Michigan studies plan to ease rules on air emissions

October 10, 2013

Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration is considering major changes to the way Michigan regulates air emissions — a potentially cost-reducing initiative that pleases industry but has some environmental groups concerned about the potential health impact on residents.

Last month, an air quality committee composed of industry representatives, environmental groups and state officials recommended cutting the number of chemicals subject to air emissions limitation rules by 37 percent — to 756 from more than 1,200.

It’s a move state Department of Environmental Quality officials argue brings Michigan in line with most other states. The state currently tracks more chemicals than are required by the federal government — leading Michigan to share the distinction with Texas of regulating more chemicals than the rest of the states across the country.

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Satellite imagery busts tanker in Land's End pollution case

October 9, 2013

In a landmark hearing last Friday the owner of a tanker that polluted the sea off Land’s End has been prosecuted using satellite image evidence.

It is the first time that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has used such images as evidence in a hearing, anywhere in the country.

It has led to the tanker owner being ordered to pay £22,500 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to a breach of UK maritime pollution legislation at Truro’s Magistrates’ Court.

On February 25 last year a satellite operated by European Maritime Safety Agency detected a ship trailing a slick in the waters between Land’s End and the Isles of Scilly, and a report was made to the MCA. The ship was identified as the Singapore registered tanker Maersk Kiera. The slick was within 12 miles of land.

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Woods Institute for the Environment funds seven global research projects

October 9, 2013

The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment has announced its latest crop of Environmental Venture Projects (EVP), each of which will receive funding over the next two years to tackle significant environmental issues worldwide.

The grants for the seven projects total nearly $1.25 million. The selection process aimed to identify interdisciplinary research—with faculty members coming from fields as diverse as anthropology and physics—that sought practical solutions to global problems.

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What The Shutdown Means For Energy And Environmental Programs

October 2, 2013

As you’ve probably heard, the U.S. government has shut down for the first time in 17 years.

That means many of the agencies responsible for weather, climate and energy regulation are largely shuttered as well, forced to whittle down their staffs to only their most essential employees. These include:

The Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA is taking one of the biggest hits of any federal agency — about 96 percent of the agency’s staff aren’t coming to work, meaning the agency, in EPA Chief Gina McCarthy’s words, has “essentially shut down.” The staff that will be coming to work include employees who “ensure continued public health and safety, including safe use of food and drugs and safe use of hazardous materials,” as well as workers who protect federal lands and research property and provide disaster and emergency aid.

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