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Killer Smog Tests Top Iran Woman as Pollution Sparks Action

A man stands in front of a general view of the north of Tehran engulfed in a cloud of smog caused by pollution. Photographer: Behrouz Mehri/AFP via Getty Images (Bloomberg) — The snowy peaks of the Alborz Mountains visible through Iranian Vice-President Masoumeh Ebtekar’s Tehran office window may be evidence that the city is finally serious about tackling its chronic air pollution. The capital’s factories and five million vehicles, prevented from burning imported cleaner fuels by global sanctions, turn the air in colder months into a suffocating smog that shuts schools and offices. Officials blame the toxins for the premature deaths of 4,000 residents a year. Many more among Tehran’s 12 million people choke behind surgical masks, as roadside pollution readings ram home the health threat. For Ebtekar, who heads the country’s Environment Protection Organization and is the most influential woman in the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, cleaning […]

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Film Renews Focus on Pollution in China Before National Congress

Buildings are shrouded in smog in Changsha, Hunan Province of China. Air pollution has become a focus of public discourse in China in the past few years as thick smog has blanketed large swathes of the country. Source: ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images (Bloomberg) — A documentary investigating the fallout of China’s poor air quality drew millions of viewers last weekend, putting a renewed spotlight on pollution as the nation’s lawmakers prepare for their annual gathering in Beijing. Called “Under the Dome,” the film released online by former China Central Television reporter Chai Jing cites weak enforcement of environmental laws and poor fuel standards among the causes of the smog. It was the most searched topic on search engine Baidu early Monday, and was played 21 million times on video-sharing site Youku.com. China’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, which begins March 5 in Beijing, is expected to set […]

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Exxon Settles New Jersey Lawsuit Over Refinery Pollution

(Bloomberg) — Exxon Mobil Corp.p. has reached an agreement with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s environmental regulators to settle litigation about pollution released over decades by an oil refinery and petrochemical plant. Lawyers for Exxon and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection told a judge in a Feb. 20 letter they agreed to settle the decade-old litigation. The New York Times first reported the settlement, saying Exxon will pay $250 million, without identifying its sources. The state initially sought $8.9 billion, the paper reported. A consent decree outlining the agreement must be approved by a state judge, and isn’t yet publicly available, according to the letter. The settlement followed an eight-month trial last year on damages to the state for its loss of natural resources. Exxon and the state asked the judge hearing the case in Burlington County to hold off on a decision while they negotiated a […]

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Filthy India air cutting 660 million lives short by 3 years

NEW DELHI (AP) — New research estimates India’s air pollution is cutting 660 million lives short by three years on average. The study published Saturday in the Economic & Political Weekly highlights the extensiveness of India’s air problems after years of pursuing an all-growth agenda with little regard for the environment. Thirteen Indian cities are now included on the World Health Organization’s list of the world’s 20 most polluted. That pollution burden nationwide is estimated to be costing more than half the population at least 3.2 years of their lives. The study’s authors acknowledge their estimations may be too conservative, as they are based in part on satellite data that tend to underestimate levels of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5. India has a sparse system for monitoring air quality.

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U.S. to Monitor Air Quality in India and Other Countries

HONG KONG — The United States says it will expand air-quality monitoring at some overseas diplomatic missions, following several years of reporting pollution data in China. The goal is to increase awareness of the health risks of outdoor air pollution, which easily spreads across borders, Secretary of State John Kerry said in announcing the program on Wednesday. The program is intended to help United States citizens abroad reduce their exposure to pollution and to help other countries develop their own air-quality monitoring through training and exchanges with American experts, he said. “We’re hoping that this tool can also expand international cooperation when it comes to curbing air pollution,” Mr. Kerry said . The program, run in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency , will begin to operate in India in a few months. New Delhi has some of the world’s worst air pollution, and residents there are becoming increasingly […]

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Boston leaking $90 million worth of natural gas

It is no secret the networks of aging underground pipes in many big cities can be dangerous. Now, a new study has found they are also bad for the environment. Focusing their attention on Boston, a group of Harvard researchers writing in current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that $90 million worth of natural gas — 15 billion cubic feet — escapes from its network of aging cast iron pipes each year. That accounts for 60 to 100 percent of the region’s release of the methane, a potent heat-trapping greenhouse gas. Methane has a 25 times greater impact on climate change than carbon dioxide over 100 years. It only represents about 9 percent of U.S. emissions (compared to 82 percent for carbon dioxide), but that is growing, partly due to contributions from the oil and gas industry. “This study helps us better understand […]

