EPA

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EPA Declares CO2 a Pollutant
 EPA Declares CO2 a Pollutant 
UPDATED
Dec 7, 2009 3:35 PM CST

EPA Declares CO2 a Pollutant

Agency can regulate greenhouse gases under Clean Air Act

(Newser) - It's official: the Obama administration today declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health, which will allow the agency to use the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions without congressional approval, the Washington Post reports. "There are no more excuses for delay," said EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, who...

EPA Move to Curb Carbon Trumps Copenhagen
EPA Move to Curb Carbon Trumps Copenhagen
business not happy
Dec 7, 2009 9:28 AM CST

EPA Move to Curb Carbon Trumps Copenhagen

Regulation of greenhouse gasses will have more immediate impact

(Newser) - No matter what happens in Copenhagen, the Obama administration is preparing to make a move to curb greenhouse gases at home that has businesses up in arms. As early as today the EPA is expected to announce that carbon dioxide has officially been classified as a dangerous pollutant, meaning that...

EPA Gets Nod to Crack Down on Industrial Greenhouse Gas

Big industrial plants to be targeted, not 'cows and Dunkin' Donuts'

(Newser) - The Obama administration has given the EPA the green light to start moving for the first time toward limiting greenhouse-gas emissions from major industrial sources. The proposed new rules would affect only large facilities that emit 25,000 tons or more of carbon dioxide annually, instead of applying to "...

EPA Sues North Face Over 'Anti-Bacteria' Boots

Company could be fined $1M for misleading claims

(Newser) - North Face may be kicked with a fine of up to $1 million for claiming its shoes have the power to kill fungus and bacteria. The EPA filed a lawsuit against the outdoor clothing company's parent firm yesterday, alleging that the operation violated federal law by advertising that its specially...

Obama's Environmental Pick Is Tight With the Enemy

(Newser) - President Obama's pick to run the Justice Department's environmental unit has an impressive resume when it comes to lawsuits against giant polluters. Trouble is, say her critics, all that experience has come from working with the bad guys. Ignacia Moreno, currently an attorney for GE, has spent years defending the...

EPA Bucks Bush Policy, Lets Calif. Set Own CO2 Standard

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency today granted California the right to set its own strict emissions standards, an about-face from Bush-era policies, Reuters reports. In a sly rebuke to the previous administration, the EPA said the move rested on a “traditional legal interpretation of the Clean Air Act.” California...

Obama Will Streamline Emissions, Fuel Rules for Autos

Federal standard replaces patchwork

(Newser) - President Obama will announce plans for new national automobile fuel-economy and emissions standards tomorrow, overhauling and streamlining the current patchwork, sources tell Politico. The move will harmonize the CAFE standard and the EPA’s greenhouse-gas standard, so that struggling automakers needn’t fear the regulations moving independently. The announcement will...

EPA Eyes Crackdown on Not-So-Green Biofuels

Turns out, it's greener to burn plants than to make ethanol

(Newser) - Plants consume carbon dioxide, so growing corn to produce ethanol should be at worst a zero-sum game, emissions-wise, right? Wrong, says the EPA. There's another factor involved: Turning food crops into fuel drives up their prices, which raises demand for farmland worldwide. In places like Brazil, that means chopping down...

Utilities Poison Water to Meet EPA Air Regs

(Newser) - A federal law that keeps utilities from poisoning the air is causing toxic metals to infiltrate US waterways, the Washington Post reports. As the Environmental Protection Agency debates possible solutions with lawmakers, utility companies are storing pollutants like mercury and selenium in sludge ponds that eventually leak into lakes and...

Congress Will Likely Pass Up Climate Change for Health Care

Dems think health bill is easier to pass

(Newser) - Congress returns from recess today with both health care and climate change on its plate, and it’s looking increasingly likely that it will favor the former, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Health-care reform should be first among equals,” says one rep. Though he also expects to “...

