which has headquarters in Paris, said emissions of carbon dioxide related to the energy sector increased globally by 2.2 percent in 2013, compared with a 0.6 percent increase the previous year. Data show that about 60 percent all of emissions generated in 2013 came from 10 countries. China and the United States accounted for the bulk of the emissions, with 26 percent and 16 percent of the total, respectively. Per-capita emissions, meanwhile, increased globally by 16 percent between 1990 and 2013. China in […]
WASHINGTON—A group of 18 states is expected to ask a federal court on Wednesday to intervene in support of Obama administration greenhouse-gas regulations that require significant emissions cuts from hundreds of U.S. power plants. The move will mean most states in the nation are taking sides in a legal battle over a top Environmental Protection Agency initiative on reducing carbon-dioxide emissions. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is leading the coalition seeking to let the EPA’s new rules, called the Clean Power Plan, stand, said they are “a critical step forward in responding to the threat of climate change.” Mr. Schneiderman said the intervening states were committed to joining the EPA in defending the regulations aggressively. Mr. Schneiderman said in a written statement that the regulations were “firmly grounded in science and the law” and incorporated strategies that his state and others were using to cut power-plant pollution […]
WASHINGTON—What could be a yearslong legal and political battle over the Obama administration’s main climate-change initiative formally kicked off Friday, with two dozen states filing a lawsuit against regulations aimed at cutting U.S. carbon emissions. The states sued in a federal court here to challenge the rules, which seek to reduce carbon output from hundreds of power plants across the nation. Congressional Republicans also said Friday they would introduce measures in the coming week seeking to block the rules. The moves will put pressure on the administration from the two other branches of government and, if successful on either front, could cast uncertainty over the rules into the next presidential administration. The legal challengers are expected to contest the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority on a range of grounds, some of them little explored by the courts. Industry associations and companies, including coal producer Murray Energy, also began filing separate […]
Lynn Good, Duke’s chief executive, is undecided about the EPA’s carbon-dioxide emissions plan. U.S. coal companies and at least 16 state governments are working on challenges to the Obama administration’s new rule limiting carbon emissions from power plants. Most electric utilities have a different strategy: They are embracing it. The main reason, executives and experts say, is that economic forces are pushing the power industry inexorably toward a lower-carbon future. “Everybody is moving in this direction anyway,” said Dominion Chief Executive Tom Farrell. The new regulations just add certainty to companies’ plans to move away from relying on coal to generate electricity, turning instead toward cheap natural gas as well as renewable energy, which is available at increasingly lower cost. “Price is a larger force in electricity markets today than what Washington is doing with regulations,” said Todd Carter, president of Panda Power Funds, a private-equity investor and generating-plant […]
Volkswagen’s Audi brand vehicles parked in Brussels last month. Volkswagen AG VLKAY 8.93 % conceded it won’t be able sell diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S. for a prolonged period, withdrawing a request for regulators to certify new models in the wake of an emissions-cheating scandal. Volkswagen’s 2016 model-year diesel-powered vehicles include emissions-control software that requires regulatory approval in the U.S., according to prepared remarks by the auto maker’s U.S. chief executive to be delivered on Thursday at a congressional hearing. The testimony doesn’t make clear whether the software can defeat emissions tests as software on older diesel-powered vehicles does. In his prepared statement, Michael Horn, head of Volkswagen Group of America, offered a “sincere apology” to U.S. lawmakers for the German auto maker’s yearslong deception. “These events are deeply troubling. I did not think that something like this was possible at the Volkswagen Group,” he said in his testimony […]
WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced a sweeping federal air-pollution limit on ground-level ozone, one of several environmental regulations fueling a clash between the Obama administration and the business community. The EPA is setting a final standard of 70 parts per billion of ozone in the air, down from the current level of 75 parts per billion, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Thursday. The ozone limit is prompting criticism both from environmental groups that say it isn’t strong enough and business executives who didn’t want the EPA to change the standard at all. Some company and state officials have said they could support a standard of 70 but nothing lower, indicating the EPA is seeking to find some middle ground on the hotly divisive issue. “We know that this regulation could have been worse, but it still feels like a punch in the gut,” said Tom Riordan, CEO […]