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EPA Set to Regulate Oil and Gas Methane Emissions

ENLARGE In this June 12, 2014 file photo, oil pumps and natural gas burn off in Watford City, N.D. Associated Press WASHINGTON—The Obama administration unveiled plans Wednesday to regulate methane emissions from the nation’s oil and natural-gas industry for the first time, a move aimed at meeting climate-change goals while not hampering the nation’s energy boom. The Environmental Protection Agency plans to propose federal regulations to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40% to 45% over the next decade from 2012 levels, White House and agency officials said Wednesday. The rules, scheduled to be proposed this summer and completed by 2016, would apply only to new or modified sites. For existing oil and gas operations, the EPA is set to rely mostly on voluntary measures to cut methane, a move backed by the industry. To reduce emissions, companies would have to install technology that prevents […]

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Drillers Say Obama Plan to Plug Methane Leaks Imperils Oil Boom

The Obama administration said it will issue rules to cut leaks of climate-warming methane, a step the oil and gas industry warned could choke the U.S. energy renaissance fueled by hydraulic fracturing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday it will propose rules later this year targeting new oil-and-gas equipment, aiming to cut emissions 40 percent to 45 percent by 2025. It also will expand voluntary programs with states and industry on equipment already in use, a move that falls short of the new mandates environmentalists sought. “We are outlining a comprehensive set of steps that will have a positive effect on the climate, on the economy and on public health,” Dan Utech, the top White House adviser on climate and energy, said on a conference call with reporters. By 2025, the efforts will reduce gas leaks enough to heat 2 million homes a year, he said. The announcement […]

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Obama Administration to Unveil Plans to Cut Methane Emissions

WASHINGTON — In President Obama ’s latest move using executive authority to tackle climate change , administration officials are announcing plans this week to impose new regulations on the oil and gas industry’s emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The administration’s goal is to cut methane emissions from oil and gas production by up to 45 percent by 2025 from the levels recorded in 2012, according to a person familiar with Mr. Obama’s plans. The Environmental Protection Agency will issue the proposed regulations this summer, and final regulations by 2016, according to the person, whom the administration asked not to speak about the plan. The White House declined to comment on the effort. The new rules are part of Mr. Obama’s push for regulations designed to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases from different sectors of the economy. The White House says it can make the moves under […]

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New York bans fracking after health report

ALBANY, NY/NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York state will ban hydraulic fracturing after a long-awaited report concluded that the oil and gas extraction method poses health risks, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration said on Wednesday. New York Environmental Commissioner Joseph Martens said at a cabinet meeting he will issue an order early next year banning fracking, which has been under a moratorium since 2008. Once that happens, New York will join Vermont as the only states to completely prohibit fracking. The decision ends what has been a fierce debate in New York over the benefits and pitfalls of fracking, a process that involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into a well to extract oil or gas. Many in the state saw gas drilling as a key economic resource while others argued it was too dangerous. The state’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker, said there is not enough scientific information to conclude […]

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New York fracking ban reverberates nationally

NEW YORK — The news took even the most seasoned environmental activists by surprise: after years of review,  Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday  that New York State would ban hydraulic fracturing. “I can barely contain myself,” said Nadia Steinzor, the eastern coordinator for national non-profit Earthworks. “Even though Cuomo recently said he was going to make a clear decision, we were not expecting something as exciting and straightforward as this.” New York State’s decision comes two years after the state’s Department of Health initiated a review of the possible health impacts of hydraulic fracturing, a process in which thousands of gallons of water is mixed with chemicals and sand and pumped deep into the earth to break up gas-rich shale rock formations. The process has been approved in dozens of states across the U.S. and has often been touted by supporters as an economic boon to struggling regions, including next […]

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Study Finds Toxins, Cancer-Causing Air Pollution at Oil, Gas Wells

Study Finds Toxins, Cancer-Causing Air Pollution at Oil, Gas Wells thumbnail A cadre of citizens taking air samples for a scientific study has found toxic emissions from Wyoming oil and gas operations, some that are many, many of times above federal health standards. In a six-state study published in Environmental Health , authors say the Wyoming samples show high concentrations of benzene, hydrogen sulfide, formaldehyde and more. Air samples taken in 13 of 15 sites in Park and Fremont counties exceeded the standards, prompting a call to action. Deb Thomas of Clark, one of the co-authors of the study, said residents close to increasing oil and gas developments are in peril and have been abandoned by government watchdogs. She is a director of the group ShaleTest, and formerly worked with the Wyoming-based landowner advocacy group Powder River Basin Resource Council. “They’re fighting for their lives,” she said. “Fracking not […]

