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Error Seen in E.P.A. Report on Contaminant
Green Fertility — ... The Environmental Protection Agency failed to follow its own guidelines and made a basic error in evaluating how a toxic contaminant in rocket fuel harms human health, according to a report by the agency’s inspector general. ...

Senate Hearing Today on Tennessee Sludge Spill
Greenlight | OnEarth Magazine, from NRDC — ... , most of these dumps, which reach up to 1,500 acres, contain heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury and selenium, which are considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to be a threat to water supplies and human health. Yet they are not subject to any federal regulation, which experts say could have prevented the spill, and there is little monitoring of their effects on the surrounding environment. ...

Cruise lines urged to shrink their footprints
Ecoearth.info Blog — ... and coral reefs), as well as the air (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from their massive engines). Or as Mr. Francis bluntly put it, “The cruise line industry’s record on environmental pollution is generally very poor.”Still, some positive environmental news is beginning to emerge from these murky waters. Thanks to increased pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency , as well as various environmental campaign groups, stricter state and federal regulations are being passed. As of this year, all ships have to burn low-sulfur diesel fuel instead of the ...

New Culprit Seen in Ozone Depletion
Ecoearth.info Blog — ... health of the ozone layer has been improving since the adoption of the protocol and that nitrous oxide looms large today as an artificial destroyer of the ozone layer, in part because the emissions of other harmful chemicals have been so sharply reduced. But major chemical targets of the Montreal agreement, chlorofluorocarbons, inhibit the ozone-destroying actions of nitrous oxide, the researchers said. So as their levels fall, the harmful influence of nitrous oxide increases. The Environmental Protection Agency is already contemplating action on nitrous oxide because it is ...

Utility Quits Alliance Over Climate Change
Ecoearth.info Blog — ... ’s efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. It has recently threatened litigation if the Environmental Protection Agency does not re-examine its findings on the effects of climate change on the public. “We have over three million members, and we don’t comment on the comings and goings of our membership,” Eric Wohlschlegel, a spokesman for the chamber, said in response to PG&E’s announcement. PG&E is the latest of a string of corporations to pull out of business organizations because of differences over climate policy. ...

E.P.A. Ordered to Reconsider New Mexico Power Plant Permit
Ecoearth.info Blog — ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal appeals board has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider an air permit issued for a planned ...

E.P.A. Moves to Curtail Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Ecoearth.info Blog — WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed rule Wednesday to begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions from thousands of power plants and large industrial facilities. The proposal, long anticipated and highly controversial, marks the first government move toward controlling the emissions blamed for the warming of the planet from stationary sources. The E.P.A. has already proposed an ambitious program to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, expected to take effect early next year. The proposal would require construction and ...

E.P.A. Moves to Curtail Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Clean Edge - The Clean-Tech Market Authority — ... , not a piecemeal application of rules, and that he is deeply committed to passage of a climate bill this year. But he has authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to begin moving toward regulation, which could goad lawmakers into reaching an agreement. It could also provide evidence of the United States’ seriousness as negotiators prepare for ...

Coal-Fired Power Plants Shifting Pollution from Air to Water
Switchboard, from NRDC — ... As the NYT points out in its recent investigative story, power plants are the nation's biggest producer of toxic waste, surpassing industries like plastic and paint manufacturing and chemical plants, according to an analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data.  The EPA projects that by next year, roughly 50 percent of coal-generated electricity in the United States ...

Senate climate bill to cushion impact on industry
Ecoearth.info Blog — ... the bulk of the money be returned to consumers and taxpayers, according to newly released details. The bill will also provide a cushion to energy-intensive manufacturing companies to ease the transition to a lower-carbon economy and to help them compete internationally, although the subsidies will disappear over time. The measure also sets a floor and ceiling on the price of permits to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. With these and other changes considered, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that overall cost of the bill at roughly $100 a year per ...

Democrats Push Climate Bill Through Panel Without G.O.P. Debate
Ecoearth.info Blog — ... of Montana. The seven Republicans boycotted the committee meetings this week, saying they had not had sufficient time to study the bill and demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency conduct a thorough study of its economic costs and benefits. The move suggests that ...