Echo

Pollution lightens wallets

By |

(IL) Chicago Tribune – Our national energy system is actually highly inefficient. In fact, for every unit of energy that’s produced, two units are thrown away — usually in the form of waste heat that power plants just vent into the atmosphere. That’s why Congress is considering a measure that would improve the efficiency of how power is generated. The result would be reduced demand on our electric grid, leading to a cleaner environment and more money in our pockets. More

Echo

Georgia-Pacific Corp. agrees to new $13 million cleanup for Kalamazoo River Superfund site

By |

(MI) Kalamazoo Gazette – Georgia-Pacific Corp. has agreed to a new $13 million cleanup for the Kalamazoo River Superfund site in Allegan and Kalamazoo counties. The settlement was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court and announced Tuesday by the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific will install a landfill cap for a portion of the site, which includes an 80-mile stretch of river extending to Lake Michigan in Saugatuck, a three-mile segment of Portage Creek, closed paper mill properties and four landfills.  More

Echo

Volunteers count crane flies in Stoney Creek

By |

(MI) Detroit Free Press – Adam Rhein trudged through a murky branch of Stoney Creek in Washington Township in chest-high rubber waders on Tuesday and lowered a long net into the gentle water. Rhein and more than a dozen other juniors from Romeo High School joined the council’s effort to collaborate with communities, schools and businesses in order to test for pollution in the river and more than 1,000 miles of creeks. The rivers and streams meander through Oakland and Macomb counties then spill into Lake St. Clair, a major source of drinking water and recreation. More

Air

Automakers, Obama Announce Mileage, Pollution Plan

By |

(NY) The New York Times – President Barack Obama wants drivers to go farther on a gallon of gas and cause less damage to the environment — and be willing to pick up the tab. Obama on Tuesday planned to announce the first-ever national emissions limits for cars and trucks, as well as require a 35.5 miles per gallon standard. Consumers should expect to pay an extra $1,300 per vehicle by the time the plan is complete in 2016, officials said. More