EPA's Carbon Ruling Puts Heat on Congress
 EPA's Carbon Ruling 
 Puts Heat on Congress 
Analysis
Apr 18, 2009 4:59 PM CDT

EPA's Carbon Ruling Puts Heat on Congress

(Newser) - By issuing its long-awaited “endangerment finding” on carbon yesterday, the EPA is essentially putting a gun to Congress’ head, writes Bryan Walsh in Time. Capitol Hill is loathe to regulate carbon emissions, with Republicans and coal-state Democrats worried about the economic fallout. But by ruling that carbon is dangerous,...

EPA Finds Greenhouse Gases Dangerous
 EPA Finds Greenhouse 
 Gases Dangerous 
updated
Apr 17, 2009 11:07 AM CDT

EPA Finds Greenhouse Gases Dangerous

(Newser) - Carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gasses are indeed dangers to the public health and welfare and must be regulated, the EPA has concluded. The findings could result in sweeping new powers for the EPA to regulate emissions over a wide range of industries and automobiles, the AP reports. The...

Supreme Court Rules for Power Plants, Against Fish

EPA regulators can perform cost-benefit analysis before ordering upgrades: ruling

(Newser) - Federal regulators may perform cost-benefit analysis on new power plant equipment designed to protect fish, and decide whether to require the equipment based on that analysis, the Supreme Court ruled today. The 6-3 decision overturns an appellate court ruling that barred the EPA from performing cost-benefit analysis because it wasn't...

Ozone Kills, Slowly: Study
 Ozone Kills, Slowly: Study 
Mar 12, 2009 2:40 PM CDT

Ozone Kills, Slowly: Study

High-level areas like LA face 50% increase in risk of death from respiratory illness

(Newser) - Long-term exposure to ozone can greatly increase the risk of death from respiratory diseases, the Los Angeles Times reports. An 18-year study of half a million people in 96 cities found that an increase of 10 parts per billion in ozone concentrations correlated to a 4% increase in deaths from...

EPA Expected to Start Limiting CO2 Emissions

Agency will act on ignored Supreme Court ruling

(Newser) - The EPA is expected to soon start regulating emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases for the first time, reports the New York Times. The agency is under an order—ignored by the Bush administration—to decide whether CO2 is a pollutant that endangers the public. Obama administration officials...

Court Reinstates Bush Clean Air Rule

Federal judges reverse position on clean air rule, giving Obama time to replace it

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has decided that a flawed clean air law is better than no clean air law, the New York Times reports. Reversing an earlier judgment, the court ruled to temporarily reinstate the Clean Air Interstate Rule—which limits emissions from coal-fired power plants in 28 states—while...

Obama Plans to Erase Bush's Environmental Mark

EPA, Interior Dept. to be put to work fighting climate change

(Newser) - Whoever Barack Obama picks for the top posts at the EPA and the Interior Department will likely be put straight to work reversing the course those agencies have been on for eight years, the Washington Post reports. Obama has made it plain that he plans to undo many of the...

EPA to Loosen Clean-Air Rules in National Parks

Bush moves to allow coal-fired plants nearer US land preserves

(Newser) - Polluting facilities like coal-fired power plants could soon be allowed to operate closer to national parks, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. Rules being finalized by the EPA—against strong objections from several officials—will weaken Clean Air Act protections by averaging out emission counts over a year,...

Bush's EPA Gutted Toxic Chemical Protections
Bush's EPA Gutted Toxic Chemical Protections
ANALYSIS
Nov 11, 2008 4:15 PM CST

Bush's EPA Gutted Toxic Chemical Protections

Military-use substances were deemed less toxic, key reviews stalled

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency program that rates the toxicity of chemicals used in the US, and around the world, has been manipulated in favor of industry and the military under the Bush administration, Rebecca Claren reports in Salon. Budget-cutting directives from the White House have allowed outside organizations, including the...

EPA Won't Limit Rocket-Fuel Ingredient in Water

Contaminant perchlorate is linked to thyroid problems

(Newser) - The EPA has decided not to set limits for a component of rocket fuel that contaminates drinking water, according to an agency document reviewed by the AP. Perchlorate, linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and babies, enters the water supply through improper disposal by rocket test sites and chemical...

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