US senators and officials from Delaware and Rhode Island on Monday defended the Cross-State Air Pollution rule, an EPA regulation that requires 27 states to make significant cuts in power-plant emissions that contribute to ozone and fine-particle pollution in other states.
Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is seeking to defeat the rule with a Congressional resolution that represents a vote of “no confidence” in an agency’s regulation. Keep reading →
The current White House administration says it is hoping to lead by example, at least in terms of energy usage.
As part of the White House Council on Environmental Quality GreenGov Symposium, Mother Nature Network hosted a live panel discussion on Tuesday with five leaders on energy efficiency within the Obama adminstration. The panel was moderated by MNN Board of Advisors member and Director of Communications and Senior Research Scientist for Climate Central, Dr. Heidi Cullen. Keep reading →
Power companies are switching over from coal to natural gas at an accelerating rate, with potential consequences for both the US emissions profile and the industry’s economics.
In his presentation to the Platts Annual Financing US Power conference in New York on Friday, Federal Power Company President Steven Gilliland said the rate of coal to gas switching is increasing dramatically year over year. He said that while a surplus of coal stockpiles at thermal plants required utilities to burn coal even when gas was much cheaper, stockpiles are shrinking and plants are slowly burning more gas instead. Keep reading →
Bipartisan bills to incentivize more natural gas use in US transportation have languished over the last three years in Congress, but low natural gas prices are now persuading trucking fleet owners they don’t need to wait for tax breaks for fuel diversification to make bottom-line sense.
Analysts and lobbyists watching Congress’ “supercommittee” are pessimistic about renewal of expiring subsidies, like the excise tax credit for suppliers of compressed or liquefied natural gas (CNG/LNG) and the credit for installing fueling infrastructure for CNG or LNG. And most say proposed new subsidies, like the NATGAS (New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions) Act, will never see the light of day in this Congress. Keep reading →
A new US EPA rule to cut power-plant emissions is setting supporters including some states, three power companies and at least one city on a collision course with generators, public utility commissions, and other states that oppose the plans.
The Cross State Air Pollution Rule, finalized by the agency in July, requires 27 states in the eastern half of the US to make significant reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that crosses state lines and causes ozone and fine particle pollution in those areas. Keep reading →
Fuel For Growth — a discussion on energy policy with @GovRichardson http://ow.ly/79fgp CMEGroup
China could reach 1000GW of wind power by middle of century which would reduce CO2 emissions by 1.5gt per year in 2050 http://tinyurl.com/3upqz9x IEA_OECD
Wood will fuel electricity for homes and businesses in Virginia if Dominion Power receives a final green light on converting three power stations in the state from coal to biomass.
Utility executives appeared confident in the projects’ appeal for regulators as they signed an agreement with biomass fuel producer Enviva to provide woody biomass fuel to two of the power plants. Both plants, one located in Southampton and the other in Hopewell, Virginia, are set to convert from 63MW coal-fired facilities to 50MW biomass-fueled plants under current plans. Keep reading →
Cities have always set the pace for human progress. From the Greek polis and medieval cities to contemporary megacities like Mexico City, Shanghai and New York, cities have traditionally been the center of art and culture, trade and industry, science and technology. Some 50 percent of global economic output is generated in the world’s 600 biggest cities alone. Yet the negative effects of progress have also been most evident in cities: noise, over-crowding, environmental pollution and traffic congestion.
In the past cities were the exceptional oases of human civilization. Today they are the norm. Two hundred years ago, only three percent of the world’s population lived in cities. Today the total has grown to over half, and the trend is accelerating. Urban problems have also kept pace with this growth. Cities now produce 80 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and consume 75 percent of all energy produced. Keep reading →
Big companies are discovering that going green does not just mean saving trees, but dollar bills, too. By becoming more sustainable, they are increasingly cutting costs and having a positive social impact. Snack company Frito-Lay has recently unveiled one of the greenest manufacturing facilities in the US, called the Near Net Zero Facility. Senior Director of Sustainability Al Halverson, who headed the company’s green effort, told The Huffington Post that the company spent 10 years reducing the environmental footprint at their 27-year-old building in Casa Grande, Ariz. This article is a linkout, find the full story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/frito-lay-green-companies-environment_n_1000600.html?1318610654
