Top Stories
Utility Companies 'Just Exhausted' After
Defeat on Cap-and-Trade Measure.—reliability high.
Utilities spent hundreds of millions and countless hours lobbying for
cap and trade to no avail. "'I don’t know what more you can do,' Izzo
said. 'We are essentially volunteering to be the first to be regulated
and people don't want to do it.' ... 'There’s a lot of capital sitting
on the sidelines just waiting for more regulatory clarity,' said Lewis
Hay, CEO of Juno-Beach, Florida-Based NextEra Energy Resources LLC."
From Bloomberg.
[As long as
Congress is paralyzed, industry will hesitate on investment decisions.
Industry likes predictable regulation, based on enduring legislation,
rather than uncertainty. These comments suggest that these utilities
regard some sort of GHG regulation as inevitable. That is why they are
trying to get policies they can live with. They are especially
unenthusiastic about "utility only" alternatives that have been
suggested. Congress is easier for them to manipulate than the EPA. Now
they have to go to plan B.]
Health Rules Could Cut Greenhouse Emissions.—reliability
high.
"A proposed rule on mercury ... could help the administration of
President Barack Obama get near its short-term climate goal, even if
the U.S. Congress fails this year or next to pass a bill tackling
greenhouse gases directly. ... The agency has begun to take steps to
regulate greenhouse gases from automobiles, power plants and factories.
But its proposed rules on mainstream pollutants, those that can cause
diseases, may limit carbon dioxide emissions the most. ... The rule,
which the agency was required by U.S. courts to issue by November 2011,
is likely to help push many of the oldest and dirtiest emitters of
carbon into retirement." Story in The
New York Times.
Carbon trading in pipeline.—reliability
medium.
China "is set to begin domestic carbon trading programs during its
12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) to help it meet its 2020 carbon
intensity target. The decision was made at a closed-door meeting
chaired by Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of the National Development and
Reform Commission (NDRC), and attended by officials from related
ministries, enterprises, environmental exchanges and think tanks, a
participant told China Daily on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
'The consensus that a domestic carbon-trading scheme is essential was
reached, but a debate is still ongoing among experts and industries
regarding what approach should be adopted,' the source said." See China
Daily.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
GM plans 'green' air-conditioning
refrigerant for selected 2013 models.—reliability medium.
"GM is planning to keep drivers and passengers of 2013 Chevrolet,
Buick, GMC, and Cadillac cars cool with a sustainable air-conditioning
refrigerant that lingers in the atmosphere for only days instead of
years. Honeywell has designed a new refrigerant, (HFO-1234yf), that
lingers in the atmosphere for just 11 days and has a global warming
potential (GWP) of only 4, a 99.7 percent improvement over current
emissions. On average, the refrigerant used in current GM models,
R-134a, has an atmospheric life of more than 13 years and a GWP of more
than 1,400. ... The refrigerant will meet new U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulation requirements, which call for
improved greenhouse gas and fuel economy in passenger cars and
light-duty trucks by 2016." From CNET
Car Tech blog. [Even
though it's three years out, and required by regulations, might as well
issue a press release and try to make a virtue of necessity.]
Government and
Regulation
Pollution makes quarter of China water
unusable: ministry.—reliability high.
"Almost a quarter of China's surface water remains so polluted that it
is unfit even for industrial use, while less than half of total
supplies are drinkable, data from the environment watchdog showed on
Monday. Inspectors from China's Ministry of Environmental Protection
tested water samples from the country's major rivers and lakes in the
first half of the year and declared just 49.3 percent to be safe for
drinking, up from 48 percent last year, the ministry said in a notice
posted on its website (www.mep.gov.cn)." Other pollution statistics.
See Reuters
story. [Gives
a sense of the enormity of the challenge. One of the major pollutants
is fertilizer runoff due to fertilizer overuse, which is probably due
in turn to fertilizer subsidies. Everything is connected.]
Britain's 'litter epidemic' costs almost
£1bn every year.—reliability high.
"The Keep Britain Tidy survey of local authorities in England showed
the cost of employing litter pickers and buying equipment to clear
chewing gum rose by £100 million in the last year. The campaign group
blamed the £858 bill, that will ultimately be passed onto council tax
payers, on Britain's 'throwaway culture'. " More on litter costs. From The
Telegraph. [Oil
spills, focused in space, time and culpability, get all the attention.
Litter is all of us everywhere. And note this is only the cost of
collecting the litter that is picked up. Uncollected litter also
imposes some costs through environmental degradation, harm to wildlife,
etc. Please deposit £17.]