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Oil Drillers to Accept Some EPA Rules to Avoid Curbs on Methane

A lobbying group for oil producers including Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) said it would accept proposed rules on pollution from oil wells in order to head-off a broad federal standard for methane leaks. The American Petroleum Institute , which has fought U.S. mandates on everything from smog rules to renewable fuel quotas, said it is willing to meet Environmental Protection Agency limits on the release of smog-forming compounds from hydraulically fractured wells. Such rules are in place for gas wells, and the EPA is considering expanding them to oil wells. “That’s a far better approach than any regulation towards methane,” Howard Feldman, director of regulatory affairs, told reporters in Washington today. “If it were done in the right way, it could be something acceptable.” In what environmental advocates say is the next climate test for President Barack Obama, the EPA is set to announce […]

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Coal conversion plants sap China’s emissions targets

A dump truck carries coal at the open pit in the Tsankhi section of the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit, developed by Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi LLC, in South Gobi, Mongolia, on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 Chinese negotiators attending this week’s climate change talks in Lima have come armed with a long and detailed list of measures to rein in the coal use that creates smog at home and climate change worries abroad. Early this month President Xi Jinping unveiled an estimate that China’s greenhouse gases would stop climbing in about 2030, thanks to policies restricting coal use around big cities in the east. More On this story On this topic IN China But there’s a wild card in the carefully tabulated spreadsheets of boilers to be shut and pipes to be laid. Emissions from an industry that transforms coal into gas or liquid fuel are proving difficult to measure and […]

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E.P.A. Ozone Rules Divide Industry and Environmentalists

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday announced a long-delayed environmental regulation to curb emissions of ozone, a smog-causing pollutant linked to asthma, heart disease and premature death. The sweeping regulation, which are aimed at smog caused by power plants and factories across the country, particularly in the Midwest, is the latest in a series of Environmental Protection Agency controls on air pollution that wafts from smokestacks and tailpipes. Such regulations, released under the authority of the Clean Air Act , have become a hallmark of President Obama’s administration. Environmentalists and public health advocates have praised the E.P.A. rules as a powerful environmental legacy. Republicans, manufacturers and the fossil fuel industry have sharply criticized them as an example of costly government overreach. The National Association of Manufacturers has called the proposal “the most expensive regulation ever.” The proposed regulation would lower the current threshold for ozone pollution to a […]

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EPA Proposes Stricter Ozone Air Pollution Standard

Los Angeles has been ranked the worst in the nation for ozone pollution. ENLARGE Los Angeles has been ranked the worst in the nation for ozone pollution. Getty Images WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is preparing for the release of a series of energy regulations over the coming weeks in advance of a Republican-controlled Congress next year that will prompt pushback from industries and lawmakers, testing President Barack Obama’s commitment to his environmental agenda. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed lower limits for ground-level ozone , or smog, in the atmosphere, setting off a nearly yearlong regulatory process for setting a new standard. Public-health and environmental groups say the limits are essential in preventing a range of respiratory diseases. Businesses say it could be the costliest regulation in U.S. history. By year’s end, the administration plans to release at least three other regulations, including another from EPA regulating coal ash, […]

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Supreme Court to Review EPA Rule on Power Plant Emissions

The Supreme Court will review the first-ever national environmental standards requiring power plants to reduce emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants. WSJ’s Amy Harder reports. Photo: Getty. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to review the first-ever national environmental standards requiring power plants to reduce emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants, saying it would decide whether the government should have considered how much the rules would cost utilities. The court’s action extends a saga that dates back more than two decades. Congress first required the Environmental Protection Agency to issue regulations in 1990, but the agency’s efforts had been stalled for years because of several factors, including lengthy court battles. The EPA rules, adopted in 2012, require coal and oil-fired power plants to cut most of their emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin the EPA says is particularly harmful for children, unborn babies and women […]

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EPA To Propose Limit to Ozone Air Pollution Wednesday, Sources Say

WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to announce Wednesday a sweeping federal air-pollution standard limiting ground-level ozone, or smog, in the atmosphere, according to people familiar with the plan. The proposal will likely reanimate a battle between businesses and environmental groups that has been dormant for three years. In 2011, the EPA estimated that the proposed standard—set then at the toughest level the agency had yet considered—could cost utilities and other businesses as much as $90 billion a year. Mr. Obama delayed issuing it. The EPA will seek public comment on limiting ozone pollution between 65 and 70 parts per billion of ozone in the air, the people familiar with the matter said, which is in line with what an independent scientific advisory panel had recommended earlier this year. The current level, established in 2008 by the George W. Bush administration, is set at 75 parts per billion. Environmental […]

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PM2.5 density in Chinese cities drops

BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) — PM2.5 density, a main measure of air pollution, dropped by 7.9 percent in 74 major Chinese cities in the first half of 2014 compared with the same period last year. The density of PM10, particles under 10 microns in diameter, was down by 6.5 percent, according to a report on the enforcement of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution, which was submitted to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China’s top legislature, for deliberation on Wednesday. China has vowed to strengthen air pollution control. Smog-prone Beijing will adopt a special air pollution control plan for the upcoming APEC meetings, featuring temporary closure of factories in the event of a pollution warning. Shen Yueyue, NPC Standing Committee vice-chairwoman, told lawmakers that China has continuously increased charges for emissions of major pollutants, with charges in key cities such as Beijing and […]

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Chinese local gov’ts to be graded on pollution reduction

Chinese local governments will be graded for their achievements in reducing PM 2.5 and PM 10, both being indicators of air pollution, according to plans unveiled on Friday. Local governments will be graded for two tasks: improving air quality, and preventing air pollution. They will be given percentage grades for both tasks, with 100 as the maximum, according to the plan posted on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). Reductions of average PM 2.5 and PM 10 density will be the major determinant of governments’ grades for improving air quality. If both density readings rise compared to the previous year, the responsible governments will be graded zero. Governments’ grades on preventing air pollution will be determined by a string of indicators measuring factors including industrial restructuring and clean production. The plan was put forward by the MEP, the National Development and […]

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Chinese local gov'ts to be graded on pollution reduction

Chinese local governments will be graded for their achievements in reducing PM 2.5 and PM 10, both being indicators of air pollution, according to plans unveiled on Friday. Local governments will be graded for two tasks: improving air quality, and preventing air pollution. They will be given percentage grades for both tasks, with 100 as the maximum, according to the plan posted on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). Reductions of average PM 2.5 and PM 10 density will be the major determinant of governments’ grades for improving air quality. If both density readings rise compared to the previous year, the responsible governments will be graded zero. Governments’ grades on preventing air pollution will be determined by a string of indicators measuring factors including industrial restructuring and clean production. The plan was put forward by the MEP, the National Development and […]

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Test carbon capture plans start in Kentucky

The U.S. Department of Energy said construction started on a $19.5 million carbon capture research project at a coal power station in Kentucky. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and state Energy Secretary Len Peters joined Department of Energy officials and other dignitaries for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the construction of the pilot project at Kentucky Utilities’ E.W. Brown Generating Station near Harrodsburg, Ky. The facility is designed to strip carbon dioxide from the flue gas at the power station. The project, developed in part by the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, was selected to receive the majority of its funding by the Department of Energy in a competitive process in 2011. Eli Capilouto, president of the university, said results from the pilot project could determine if it’s ready for commercial-scale use for a state dependent on coal. "Coal has been the lifeblood of Kentucky and the most […]

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Corralling Carbon Before It Belches From Stack

So much soot belched from the old power plant here that Mike Zeleny would personally warn the neighbors. “If the wind was blowing in a certain direction,” Mr. Zeleny said, “we’d call Mrs. Robinson down the street and tell her not to put out her laundry.” That coal plant is long gone, replaced by a much larger and cleaner one along the vast Saskatchewan prairie. Sooty shirts and socks are a thing of the past. But as with even the most modern coal plants, its smokestacks still emit enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, the invisible heat-trapping gas that is the main contributor to global warming. So this fall, a gleaming new maze of pipes and tanks — topped with what looks like the Tin Man’s hat — will suck up 90 percent of the carbon dioxide from one of the boilers so it can be shipped […]

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Study: Pollution laws reduce deaths from lung illness