Continue reading the main story Slide Show Slide Show|12 Photos A Look Back at the Smog A Look Back at the Smog CreditNeal Boenzi/The New York Times Back in 1970, Los Angeles was known as the smog capital of the world — a notorious example of industrialization largely unfettered by regard for health or the environment. Heavy pollution drove up respiratory and heart problems and shortened lives. But 1970 was also the year the environmental movement held the first Earth Day and when, 45 years ago this month, Congress passed a powerful update of the Clean Air Act . (Soon after, it was signed by President Richard Nixon , and it was followed by the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency and passage of the Clean Water Act, making him one of the most important, though underappreciated, environmentalists in American history.) Since that time, the Clean Air Act has […]
WASHINGTON—A federal court denied a request by more than a dozen states on Wednesday to temporarily block the Obama administration’s carbon regulations while they mount a full legal challenge to the rules. The decision is an early victory for the Environmental Protection Agency, which completed the rules last month calling for carbon emissions from power plants to be cut 32% by 2030 from 2005 levels . The regulations are the cornerstone of President Barack Obama ’s climate plan, and Wednesday’s ruling is an early legal salvo in what is expected to be a yearslong court battle over Mr. Obama’s climate agenda. Last month, 15 states asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to issue an emergency stay blocking the rules , noting that they would be required “to spend significant and irrevocable sovereign resources now” to be in a position to meet the initial deadline […]
Global Warming Debate Rages North Dakota senator, Heidi Heitkamp, pushes back against the latest federal mandate to reduce methane emissions. President Obama revealed a plan last month that would require oil and gas companies to cut methane pollution from drilling sites, distribution systems and in other areas of operation. This ruling is part of the President’s broad and aggressive plan to fight climate change, and many believe it would literally transform the energy industry. The EPA said the proposed standards will reduce 340,000 to 400,000 short tons of methane in 2025, the equivalent of reducing 7.7 to 9 million metric tons of CO2. The agency estimates the rule will yield net climate benefits of $120-150 million in 2025. Senator Henkamp is proposing bipartisan, “commonsense solutions” to reduce methane emissions including speeding up the permit approval process for gas-gathering lines and pipeline projects to reduce flaring. Heitkamp commented, “Energy production […]
Image copyright David Zeleny The new estimate includes "ground truth" density data from 400,000 forest plots There are just over three trillion trees on Earth, according to a new assessment. The figure is eight times as big as the previous best estimate, which counted perhaps 400 billion at most. It has been produced by Thomas Crowther from Yale University, and colleagues, who combined a mass of ground survey data with satellite pictures. The team tells the journal Nature that the new total represents upwards of 420 trees for every person on the planet. The more refined number will now form a baseline for a wide range of research applications – everything from studies that consider animal and plant habitats for biodiversity reasons, to new models of the climate, because it is trees of course that play an important role in removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. […]
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday will propose the first-ever federal regulations to cut methane emissions from the nation’s oil and natural-gas industry, according to people familiar with the move, which is part of President Barack Obama’s climate agenda. The EPA is expected to propose regulations aimed at cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40% to 45% over the next decade from 2012…
Photo Waiting on a roadside this month for a highway from Beijing to Hebei Province to reopen after it was closed because of low visibility on a day of heavy smog. Credit Damir Sagolj/Reuters BEIJING — Outdoor air pollution contributes to the deaths of an estimated 1.6 million people in China every year, or about 4,400 people a day, according to a newly released scientific paper . The paper maps the geographic sources of China ’s toxic air and concludes that much of the smog that routinely shrouds Beijing comes from emissions in a distant industrial zone, a finding that may complicate the government’s efforts to clean up the capital city’s air in time for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The authors are members of Berkeley Earth , a research organization based in Berkeley, Calif., that uses statistical techniques to analyze environmental issues. The paper has been accepted for publication […]
Natural gas is easily Florida’s main source of energy, offering up 1,300 Trillion Btu in 2014. Gas is 62% of Florida’s power generation, compared to 47% in 2008, when the “shale revolution” really took off. Florida is unique in that power generation accounts for nearly 90% of the state’s total natural gas demand, while the national average is 33%. Second place Florida uses around 3 Bcf/day to generate 145 billion kWh of gas-fired electricity, compared to Texas leading at 205 billion kWh and California third at 120 billion kWh. The “Sunshine State,” however, is being criticized by environmental groups for such a dramatic shift to natural gas, despite the known cost and environmental advantages. Florida today has no wind power and solar accounts for less than 1% of the state’s electricity. Natural gas provides 585 times more electricity in Florida than wind and solar combined . Florida though is […]
