May 24, 2011 Last month, the USEPA issued its periodic update report on where the US stands in terms of our overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory, and trends since statistics began to be kept in 1990. It is important to step back and see where our GHG emissions derive and trends in recent years [...]

April 26, 2011 Earlier this year the World Resources Institute and other organizations issued a report providing ways for the federal government to implement a cap and trade program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions independent of Congress, through Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (§111), New Source Performance Standards. This report states that [...]

Environmental News for You(TM) February 2011 The USEPA has begun to apply Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations to greenhouse gases (GHGs), as of Jan. 1, 2011. The USEPA was forced to as the CAA requires the agency to develop and enforce rules for any compound designated a pollutant, and GHGs were so stated. But how [...]

January 25, 2011 Last week in my blog, I discussed the growing issue of energy risk. It is almost a certainty that we will have future energy price volatility and overall cost increases, as we see this winter with gasoline prices and news reports of more accidents (i.e., Deepwater Horizon) and potential impacts on the [...]

Dec. 28, 2010 2011 is coming and many people have made their new year’s resolutions and wish lists. My wish for 2011 (besides a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year for all) is simple. I would like to return to a time in the U.S. when things were done at a high quality level. It [...]

Nov. 22, 2010 In lectures about climate change I give to groups or at conferences, I try to be hopeful. When I talk about its probable impacts, I discuss what the scientific community (IPCC) has estimated, that if we can reduce GHG emissions by 70-80% from a 1990 baseline by 2050 we can avoid the [...]

Environmental News for YouTM July 2010 It goes without saying that when developing “green” strategies for a company the first thing that’s asked is “So, what’s this going to cost us?” The assumption is that green strategies – to save energy, to reduce GHG emissions, to reduce water use and waste generation – will always [...]

As has been written in several previous Environmental News for You the new Mandatory GHG Emission Reporting Rule (40 CFR Part 98) is in effect. There has probably never been a rule in the history of the USEPA with such stringent requirements for monitoring, emission estimation, and reporting. In addition, the USEPA released a draft [...]

Environmental News for You – March 2010 Discussions about climate change policy focus on how we can reach the goal that a large majority of the world’s scientists believe is necessary: to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 70-80% from a 1990 baseline by 2050. One suggested system to achieve this is called “Cap [...]

Feb. 15, 2010 There has been much talk in the last decade or so in the US about people changing their lifestyles to have a more sustainable planet. Polls show the majority of Americans favor this. However, until the recent recession, energy usage (miles driven, electricity use per capita) continued to rise. Most people will [...]