North Carolina study finds lung disease mortality rates fell sharply after state passed 2002 air quality law Girls play on a soccer field near a complex operated by Duke Energy in Wilmington, N.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. Randall Hill / AP Regulations designed to reduce air pollution in North Carolina have led not just to cleaner air but to fewer deaths from lung diseases, according to a new  study report released Monday . Researchers at Duke University reviewed 17 years of state air quality data and death records, and found a distinct correlation between the start of stricter pollution rules in 2002 and a marked decline in the number of people perishing from emphysema, asthma and pneumonia. The report was published in the International Journal of COPD.  The evidence pointing to the consequences of air pollution rules likely applies globally, the study’s head author said, adding that it […]

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China to take 6 million older vehicles off roads

China’s government plans to take 6 million older, polluting vehicles off the road this year in an effort to revive stalled progress toward cleaning up smog-choked cities. The plan also calls for filling stations in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities to switch to selling only the cleanest grades of gasoline and diesel, according to a Cabinet statement issued Monday. The order comes after China failed to meet official pollution-reduction goals for 2011-2013, the statement said. It said vehicles registered before 2005 that fail to meet cleaner emissions standards will be "phased out," though it did not say how. It called the country’s environmental situation "extremely grim." China’s major cities are smothered in eye-searing smog. The country has some of the world’s strictest emissions standards, but authorities have refrained from enforcing them until now to avoid forcing older, pollution-belching trucks off the road and hurting small […]

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China scraps high-pollution vehicles in air cleanup

The Chinese government announced on Monday the country will eliminate 6 million high-polluting vehicles before the end of 2014 in a move to bring down air pollution. The mandatory rule applies to vehicles that do not meet exhaust emissions standards. Of the vehicles to be eliminated this year, 20 percent are in the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Hebei Province — all northern regions frequently troubled by smoggy air in recent years. In a further step, more vehicles will be scrapped next year, involving up to 5 million units in the nation’s economically developed regions, such as the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions, according to an action plan published by the State Council, China’s Cabinet. "Strengthening control on vehicle emissions will be a major agenda item for the country’s energy savings, emissions reductions, and low-carbon development […]

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Southern states get gasoline break from EPA

WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) –The Environmental Protection Agency said it waived gasoline requirements for parts of North Carolina and Florida because of good air quality standards. EPA said it was responding to requests from state authorities to remove counties from certain gasoline requirements for the summer. EPA said it was taking the action because states or counties have demonstrated they’re in compliance with ozone quality standards. The so-called winter blend of gasoline is cheaper to manufacture than the summer blend because of processes needed to decrease emissions that contribute to heightened ozone and smog levels. Summer blends give drivers better gas mileage, though it’s expensive to produce. Heather McTeer Toney, a regional administration for the EPA, said the waiver is a direct result of collaborative efforts to improve air quality in the respective districts. "This action is especially important during hurricane season when greater adaptability is needed for the […]

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WHO data: global annual PM10 increased by 6% during recent 3-year period; based on data from 851 cities

Regional city‐population weighted comparisons in annual mean PM for a three‐year period, by region, for cities present in both versions of the AAP database. The mean for the World is based on weighting by regional urban population. Source: WHO. Click to enlarge. Air quality in most cities worldwide that monitor outdoor (ambient) air pollution fails to meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for safe levels, putting people at additional risk of respiratory disease and other health problems, according to WHO’s expanded ambient (outdoor) air pollution (AAP) in cities database 2014 . WHO’s 2014 AAP database consists mainly of urban air quality data—annual means for PM10 and/or PM2.5—and covers 1,600 cities across 91 countries. Only 12% of the people living in cities reporting on air quality reside […]

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Supreme Court Revives EPA Rule on Air Pollution Across State Lines

The Environmental Protection Agency can reinstate limits on power-plant pollution that blows across state lines, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, handing a defeat to electric utilities that opposed the effort as costly regulatory overreach. The court’s 6-2 ruling breathes new life into a 2011 EPA measure known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which requires 28 states to reduce emissions that hurt air quality in states located downwind. The regulation stands to affect about 1,000 power plants in the eastern half of the U.S. that may have to adopt new pollution controls or reduce operations. The decision could further threaten the viability of some aging coal plants, which already face other market and regulatory pressures. "There is no doubt this will add some cost pressures," said University of Notre Dame law professor Bruce Huber. "This is an exceedingly important opinion," he said, adding that the EPA "has been trying […]

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Chinese pollution: A shift in the wind