WASHINGTON—More than a dozen U.S. companies on Monday will pledge to invest more than $140 billion in efforts to cut carbon emissions as part of a new Obama administration initiative leading up to the United Nations climate-change summit later this year. As soon as next week, the Environmental Protection Agency is set to issue final rules cutting carbon emissions from U.S. power plants. These regulations are the biggest driver behind the administration’s efforts to forge a global agreement at the U.N. conference in Paris to cut carbon emissions. Monday’s event is important because the administration sees corporate support for climate action as key to building momentum for the Paris talks in December. “It’s significant because they are carbon-intensive, energy-consuming companies making a bottom-up commitment to address climate change,” said Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington-based analysis firm. None of the companies taking part in Monday’s […]
HAZARD, Ky. — Even after years of talk about a “war on coal,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell startled some of his constituents in March when he urged open rebellion against a White House proposal for cutting pollution from coal-fired power plants. The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan is “extremely burdensome and costly,” the Kentucky Republican said in letters advising all 50 states to boycott the rule when it goes into effect this summer. The call for direct defiance was unusual even for McConnell, who has made a career of battling federal restrictions on coal. Yet more striking is what has happened since: Kentucky’s government and electric utilities have quietly positioned themselves to comply with the rule — something state officials expect to do with relatively little effort. In this coal-industry bastion, five of the state’s older coal-burning power plants were already scheduled to close or switch to natural […]
SHAHE, China—A “war against pollution” declared by China’s leaders is getting a boost from the slowing economy as the government forces bloated industries like steel, cement and glassmaking to slim down. The results of cuts in overcapacity are already visible in notoriously smoggy Beijing. Official air-pollution data released by China’s government and monitoring by the U.S. embassy show levels of fine-particulate matter damaging to human health—known as PM2.5—fell more than 15% in the capital in the first half of 2015, compared with a year earlier. The city’s 21 million residents have been greeted with unusual stretches of blue skies. While measures taken by Beijing are partly behind the change, just as important is what’s happening in the sprawling industrial areas that encircle it. The bleak industrial city of Shahe, 200 miles south of the capital, boomed for much of this century. These days, small glass producers there that haven’t […]
Alberta’s new government is engaged in a balancing act. It’s trying to cut carbon emissions while protecting an oil-sands industry that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. Tar sands are found almost exclusively in the western Canadian province. They produce a product that generates about 17 percent more carbon dioxide on average than conventional oil, and emissions in Alberta have risen by more than 53 percent since 1990. At the same time, they’re the nation’s single most valuable export, making up nearly a fifth of total foreign sales. The challenge for the government is to work with an industry, already struggling with price cuts, on ways to hold off environmental criticism of the tar sands. Opponents have so far blocked the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry the oil to the U.S., and limited the world’s third-largest reserve from reaching new buyers. “If Alberta wants better access to world […]
Car exhaust In the 1920s, pregnant women were encouraged to drink Guinness to increase their iron intake. For decades we were all told to avoid fatty butter and eat synthetic margarine. Both pieces of so-called health advice have since been totally debunked. We are now learning that millions of motorists who’ve bought diesel cars believing they were less harmful to the environment have been equally misguided. Diesel cars emit less carbon dioxide (CO2) than their petrol equivalent, we were told. In fact, not only are CO2 emissions almost indentical on average, but they also produce large quantities of other pollutants linked with thousands of premature deaths . Carmakers say they have already taken action to reduce emissions greatly in the past decade and regulators are beginning to acknowledge the problem, but the challenge remains enormous. The reason is simple: about half of all cars currently sold in Europe are […]
