RICHMOND, California, September 8, 2008 (ENS) – Environmental justice groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the Richmond City Council’s approval of Chevron’s refinery expansion project. At issue is an environmental review that the groups claim concealed the fact that the expanded refinery would process heavier, dirtier oil, resulting in higher levels of air pollution and…
ALBANY, New York, September 8, 2008 (ENS) – Old-growth forests in the state of New York are protected for the first time under a bill signed into law Friday by Governor David Paterson. The law applies only to state forests, not to forests on private lands or national forests in the state of New York.…
EDINBURGH, Scotland, August 5, 2008 (ENS) – Monkeys, apes and other primates are vanishing from the face of the Earth, with some “literally being eaten to extinction,” according to the world’s foremost primate authorities gathered this week at the 22nd International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh. “We’ve raised concerns for years about primates being in…
PARIS, France, July 17, 2008 (ENS) – Government financial support of biofuel production in the world’s wealthiest countries is costly, has a limited impact on reducing greenhouse gases and improving energy security, and raises world crop prices, finds a new study of policies to promote greater production and use of biofuels in OECD countries. The…
WASHINGTON, DC, July 11, 2008 (ENS) – The Bush administration today asked for public comment on a long list of options for controlling greenhouse gas emissions under existing federal law, but emphasized that it has no intention of pursuing any of them. The announcement confirms that the Bush administration will not move to regulate greenhouse…
WASHINGTON, DC, July 8, 2008 (ENS) – Officials in the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s office pressured federal health and environmental officials to edit congressional testimony to downplay the public health impacts of climate change, according to a former senior official with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Senior Senate Democrats contend the allegations…
TOYAKO, Japan, July 8, 2008 (ENS) – The leaders of the world’s eight wealthiest countries, the G8, today announced that they support the goal of cutting global emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by half within 42 years. We “seek to adopt, as a global goal, the goal of achieving at least 50 percent reduction of…
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, July 3, 2008 (ENS) – Global warming legislation will be enacted for the first time in Pennsylvania when Governor Ed Rendell signs the Pennsylvania Climate Change Act as he is expected to do. The measure was overwhelmingly approved today by both houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. A coal-rich state, Pennsylvania emits one…
WASHINGTON, DC, July 1, 2008 (ENS) – Atlanta is thirsty, New York is sizzling, Des Moines is flooded – all these situations have happened this year, and a new federal government report predicts an increasing frequency of the same kinds of extremes across North America as the planet warms. Droughts, heavy downpours, excessive heat, and…
LAWRENCE, Kansas, June 30, 2008 (ENS) – The grand opening of the Zarco 66 Earth Friendly Fuels Station today in the university town of Lawrence, Kansas was more than just the opening of another gas station – it was attended by politicians and conservationists eager to promote homegrown alternatives to foreign oil. Offering a variety…
MIAMI, Florida, June 28, 2008 (ENS) – The U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Miami this week adopted a resolution aimed at avoiding the use of high carbon fuels such as tar sands, liquid coal, and oil shale. The resolution encourages fuel analyses that include emissions from production, not just from burning the fuel. The…
CANBERRA, Australia, June 26, 2008 (ENS) – As of July 1, Australian businesses emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases will be required to monitor and measure the emissions ahead of reporting them to the government by October 2009. Senator Penny Wong, minister for climate change and water, said the requirements are part of Australia’s new…
MONTREAL, Canada, June 19, 2008 (ENS) – The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, has unveiled a carbon calculation tool on its website that allows travelers to estimate the carbon footprint for any flight they take. A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of…
TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, June 18, 2008 (ENS) – Canada today became the first country ever to be brought to court for failing to comply with its legal commitments to combat global warming. Friends of the Earth Canada is suing the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper for following a strategy to reduce greenhouse…
NEW YORK, New York, June 10, 2008 (ENS) – New York is getting serious about cleaning up vehicle emissions. New York State and New York City jointly announced today that $6 million is available to help private and not-for-profit fleets operating in New York City to purchase new or repower vehicles with alternative fuels or…
CHICAGO, Illinois, June 10, 2008 (ENS) – In a case that could affect oil refineries around the country, plans by ConocoPhillips to expand its refinery in Roxana, Illinois were sidelined on Friday when an appeal board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency upheld a challenge to the air permit required for the project. The decision…
WASHINGTON, DC, May 30, 2008 (ENS) – Congress will consider climate change legislation in a variety of forms next week when legislators return to Washington. Both House and Senate have bills to work with and changes to measures previously introduced. A measure that would reduce greenhouse gases according to scientific targets and reinvest any revenue…
KOBE, Japan, May 27, 2008 (ENS) – Environment ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations concluded a three-day meeting in Kobe Monday with an agreement on the long-term goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050. But the ministers failed to support specific emissions reduction targets for 2020, as recommended last year…
By J.R. Pegg WASHINGTON, DC, May 21, 2008 (ENS) – The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stonewalled Democratic lawmakers Tuesday, refusing to provide information about the role the White House played in recent agency decisions involving the regulation of greenhouse gases and the finalization of a new federal smog standard. The defiance of…
DALLAS, Texas, May 18, 2008 (ENS) – The Mars Snackfood U.S. plant in Waco, Texas has started using landfill gas – methane – to cook some of the world’s best known chocolate snacks. The venture is expected to cut both the company’s energy costs and the release of climate warming greenhouse gases into the environment.…
RICHMOND, Virginia, May 9, 2008 (ENS) – Dominion Power proposes building a coal-fired power plant in Wise County, Virginia, but many Virginians oppose the facility because of the climate-warming greenhouse gases it would produce. So many Virginians want to block the power plant that their 42,400 signatures fill rolls of paper a mile long displayed…
NEW YORK, New York, May 7, 2008 (ENS) – Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland – The Police – Tuesday pledged $1 million to plant trees across New York City. This donation to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City in support of MillionTreesNYC will be matched by the city. The total of $2…
It is good to know what your government is doing in regards to the state of the environment. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started a program called Energy Star in 1992. Energy Star is a voluntary organization that entreats companies who make electrical devices to include a special label on their products. In order…
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 22, 2008 (ENS) – For Earth Day 2008, the Nature Conservancy of Texas is offering an online carbon calculator so people can make positive daily choices to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Educators can use the calculator to help young Texans understand their individual roles in…
LANSING, Michigan, April 22, 2008 (ENS) – Governor Jennifer Granholm today announced that Michigan will be joining the Climate Savers Computing Initiative to encourage the utilization of more energy efficient computers and servers in state offices and agencies. With some 55,000 desktop computers and laptops and nearly 3,700 servers in state government, the annual estimated…