Australia recently announced that it will join the European Union’s carbon emissions trading scheme starting in mid-2015, a decision that most likely stemmed from the fact that they are one of the world’s worst greenhouse gas emitters per capita, mostly because of their use of coal to generate power. This decision will result in the […]
While some scientists may still disagree as to whether or not greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities are largely responsible for global warming change, there is almost no dispute that water-related issues represent a challenge to mankind that is of no less importance than climate change. Any emission of unwanted gases into the air […]
Organizations around the world face increasing regulations focusing on environment, health and safety (EHS) issues. Managing these rules and regulations are a very resource-intensive activity with greater risk of brand damage, penalties, and fines for non-compliance. Organizations have to spend significant resources in tracking these regulations carefully, and organizations have to be even more vigilant […]
Companies using hydraulic fracturing technique will have until 2015 to comply with new rules designed to reduce air pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency released today long-awaited rules on hydraulic fracturing, in one of its first efforts to regulate the widely used technique of extracting oil and natural gas. There was no mention about groundwater protection. […]
The Environmental Protection Agency is set to make final new air-pollution standards for coal-fired power plants by mid-December, sparking disagreement among power companies about how quickly aging coal plants need to be pushed offline. The EPA wants to give coal-fired plants three years to comply with the new standards—either by shutting down or going through […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a schedule to develop standards for wastewater discharges produced by natural gas extraction from underground coalbed and shale formations. No comprehensive set of national standards exists at this time for the disposal of wastewater discharged from natural gas extraction activities, and over the coming months EPA will […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under industry pressure, is expected to ease an air quality rule that would require power plants in 27 states to slash emissions, said the Wall Street Journal. It appears that changes are needed because the original rule from July 2011 required steep reductions too quickly. This summer the administration, pressed […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking oil and gas companies in the US to provide it with detailed information—including chemicals used and efforts to minimize environmental impact—about their use of hydrofracking. The federal government’s investor-and-markets watchdog is stepping into the heated environmental debate surrounding hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” according to government and industry officials, […]
There is a saying from the book and movie Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) “Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron. Water can carve its way through stone. And when trapped, water makes a new path.” There is also a famous Chinese proverb about water: “not only […]
At a legislative hearing on the status of California’s cap-and-trade system yesterday, the Chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Mary Nichols, indicated they are proposing to start the program in 2012 but delay the first compliance period to 2013. Cap-and-trade is a cornerstone of California’s approach to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to […]