LOS ANGELES Fifteen years ago, California led the way to cleaner transit buses with strict tailpipe emissions standards that effectively ushered out diesel as the primary fuel for buses in the state and replaced it with natural gas. Now, California is poised once again to take the lead, this time by mandating a switch to so-called "zero-emission" buses by 2040. The new push by California’s powerful Air Resources Board (CARB) has the potential to marginalize natural gas as a bus fuel in the same way its adoption once marginalized diesel. In response, the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition has proposed expanding the definition of “zero-emission vehicles” to include not just electric buses, but also those powered by so-called “renewable natural gas,” which is produced from cow manure or decomposing organic matter in landfills. Whereas regular natural gas offers a reduction in greenhouse gases of about 15 to 20 percent […]
LONDON In a rare defeat for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered it on Monday to reconsider whether the EPA’s regulations on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants are appropriate and necessary. While the EPA considered the costs and benefits of various regulatory options later in the rule-writing process, the court faulted it for not considering compliance costs at the beginning to determine whether regulation was appropriate in the first place. The ruling is unusual because so far the federal courts, including the high court, have been deferential to the EPA’s attempts to write ambitious rules to curb pollution from power plants. While the courts have become increasingly aggressive in invalidating regulations issued by other federal agencies, the EPA’s air pollution regulations have mostly survived judicial scrutiny. Starting with “Massachusetts versus EPA” in 2007, the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the EPA’s authority […]
Electricity industry representatives and consultants were divided Monday on how much impact the US Supreme Court’s remand of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards to a lower court is likely to have on power markets and investments. Brian Walshe, managing director of ION Consulting in Denver, said he thinks the decision is likely to bring "significant" change in the electricity industry’s direction. "The biggest fallout will be to [Clean Power Plan] compliance strategies," Walshe said in an email. "Many utilities will now be forced to consider this ‘game of chicken’ strategy when CPP rules are announced, due to the enormity of their impact." But Tammy Ridout, American Electric Power spokeswoman, noted that the Supreme Court did not vacate the Environmental Protection Agency’s MATS rule. Article continues below… Sign up for Global Alert today. Platts Global Alert is a complete real-time information service for the global energy industry, providing breaking […]
Despite the US Supreme Court’s ruling Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule, electric power utilities in Michigan and Iowa say they are moving forward with plans to close coal-fired power plants or convert existing coal burners to natural gas over the next several years. The Supreme Court Monday ruled the EPA erred by refusing to consider cost when deciding to regulate emissions of mercury from the power sector. The Michigan South Central Power Agency’s decision late last week to retire its 55-MW Endicott coal plant at Litchfield in June 2016, has nothing to with MATS, general manager Glen White said in a Monday interview. Endicott, which went into commercial operation in 1983, is equipped with a scrubber and already complied with MATS, which took effect in mid-April, White said. Article continues below… Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, […]
For big U.S. power companies like FirstEnergy Corp, the Supreme Court’s decision knocking back landmark rules reducing air pollutants from coal-fired plants has arrived too late for them to turn away from a natural gas-fueled future. Big coal-fired generators said on Monday that they would press ahead with facility upgrades and plant closures even after the court invalidated one of President Barack Obama’s major environmental initiatives, which would set new limits on the amount of mercury and other hazardous pollutants. In a 5-4 decision, the court found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have considered the compliance cost of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. The EPA has estimated it would cost the power industry $9.6 billion a year to comply with the rule. While the prospect of a suspension in the rule – and increased demand for coal – cheered some investors on Monday, […]
« Wireless charging company Evatran gains $1.6M strategic investment from China Tier 1 supplier | Main | Tire-integrated triboelectric generator harvests electricity from rolling tire friction; est. up to +10% fuel econ » Four additional cities—Amsterdam, Lima, Catalonia (Barcelona) and Rome— signed up to the Global Clean Bus Declaration at the 1 st global Clean Bus Summit in London. The Global Clean Bus Declaration , developed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , launched in Buenos Aires in March 2015 with 20 original signatories. Bus manufacturers including BYD, Volvo, Wright Bus, Optare, Mercedes, Evo Bus, and Alexander Dennis attended the London summit and committed to supporting cities in delivering fleets of new ultra-low emission buses. The World Bank and Green Investment Bank have also signed up to this commitment. Cities of the Low Emission Vehicles Network collectively forged an […]
