Echo

America’s dirty little secret

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(ON) The Globe and Mail –  The United States has proved to be the biggest laggard, refusing to sign the 1997 Kyoto Protocol or to adopt any effective domestic emissions controls. As we head into the global summit in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the U.S. is once again the focus of concern. Even now, American politics remain strongly divided over climate change — though President Barack Obama has new opportunities to break the logjam. A year after the 1992 treaty, Bill Clinton tried to pass an energy tax that would have helped the U.S. to begin reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. The proposal not only failed, but triggered a political backlash.

Echo

Second annual Michigan energy prize is $100,000

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(MI) The Mudpuppy – It’s Year Two for the Clean Energy Prize competition and sponsors DTE Energy and the University of Michigan have changed the rules. This time around, teams don’t have to include a U-M student. Any team that includes a student from a Michigan college or university is eligible. Go green, if you want (as in Michigan State University).  More

Waste

Nudging Recycling From Less Waste to None

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(NY) The New York Times – Across the nation, an antigarbage strategy known as “zero waste” is moving from the fringes to the mainstream, taking hold in school cafeterias, national parks, restaurants, stadiums and corporations. The movement is simple in concept if not always in execution: Produce less waste. Shun polystyrene foam containers or any other packaging that is not biodegradable. Recycle or compost whatever you can. More

Echo

BP permit must be rewritten

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(IN) The Post-Tribune – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is forcing the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to rewrite part of the air permit for BP’s Whiting refinery. EPA says BP and IDEM left out or underestimated several sources of air pollution that need to be counted when determining what kind of air pollution control equipment is necessary. More

Echo

Consumers Energy trying to build new coal plant on coastal wetlands

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(MI) Bay City Times – Consumers Energy Co. is trying to strike a deal with state and federal regulators to build a new power plant on up to 170 acres of coastal wetlands in Bay County, environmental groups contend. The Lone Tree Council, a Bay City-area environmental group, obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act showing negotiations have been going on for a number of months between the company and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers. More

Echo

Obey feared to have jumped sides

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(WI) Green Bay Press Gazette – Environmentalists are scratching their heads and wondering if Rep. Dave Obey has abandoned them. They worry that the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee who has been an ally, is using his clout to weaken or delay implementation of a rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency to limit emissions from large ships within 200 miles of coasts. More

Echo

Raising a stink over… The Big Pipe

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(ON) The Toronto Star – Ontario’s environment ministry has given its blessing to a massive, controversial $550 million sewage line — known as the “Big Pipe” — that will open the door to billions of dollars worth of new development in the eastern GTA. However, years after construction started on the project in York Region, politicians are embroiled in in-fighting, as the remainder of the pipeline proposed to run through Pickering faces opposition from residents. More

Waste

Wyoming to incinerate unused medicines

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(MI) Grand Rapids Press – There is a new prescription for all those unused pills in the medicine cabinet: Incineration. Wyoming this fall plans to launch a medicine collection program in partnership with about 25 pharmacies in the city. The effort aims to get excess drugs beyond the reach of children and other unauthorized users without flushing them into the sewer system and, ultimately, into area drinking water. “The main thing is just getting rid of it,” said City Councilman Jack Poll, a pharmacist. “There are just a ton of prescription drugs sitting in people’s homes and, obviously, the easiest thing to do is dump them in the trash or flush them down the toilet.” More

Echo

Michigan limits mercury from coal-fired plants

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(MI) The Associated Press – Michigan’s coal-fired power plants will be required to make drastic cuts in mercury emissions under regulations announced Monday. The rules developed by the Department of Environmental Quality are designed to implement a policy Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced three years ago to slash the generators’ mercury output 90 percent by 2015. Coal-fired plants produce 60 percent of Michigan’s electricity. “Mercury is a serious health concern, and Michigan is eager to see a major reduction in mercury air emissions,” DEQ Director Steven Chester said. More

Echo

Finally a Dam Decision on Argo?

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(MI) Ann Arbor Chronicle – At its Sunday night caucus, Ann Arbor city council members heard from only a couple of residents who actually spoke in favor of keeping Argo Dam in place. But those speakers were supported by the presence of almost two dozen others who attended the regular Sunday evening affair, to make clear that they also supported a resolution on the dam — which was added to Monday’s Oct. 19 agenda on Friday, Oct. 16. More