*Blog posts are taken directly from the source and do not reflect the opinions of EETN or its employees*
Topics covered in this Blog Monitor include:
Air
US Chamber of Commerce to Fight EPA on Clean Air Act CO2 Regulation
By: Matthew McDermott Date: February 16, 2010 Source: Treehugger
The US Chamber of Commerce has added its voice to the effort to get the EPA to stop even considering regulating CO2 under the Clean Air Act:
In its press release on the move the Chamber says that it “strongly supports efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere” but that there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it.
Climate Change
Video: Of National Security and Climate Change
Date: February 18, 2010 Source: The New York Times, Green Inc.
The video was released by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate – a project of the Pew Charitable Trusts that, according to its Web site, “brings together science and military experts to examine new strategies for combating climate change, protecting our national security, increasing our energy independence and preserving our nation’s natural resources.”
Assessing Risks and Opportunities in a New Era of Climate Disclosure
By: Sonal Mahida Date: February 17, 2010 Source: Greenbiz
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published interpretative guidance on corporate climate change disclosure a few weeks ago, leading Commissioner Elisse B. Walter to insist that “filers step up their disclosure efforts immediately.”
Texas Takes Aim at EPA Regulating CO2 as Pollutant- Files Petition in Court of Appeals
By: Matthew McDermott Date: February 17, 2010 Source: Treehugger
Here’s another group opposed to the EPA calling CO2 a danger to human health and potentially regulating it under the Clean Air Act. The US Chamber of Commerce has come out against it (big surprise), and now Reuters reports that the state of Texas has tossed its ten gallon carbon emitting hat into the ring:
Globally Flared Gas Could Meet ΒΌ of the US’ Needs!
By: Pablo Paster Date: February 16, 2010 Source: Treehugger
Flaring is the process of burning waste gases from the production of fossil fuels, chemical plants, or landfills. The majority of flare gas is methane, a.k.a. natural gas. According to the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction Program “150 billion cubic meters (or 5.3 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas are being flared and vented annually.” This equals one quarter of the United States’ total natural gas consumption!
Three Firms Quit Climate Lobby
By: John Lorinc Date: February 16, 2010 Source: The New York Times, Green Inc.
Three influential multinational corporations have decamped from the United States Climate Action Partnership, a 3-year-old lobbying group. They cited mounting concerns over the direction of climate change legislation, particularly concessions to the politically influential coal sector.
Reflections on Copenhagen: The Economics of Green
By: Dennis Salazar Date: February 11, 2010 Source: triplepundit
Last year’s disappointing climate summit in Copenhagen demonstrated if not proved two important things about “saving the earth”:
1. Sustainability is a very emotional topic for some
2. Sustainability is a financial topic for most
Unfortunately, what transpired in Copenhagen is probably the rule, rather than the exception. It was disheartening to realize the events probably represent and reflect the domestic and world population’s perspective on saving the environment.
Energy
CO2 Capture and Storage Gains a Growing Foothold
By: David Biello Date: February 18, 2010 Source: Yale Environment 360
The drive to extract and store CO2 from coal-fired power plants is gaining momentum, with the Obama administration backing the technology and the world’s first capture and sequestration project now operating in the U.S. Two questions loom: Will carbon capture and storage be affordable? And will it be safe?
Utility Executives Like Nuclear Power. Climate Science, Not So Much.
By: Todd Woody Date: February 17, 2010 Source: The New York Times, Green Inc.
American utility industry executives see nuclear energy as the most promising carbon-free power source, are skeptical of climate change science, and are uncertain about the future, according to a report to be issued Thursday by Black & Veatch, the engineering and consulting giant.
Obama Announces Plans for First Nuclear Power Plant in 3 Decades
By: Brian Merchant Date: February 16, 2010 Source: Treehugger
Obama just gave a speech on clean energy after touring a clean jobs training facility in Lanham, MD. In the speech, he made the announcement that his administration has approved an $8.3 billion loan guarantee to build the first nuclear power plant in the US in three decades.
Cellulosic Fuel Gets Cheaper, Companies Say
By: Lars Kroldrup and Clifford Krauss Date: February 16, 2010 Source: The New York Times, Green Inc.
Two of the world’s leading companies in the enzyme business, Novozymes and Danisco of Denmark, announced this week that they had found a way to produce enzymes that could reliably and affordably convert agricultural waste into so-called cellulosic ethanol.
Highly- Efficient CO2- Capturing Crystals
By: Megan Treacy Date: February 16, 2010 Source: ecogeek
Scientists at UCLA have developed synthetic crystals that trap gasses like a smart sponge. The crystals are highly selective, allowing them to achieve a 400% improvement in CO2 capture over current technologies.
Gains in Global Wind Capacity Reported
By: Lars Kroldrup Date: February 15, 2010 Source: The New York Times Green Inc.
The Global Wind Energy Council, a trade association based in Brussels, estimates that wind power capacity grew by 31 percent worldwide in 2009, with 37.5 additional gigawatts installed, bringing global wind power capacity to 157.9 gigawatts.
Oregon to Reduce Clean Energy Incentives
By: Colin Miner Date: February 12, 2010 Source: The New York Times, Green Inc.
Oregon’s House of Representatives Wednesday passed a bill that will rein in a business energy tax credit that was designed to help strengthen the state’s renewable energy industry.
Supply Chain
Companies Wanted for UN’s Sustainable Value Chains Pilot
Date: February 16, 2010 Source: Environmental Leader
A UN pilot on reporting standards for sustainable value chains is getting underway. The United Nations Environment Program and the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry are actively seeking large global companies to take part in the pilot, which aims to develop and test a “capability framework” for sustainable value chains, reports Industry Week.
Water
An Ominous Warning on the Effects of Ocean Acidification
By: Carl Zimmer Date: February 15, 2010 Source: Yale Environment 360
A new study says the seas are acidifying ten times faster today than 55 million years ago when a mass extinction of marine species occurred. And, the study concludes, current changes in ocean chemistry due to the burning of fossil fuels may portend a new wave of die-offs.
Addressing Water Access and Sanitation
By: Bjorn Von Euler Date: February 11, 2010 Source: Environmental Leader
While the average person in America uses 400 liters of water each day for drinking, washing and cooking, the average person in the developing world uses only 10 liters. Furthermore, 1.4 million children die every year from diarrhea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation, approximately one in eight people lack safe water supplies and almost two fifths of the world’s population lacks improved sanitation. These numbers make it evident that water and sanitation is a critical global issue.