Canadian oil production group said it has a commitment to lowering emissions. Alberta government expected to raise carbon taxes on industry struggling to navigate weak crude oil market. Photo by Pattie Steib/Shutterstock CALGARY, Alberta, June 26 (UPI) — An industry group in the Canadian oil sands sector said it was committed to playing a greater role in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said that, since 1990, the sector has spent more than $1 billion on technologies needed to produce oil with a lower environmental footprint. With climate action moving to the forefront of the global conversation, the industry group said it was prepared to do more . "We developed the technology to get the oil out of the sand – and we are just as committed to getting our carbon out of the air," CAPP President Tim McMillan said in a […]
BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) — Chinese legislators are deliberating regulating emissions from boats and ships as the country clamps down on air pollution. According to a draft amendment to the Air Pollution Law, tabled to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for a second reading on Wednesday, ships on inland or river-to-sea waterways must use standard diesel as fuel to cut emissions. Ocean-going vessels will also be required to use fuels that conform to China’s environmental protection standards after stopping at Chinese ports, the draft read. The shipping sector accounted for around 8.4 percent of China’s sulphur dioxide emissions and 11.3 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions in 2013. The country is also home to eight of the world’s ten largest ports in terms of cargo handling capacities. According to the draft, vessels at berth should operate on land-based power provided by the ports. Ports, both new and existing, […]
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is set to propose Friday new standards for big trucks aimed at lowering fuel costs and cutting carbon emissions as part of President Barack Obama’s broad climate-change agenda. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department will announce a suite of draft standards for big trucks, including garbage trucks, 18-wheelers and heavy-duty pickup trucks, according to a person familiar with the proposal. The standards will apply to big trucks built after 2018 and are a follow-up to the first-ever federal standards for big trucks that the Obama administration announced in 2011 that apply to models built between 2014 and 2018. The standards will also, for the first time ever, regulate trailers that are part of 18-wheelers and other big hauling trucks and issue tougher limits on the part of the truck hauling the trailer, called the tractor, according to multiple industry officials. The draft standards, […]
graph of residential electricity prices and expenditures, as explained in the article text Republished June 11, 2015, 9:30 a.m. to clarify expected electricity generation differences in certain regions. EIA’s recently released analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) rule finds that electricity prices are expected to rise. However, efficiency and price-induced conservation moderate the projected increase in consumer electricity bills. Implementation of the proposed rule causes electricity prices to increase compared with prices projected in Reference case (baseline) as new generating capacity is built and operated and as investments are made to improve the operating efficiency of existing electric generators. As coal-fired generators are retired, the increased use of natural gas for generation leads to higher natural gas fuel prices. Demand-side energy efficiency (EE) is another compliance option for emissions reductions under the proposed plan. Electric utilities and government programs can create incentives for consumers […]
Gina McCarthy, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, said Thursday there is "absolutely no scenario that I will accept where [electricity] reliability comes into question" as the agency’s Clean Power Plan nears implementation. McCarthy, speaking in Houston at IHS CERAWeek, said the CPP, which calls upon the US power sector to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030, mainly through the retirement of coal-fired power plants, should be considered a major plank in the nation’s low-carbon future. McCarthy reminded the audience the program has been under development for three years. She said that, to date, there have been 3.9 million comments on the plan filed with the agency by industry participants and individuals. McCarthy attended the CERAWeek conference last year, where she announced that the CPP was coming. At that time she said she was on a mission to listen to what the industry […]
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review For the second year in a row, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States have increased. However, unlike 2013, when emissions and gross domestic product (GDP) grew at similar rates (2.5% and 2.2%, respectively), 2014’s CO2 emissions growth rate of 0.7% was much smaller than the 2014 GDP growth rate of 2.4%. Energy-related CO2 emissions are the largest component of overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. On March 31, 2015, the United States officially submitted its emissions-cutting target to the United Nations, committing to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 26%-28% from 2005 levels by 2025. This follows President Obama’s 2009 pledge to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. As discussed in a previous article , changes in CO2 emissions reflect changes in economic and energy-related indicators. The previous two years have largely followed the […]
