Washington Post (May 11)
The EPA is proposing “the tightest limits ever on power plants’ planet-warming pollution” in order “to meet President Biden’s pledge to halve U.S. emissions by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.” The proposal “would encourage gas- and coal-fired plants nationwide to meet tighter emission-reductions standards by either closing or adopting technology to run cleaner, accelerating one of the fastest transitions underway in energy.”
Tags: Biden, Cleaner, Coal-fired plants, Emission reductions, Emissions, Energy, EPA, Gas, Pledge, Pollution, Technology, Transitions, U.S.
Car & Driver (November 24)
“General Motors has reversed its decision to back the Trump administration’s fight to force California, along with 12 other states, to comply with the less stringent fuel-efficiency standards Trump’s EPA put into place in 2018 for 2022 to 2025. The move signals that GM expects President-Elect Joe Biden to take a much different stance on emissions regulations…. Ford, GM’s crosstown rival, had backed California from the beginning.”
Tags: Biden, California, Comply, Emissions, EPA, Fight, Ford, Fuel efficiency, Less stringent, Regulations, Reversed, Standards, Trump
Chicago Tribune (August 3)
“Shrinking ice caps, rising seas, more flooding, more intense heat waves—these phenomena are happening now. The question is whether we can band together as a planet in time to reverse the effects.” The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just announced limits for greenhouse gas emissions from power generating stations. The EPA’s plan is a step in the right direction. “The more seriously the U.S. acts, the more likely other polluting nations like China and India will do the same in Paris.”
Bloomberg (November 11)
“Oceanographers have detected isotopes linked to Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant off California’s coast, though at levels far below those that could pose a measurable health risk.” While the origin of the isotopes is clear, it is equally clear that the minute levels are absolutely safe, registering about 1,000 times below the EPA’s limits for drinking water.
Tags: California, Drinking water, EPA, Fukushima, Health, Isotopes, Japan, Nuclear plant, Oceanographers, Risk, Safe
Washington Post (January 28)
“Climate change is an issue for the secretary of state as much as it is for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency…. The world is more likely to approach the climate issue with a bundle of national policies, rather than a comprehensive, top-down climate pact.”
Tags: Climate change, Climate pact, EPA, Policies, Secretary of state
New York Times (January 13)
Beijing’s notorious air pollution hit a new low on Saturday. First the background. The Air Quality Index of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranges from 0-500, with levels between 301 to 500 considered hazardous for all outdoor activity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a score of 500 indicates over 20 times the safe level of particulate matter. Beijing’s new record in dirty air left some speechless. “What phrase is appropriate to describe Saturday’s jaw-dropping reading of 755 at 8 p.m., when all of Beijing looked like an airport smokers’ lounge?”
Tags: Air pollution, Air Quality Index, Beijing, EPA, Hazardous, Particulate matter, WHO
Washington Post (August 2)
The Senate gave up on climate change legislation. There aren’t enough votes. Ironically, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just made separate releases underscoring “the risks humanity runs if it continues to pump carbon into the atmosphere.” The EPA reaffirmed the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring while NOAA found that each decade has gotten warmer during the last 50 years.
Tags: Climate change, EPA, NOAA, Senate