When it comes to difficult government jobs, few are as tricky as the one held by Xie Zhenhua, China’s chief negotiator on climate change. On the day he agrees to meet the Financial Times, in a room the size of a basketball court near his office in the country’s economic planning ministry, the air outside is “unhealthy”. At least, that is what it says on the smartphone air quality apps people in Beijing check as obsessively as Londoners watch weather forecasts. Much of the smog comes from cars but it also drifts in from the coal-powered plants that have helped propel China’s economy into second place after the US – and turned it into a carbon dioxide polluter like no other. China’s hunger for coal meant it pumped out almost 10 gigatons of CO2 in 2012, more than the US and the EU combined and nearly a third of […]

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After ‘Cadmium Rice,’ now ‘Lead’ and ‘Arsenic Rice’

A farmer works her land near a lead smelter in Hunan Province. Soil in China’s leading rice-producing region shows high levels of heavy metal contamination, in a study that suggests that the proximity of mining and industry to agricultural areas is posing serious threats to the country’s food chain. In “ Cadmium Rice: Heavy metal pollution of China’s rice crops, ” researchers for Greenpeace East Asia sampled farmland and uncultivated soil, water and rice grown near a smelter of non-ferrous metals in Hunan Province, China’s top rice producer. In some locations of the study, the researchers found soil containing cadmium levels more than 200 times the national health standard, adding to a growing body of evidence that parts of the country’s soil are heavily degraded after decades of fast industrialization and high economic growth. All but one of the rice samples exceeded the maximum level of cadmium in rice […]

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China Takes On Pollution With Biggest Changes in 25 Years

China passed the biggest changes to its environmental protection laws in 25 years, outlining plans to punish polluters more severely as leaders work to limit contaminated water, air and soil linked to economic growth. The amended law “sets environmental protection as the country’s basic policy,” according to a copy posted on the government’s website. The rules hadn’t been changed since first enacted in 1989 as China began consuming more energy and the world’s most-populous country transformed into a global manufacturing hub. Now the world’s biggest carbon emitter, China has moved to address the environmental damage that has been a byproduct of its breakneck economic growth and become a leading cause of social unrest. Government reports and recent comments from top officials about pollution have revealed the extent of the damage and raised new concern about its health effects. The amendments give the public and government “powerful new tools” to […]

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16.1% of Chinese soil polluted

About 16.1 percent of soil in the Chinese mainland suffer pollution, said a report from the Ministry of Environmental Protection Thursday. About 19.4 percent of farming land are polluted, the report said. Xinhua Weibo Facebook Twitter Reddit Diigo Delicious Digg Linkedin MySpace Sina Weibo Kaixin Renren Q-zone Tencent Weibo Sohu Weibo NetEase Weibo Related News             1 Canadian photographer wins Picture of the Year 2 Bunny hop competition held in Prague 3 Fans gather in Rome for premiere of "Spider-Man" sequel 4 Windows XP shutdown opens up prolific information security market 5 Croatian painters swap canvasses for giant Easter eggs Back to Top 1 16.1% of Chinese soil polluted 2 Internet rumormonger gets 3-year jail term 3 China calls for […]

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Poland referred to EU court for violating environmental rules

The European Commission said Wednesday it referred Poland to a regional court of justice for violating rules on greenhouse gases. "The European Commission has decided to refer Poland to the EU Court of Justice for failing to notify to the Commission what penalties have been put in place in case the EU rules for companies and personnel undertaking certain activities with fluorinated gases are not observed," the commission said in a statement . European law requires companies to take steps to reduce the amount of fluorinated gases, a harmful pollutant, leaked into the atmosphere. The European Commission said it sent a request to Poland to address the issue in November. The ruling follows a series of scathing reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning that global climate change is out of control. The European Commission said action to curb the release of […]

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Golfers to Indiana Jones Choke on Smog From Sumatra Fires

As smoke from Indonesia ’s burning forests drifted across the Strait of Malacca into Singapore last June, the pollution index shot up and Ong Eng Tong’s golf course shut down. “Once the PSI reaches 150 or 200, they have to close,” said Ong, a 71-year-old independent energy consultant. His Singapore Island Country Club was overwhelmed as the Pollutant Standards Index surged on June 21 to a record 401, a “hazardous” reading in a city averaging less than 50 on most days. “I stayed indoors and turned on the air-con.” This year may be worse, stoked by drought and El Nino. Backed by activists including Harrison Ford, Singapore is pushing fines for culprits overseas. Even Indonesia is faulting last month’s local response to blazes that sickened 50,000 in Sumatra, where fires are set to turn forests into crop fields. Burning in the region’s peatlands emitted as much […]

