EPA Faults California Waste Plant for Chemical Disposal

The Environmental Protection Agency has found that a major California waste facility linked to birth defects in nearby communities improperly disposed of hazardous chemicals. On Thursday, the EPA said Fresno’s Chemical Waste Management landfill had violated federal laws on disposing PCBs. The plant is the largest hazardous waste facility in the western United States. Nearby residents have blamed it for at least eleven birth defects since 2007. — from DemocracyNow

EPA Launches Blog on Acid Rain

April 8 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a month-long online discussion to expand the conversation on acid rain. Acid rain is a serious environmental problem that affects large parts of the United States and is particularly damaging to lakes, streams, and forests and the plants and animals that live in these ecosystems. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), the pollutants that form acid rain, can cause serious respiratory illnesses and premature death.

Starting today (April 8th) , EPA is posting daily blogs to inform and engage the public in an interactive Web discussion. Topics will include an overview of acid rain and its effects, a description of the Acid Rain Program’s cap and trade policy, an explanation of how EPA monitors power plant emissions, and how air and water quality monitoring data are used to measure environmental improvements.

EPA established the Acid Rain Program 20 years ago under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and it requires major emission reductions of sulfur dioxide SO2 and nitrogen oxide NOx from the electric power industry. The program sets a permanent cap on the total amount of SO2 that may be emitted by electric generating units in the United States, and includes provisions for trading and banking allowances. Since the first year of the program in 1995, SO2 and NOx emissions have each been cut by more than 60 percent.

For the kickoff Greenversations blog: http://blog.epa.gov/blog/

The Greenversations blog is nothing new.  In 2008, Climate Progress called Greenversations “the world’s blandest environmental blog,. . . . . paid for by your taxpayer dollar.  To be honest, in 2010 it’s still pretty bland.

Acid Rain has not gone away!  It is still connected to burning coal and other fossil fuels.  It’s still a very serious problem.   “In the US, About 2/3 of all SO2 and 1/4 of all NOx comes from electric power generation that relies on burning fossil fuels like coal.”

After the latest mine incident, we should be expediting the phase-out of coal burning as soon as possible. Why didn’t the media focus on why we are still using COAL in 2010?  It’s not 1810 anymore . . . yet the media was focused on noting that this is West Virginia’s “way of life”.  I even heard that coal mining is in the DNA of the people of West Virginia.  Oh really? That would be [...]