Total US greenhouse emissions were 6,673 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2013, an increase of 2% (127.9 MMT CO 2 Eq.) over the prior year, according to the EPA’s newly published Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2013 . Total US emissions have increased by 5.9% from 1990 to 2013. The increase from 2012 to 2013 was due to an increase in the carbon intensity of fuels consumed to generate electricity due to an increase in coal consumption, with decreased natural gas consumption, according to the report. Additionally, relatively cool winter conditions led to an increase in fuels for the residential and commercial sectors for heating. The transportation sector was the second largest sector source, at 27%. Transportation emissions increased as a result of a small increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and fuel use across on-road transportation modes. By sector, power plants were […]
Delhi was ranked the most polluted city on Earth in 2014 India has launched its first air quality index, to provide real time information about pollution levels. The index, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will initially monitor air quality in 10 cities. Last year the Environmental Preference Index ranked India 174 out of 178 countries for air quality. The rising and health-endangering pollution has been mainly blamed on a huge increase in vehicles, particularly diesel-driven cars, on Indian roads. Polluting industries, open burning of refuse and leaves, massive quantities of construction waste and substantial loss of forests have also led to high pollution levels in cities. A World Health Organization (WHO) survey last year found that 13 of the most polluted 20 cities in the world were in India. The capital, Delhi, was the most polluted city in the world , the survey said. It is a leading […]
New US environmental regulations are likely to create generation shortages in the Great Plains, Midwest, Northeast and Texas, the head of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said Wednesday. Speaking at the Gulf Coast Power Association’s Spring Conference in Houston, Gerry Cauley, NERC president and CEO, said new greenhouse gas rules could cause the retirement of 60 GW of generation capacity, mainly coal-fired, over the next few years. NERC plans to release a report on April 20 that would show such retirements could create shortages in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the Northeast Power Coordination Council and the Southwest Power Pool, Cauley said. Noting that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan aims to lower carbon dioxide emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2020, Cauley said the report would highlight that the necessary cuts for many states "appear to be infeasible." Article […]
The North Dakota Industrial Commission has voted to join Wyoming in a lawsuit challenging a new rule issued by the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management , which includes requirements for publicly disclosing chemicals using in hydraulic fracturing . The rule pertains to onshore drilling on tribal and public lands ( OGJ Online, Mar. 20, 2015 ). Wyoming was the first state that decided to file a lawsuit ( OGJ Online, Mar. 27, 2015 ). North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said he believes the latest federal regulations could “interfere with the work of the state’s water commission and health department.” Atty. Gen. Wayne Stenehjem said North Dakota lawmakers previously approved $1 million for litigation on issues such as fracturing regulations. Related Articles
(Bloomberg) — U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled they are divided over Obama administration rules that would cut emissions from 460 coal-fired power plants in an effort to curb birth defects, heart disease and premature deaths. During arguments Wednesday, justices questioned Environmental Protection Agency controls on mercury and acid gases from the plants owned by Southern Co., American Electric Power Co. and other utilities. Lawyers for power companies and some states said the agency didn’t adequately consider costs before imposing rules estimated to cost $9.6 billion a year. “It’s classic arbitrary and capricious agency action,” Justice Antonin Scalia said, referring to a legal standard the court can use to block an agency rule. The Obama administration says it considered costs in how it set the rules but wasn’t required to do so at the initial stage of deciding whether to issue regulations at all. That argument was questioned by Scalia […]
ENLARGE Justices are considering whether the EPA should first have weighed costs to generators of emission cuts. Photo: Bloomberg News WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court appeared split on Wednesday over whether the Environmental Protection Agency erred when it adopted first-ever regulations requiring power plants to cut emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants. The regulations would cost $9.6 billion in annual costs, according to EPA estimates. But the agency said it was appropriate to consider only public health risks—not industry costs—when it decided to regulate coal- and oil-fired generation plants. That decision was the crux of 90 minutes of oral argument. The court was considering a section of the Clean Air Act that said the EPA “shall” regulate utilities’ emissions of the hazardous air pollutants if it found that such regulation “is appropriate and necessary.” The agency said it took costs into account later when it determined exactly how to […]
BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang of China said on Sunday that the government was failing to satisfy public demands to stanch pollution and would impose heavier punishments to cut the toxic smog that was the subject of a popular documentary belatedly banned by censors. The premier’s news conference at the end of the annual full meeting of the National People’s Congress has become a fixture of the Chinese political calendar, cast as a show of political candor and accountability. But the briefings have mostly become a stilted ritual, with questions generally preselected and massaged to avoid the airing of controversies about legal rights, corruption scandals and other themes unwelcome by Communist Party leaders. This year’s conference was no different. But Mr. Li took one reporter’s question about air pollution, which mentioned the banned documentary, “Under the Dome,” and he acknowledged that there was a gap between the government’s efforts […]
Photo A thick blanket of smoke at a garbage dump in New Delhi. The government says it will authenticate pollution levels before releasing the information to the public, a plan that critics say will deprive residents of the opportunity to protect themselves against bad air. Credit Altaf Qadri/Associated Press NEW DELHI — This megacity’s modest effort to warn residents about unhealthy spikes in air pollution levels in real time may soon end, after a decision to first send the data to be authenticated by the central government. Some experts and activists immediately questioned the need for such checks, accusing the government of trying to hide — or worse, alter — data that shows Delhi’s air to be the world’s most toxic at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for greater industrialization. Recent high readings, which consistently exceed Beijing’s pollution readings, have alarmed the city’s Indian elites […]
ENLARGE Sulfur caps for cruise ships are the subject of an election debate in Sydney. Australia restricts ships’ emissions of sulfur to 3.5% of fuel volume—a level that is 35 times the U.S. and European limit. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images SYDNEY—Operators of some of the world’s biggest cruise ships are facing calls to bring their fuel emissions while at Asia-Pacific ports into line with stricter air-quality standards in the U.S. and Europe. Many popular destinations, including Singapore, Australia and several of the Pacific Islands, apply international maritime guidelines restricting ships’ emissions of sulfur—a pollutant associated with acid rain—to 3.5% of fuel volume. But that is 35 times the U.S. and European limit. Responsibility for regulating sulfur emissions—found by a number of air-quality studies conducted by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to cause conditions ranging from breathing difficulties to premature death—rests with local authorities. Activists […]
Finally some promising environmental news out of China. Traditionally defiant on climate change issues, China in January enacted a new law aimed at curbing pollution. The measure, which accords more powers Continue Reading
BEIJING (Reuters) – One year after "declaring war" on pollution, China has appointed an inexperienced outsider as its new environment minister tasked with breathing life into a massive clean-up campaign that even optimists say will take decades to complete. Beijing has vowed to reverse the damage done to its skies, rivers and soil during China’s three-decade dash for growth, putting its under-resourced environment ministry under pressure to deliver results. Leading that drive will be Chen Jining, 51, an environmental scientist and president of China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, who was appointed the country’s Minister of Environmental Protection on Friday. As China’s annual parliament opens this week, Chen will need to show an increasingly angry public that the environment remains one of the top priorities, while reassuring thousands of regional delegates that there is still room for economic growth. Academic colleagues describe him as determined and well-organized, and said his expertise […]
ENLARGE Chai Jing released an online documentary Saturday about air pollution. After the film was viewed some 100 million times, government censors stepped in to tamp down discussion about the film. Above, Ms. Chai is seen in a file photo from 2012 at her book release in Beijing Photo: Zuma Press BEIJING—A deeply emotive documentary on air pollution by a well-known journalist was quickly praised by a top government official, but after it drew some 100 million views online over the weekend, censors stepped in to tamp down the buzz, according to several accounts. Produced by former state television broadcaster Chai Jing, “Under the Dome” is a bleak look at the state of the Middle Kingdom’s skies and an unhappy commentary on how government efforts to target the problem have failed. Ms. Chai decided to investigate pollution after the birth of her daughter, who was diagnosed with a benign […]