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Air pollution hits maximum level in southeast Britain

Air pollution in parts of Greater London and southeast England deteriorated on Thursday, hitting the maximum level on the government scale despite forecasts that it would start to abate. Defra, the environment department, forecasts that air pollution will be at or near 10 on its scale of one to 10 in East Anglia, through the Midlands, into easternmost Wales, on Merseyside and as far south as through London into northern Kent. A reading of 10 is classified as “very high”. Frank Kelly, professor of environmental health at King’s College London, said: “Today is going to be the worst day of the last couple of weeks.” He recommended that children be kept indoors in areas where pollution is high or very high. “The general understanding of the effects of air pollution on children is that it leads to a decrease in their lung growth,” he said. “This is precautionary […]

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Most Chinese Cities Fail Minimum Air Quality Standards, Study Says

Only three of the 74 Chinese cities monitored by the central government managed to meet official minimum standards for air quality last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced this week, underscoring the country’s severe pollution problems. The dirtiest cities were in northern China, where coal-powered industries are concentrated, including electricity generation and steel manufacturing. The ministry said in its announcement, posted on its website on Tuesday, that in the broad northern region that includes the large cities of Beijing and Tianjin as well as the province of Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, the air quality standards were met on only 37 percent of days last year. Beijing, with 20 million people, did so on only 48 percent of days, […]

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Air Pollution May Cause Genetic Harm in Kids, China Study Finds

Air pollution led to genetic changes that may have sapped learning skills in children whose mothers were exposed to a Chinese coal-fired power plant before it was shuttered a decade ago, researchers found. Babies born in the southwestern Tongliang county just before the plant was shut in 2004 had significantly lower levels of a protein crucial to brain development in their cord blood than those conceived later, a March 19 report in the Plos One journal said. They also had poorer learning and memory skills when tested at age two, the study by Columbia University and Chongqing Medical University found. […]

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Paris imposes partial motoring ban in battle to control pollution

France has enforced a partial motoring ban in Paris and surrounding areas from Monday morning as it battles to control dangerously high pollution levels. The move, the first of its kind since 1997, comes as a spell of unusually warm and windless weather has exacerbated the level of pollution in the French capital – now at its highest in 16 years, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). More than 30 departments in France have been hit by maximum-level pollution alerts since Thursday. The ban from Monday will be enforced on private vehicles with petrol or diesel engines whose number plates end in an even number. It will then apply to vehicles with number plates ending in an odd number on Tuesday. Cars carrying three passengers or more will be exempt, as will taxis, buses, emergency vehicles and refrigerated lorries. All other lorries will be banned. “Our primary goal […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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No fare, pollution: French public transport free

Air pollution that has turned Paris skies a murky yellow is giving a break to millions of French travelers – all public transportation in the Paris region and two other cities is free for the next three days. Nearly three-quarters of France is under alert in what the European Environment Agency says is the worst air pollution since 2007. Subways, buses and trains are free Friday through Sunday in the entire Paris region, as well as the cities of Caen and Rouen. Bike-shares are also free, as are one-hour sessions for electric car shares. Meteorologists say unusually warm days followed by cool nights have worsened the situation. An environmental group brought a complaint earlier this week denouncing the "inertia of the government" that it says has put lives in danger.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. oil group questions EPA rules, auto sector sings praise

Representatives from the automotive sector praised U.S. rules for lower emissions, though the oil industry said it questioned the benefits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced new so-called Tier 3 standards Monday aimed at cutting the amount of sulfur in gasoline by two-thirds by 2017. The EPA said the new standards would lower the health risks from smog and other airborne pollutants at pennies on the dollar. Michael Stanton, president of the Global Automakers Association, which represents the interests of companies ranging from Aston Martin to Toyota, said the standards would provide "instant benefits" to consumers as well as the environment. "This rule-making will reduce emissions from the existing fleet of vehicles on our roads today and opens the door for even cleaner cars in the future," he said in a statement Monday. Bob Greco, the director of downstream operations at the American Petroleum […]

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EPA sees win-win-win with tailpipe rules

