September 2013
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Chicago Passes Mandatory Energy Benchmarking Ordinance
The Chicago City Council recently passed the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance of the City of Chicago, and as a result have joined eight major cities and two states that require some form of energy benchmarking for buildings. Continue reading
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EPA Proposes New and Differing Carbon Emission Limits for Future Natural Gas-Fired and Coal-Fired Power Plants
On September 20, 2013, U.S. EPA rescinded its first attempt and proposed new rules to establish New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), i.e., national emission limits, for carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from new electric power plants. Continue reading
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Energy and EPA Defend Administration’s Climate Change Approach in Congress
On September 18, 2013, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing on “The Obama Administration’s Climate Change Policies and Activities” in response to the President’s Climate Action Plan released on June 25, 2013. Continue reading
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EPA Releases Proposed Carbon Pollution Standard For New Power Plants
On September 20, 2013, the U.S. EPA announced a Proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants. The announcement marks the first major step under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan announced this July. Continue reading
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Will Phthalates Go The Way of BPA?
Recent actions taken by retailer Walmart may have sounded the death knell for phthalates. Phthalates are a group of chemicals that are typically used to soften and increase the flexibility of plastics and vinyl. In chemical mixtures, phthalates can also carry other chemicals and are often found in fragrances and other consumer products. Certain categories… Continue reading
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Live: Costa Concordia Salvage Operation – Italy Anticipates Minimal Environmental Impacts
Follow live as the Costa Concordia, which capsized off Giglio Island, Italy, is raised in the biggest salvage operation of its kind in maritime history. Progress has been made and the ship is slowly rightsizing with efforts expected to continue at least through Tuesday. Continue reading
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United Nations Global Compact Releases Its Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2013
By Genevieve J. Essig Yesterday, the United Nations Global Compact released its Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2013, which reviews information received from nearly 2,000 companies around the world regarding their efforts to incorporate corporate sustainability / corporate responsibility principles into their businesses and analyzes “the state of corporate sustainability today.” (6). According to the authors,… Continue reading
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EPA, OSHA and ATF Issue Ammonium Nitrate Chemical Advisory
EPA, OSHA and ATF have issued a chemical advisory that provides information on the hazards of ammonium nitrate (AN) storage, handling and management. This action supports the goals of President Obama’s August 2013 executive order on “Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security.” The advisory provides lessons learned for facility owners and operators, emergency planners and… Continue reading
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ECHA Reports Significant Non-Compliance And Limited Enforcement Of REACH Requirements
According to a report issued by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), one out of every ten companies were found to be using unregistered chemical substances. Under the REACH regulations, companies are prohibited from using chemical substances unless those substances were registered on or before December 1, 2008. In addition, the ECHA report found that 67… Continue reading
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New Preliminary Risk Data Available For Explosives
EPA is announcing a public meeting to provide an opportunity for public input and discussion on preliminary materials for Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) chemicals prior to the development of the assessments for the following chemicals: ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE); tert-butyl alcohol (tert-butanol); and, hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX). Continue reading