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday new fuel and automotive emissions rules will create a better environment and improve public health. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Monday so-called Tier 3 standards, which aim to curb emissions from cars and trucks, would help avoid 2,000 premature deaths and as many as 50,000 cases of respiratory illnesses. "These standards are a win for public health, a win for our environment, and a win for our pocketbooks," she said in a statement Monday. The new standards should reduce gasoline sulfur levels by more than 60 percent, cutting some of the components that make up smog. The new standards will be introduced gradually beginning with model year 2017. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the proposals would have a marginal affect on retail gasoline prices. "These standards will clean our air, protect our health and save money," […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EPA Said Poised to Issue Lower Sulfur Limits on Fuel

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to unveil new regulations March 3 to reduce smog from automobiles, including cutting by two-thirds the level of sulfur in gasoline, people familiar with the agency’s deliberations said. The EPA is expected to stick to the broad targets included in a proposed rule published last year that would lower sulfur in gasoline to 10 parts per million from the current 30 parts, the three people said. New limits will also be imposed on tailpipe emissions. “This is the most significant move to protect public health that the EPA will make this year,” said Frank O’Donnell , president of Clean Air Watch , who said he hasn’t seen the final rules though supported the proposal. “There is literally no more effective tool to fight smog. Every American will breathe easier because of these standards.” Supporters of the rules say they could be one of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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India’s Diesel Subsidy Spurs Pollution Worse Than Beijing

Molecular biologist George Easow’s move to India to start a clinical diagnostics business lasted just three weeks before he was convinced to return to the U.K. The convincing was done by his seven-month-old daughter Fiona. Within days of moving to New Delhi , the child was wheezing and gasping for air because of smog. “She could hardly breathe,” said her father. Fiona was kept indoors and put on medication. Nothing worked. “We had to make a call,” Easow said, adding her symptoms disappeared once back in the U.K. and haven’t returned. For the 16.8 million residents of India’s capital, the wheezing continues. The bad news is it’s going to get worse. New Delhi isn’t alone as cities across the nation suffer from some of the worst air quality in the world. That’s costing the country 1.1 trillion rupees ($18 billion) in shortened life spans of productive […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chinese man sues government over smog

A Chinese man in a smoggy northern city has become the first person in the country to sue the government for failing to curb air pollution, a state-run newspaper reported on Tuesday. Li Guixin, a resident of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, submitted his complaint to a district court, asking the Shijiazhuang Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau to "perform its duty to control air pollution according to the law," the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily said. He is also seeking compensation from the agency for residents for the choking pollution that has engulfed Shijiazhuang, and much of northern China, this winter. "The reason that I’m proposing administrative compensation is to let every citizen see that amid this haze, we’re the real victims," Li was quoted as saying by the newspaper. It is unclear whether the court will accept Li’s lawsuit. His lawyer, Wu Yufen, declined to comment, telling Reuters, "this information is quite sensitive." The court and the Shijiazhuang environmental protection bureau could not […]

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China to Reward Cities and Regions Making Progress on Air Pollution

Chinese officials announced Thursday that they were offering a total of 10 billion renminbi, or $1.65 billion, this year to cities and regions that make “significant progress” in air pollution control, according to a report by Xinhua, the state-run news agency. The announcement came from the State Council , China’s cabinet, after it held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss, among other issues, the country’s immense air pollution problem. “Control of PM2.5 and PM10 should be a key task,” the State Council said in a statement, referring to two kinds of particulate matter that are deemed harmful to human health. The meeting was presided over by Li Keqiang, a member of the Communist Party’s ruling Politburo Standing Committee and China’s prime minister. The announcement of the financial incentives revealed how difficult it has been for some leaders in Beijing to get many Chinese companies and government officials […]

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In China’s war on bad air, government decision to release data gives fresh hope

BEIJING — China’s Communist state is hardly known for its transparency. So when environmental groups appealed to the government last year to disclose official data on air pollution, they were not expecting much. “Way beyond our expectations, the government actually said yes,” said Ma Jun, head of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing. “I am quite amazed.” Since Jan. 1, the central government has required 15,000 factories — including influential state-run enterprises — to publicly report details on their air emissions and water discharges in real time, an unprecedented degree of disclosure that is shedding light on the who, what, when and where of China’s devastating environmental problems. The reporting requirement is part of a striking turnaround by China’s government, which is also publishing data on the sootiest cities and trying to limit the use of coal. The country’s appalling air is blamed for more than a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple