EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
EPA Approves Hydrocarbon Refrigerants for Commercial and Household Use
ENS, 12/16/2011"WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [Wednesday] issued a rule making greener refrigeration gases legal in household refrigerators and some commercial freezers."
Paper Mill Air Standards 25 Years Out of Date; Enviro Groups Sue EPA
iWatch News, 12/16/2011"Three advocacy groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency last week over concerns that regulations for paper mills emissions are 25 years out of date."
"Greenpeace, the Center for Biological Diversity and Port Townsend AirWatchers filed suit on Dec. 6 under a clause of the Clean Air Act that allows citizens to hold the EPA accountable for carrying out the provisions of the act.
Health Fears, Distrust Spur Chinese To Lift Govt Fog on Pollution Data
AP, 12/08/2011"BEIJING — Armed with a device that looks like an old transistor radio, some Beijing residents are recording pollution levels and posting them online. It’s an act that borders on subversion. The government keeps secret all data on the fine particles that shroud China’s capital in a health-threatening smog most days. But as they grow more prosperous, Chinese are demanding the right to know what the government does not tell them: just how polluted their city is."
"Pollution from Asia Shaping California Storms"
San Diego Union-Tribune, 12/06/2011"The Scripps Institution of Oceanography will present fresh evidence during a science conference in San Francisco Tuesday that pollution from central Asia affects the intensity of winter storms in California's Sierra Nevada, which provides a portion of the water consumed in San Diego County."
Christian Environmental Group Calls EPA Mercury Rule a Pro-Life Issue
Grand Rapids Press, 12/06/2011"The federal government's strict new rules on mercury emissions are a pro-life issue that Christians should embrace to protect unborn children, according to a group of Christian environmentalists."
"EPA Tweaks Proposed Boiler Rule, Zeroes in on Largest Emitters"
Greenwire, 12/05/2011"U.S. EPA [Friday] released a reworked package of proposed rules to tackle toxic emissions from 201,000 of the largest boilers and incinerators nationwide, hoping to clear up complaints from manufacturing groups as the agency clamps down on the industrial boilers that are one of the largest U.S. sources of harmful air pollution."
"New Air Quality Rules for Power Plants in Dispute"
NY Times, 12/02/2011"The Obama administration said Thursday that a series of new air pollution rules for power plants would not cause power shortages, although the expert panel designated by the government to ensure electricity reliability warns that compliance with these rules could strain generating capacity.
"Group: Gas Drilling Polluting Chesapeake Bay Area"
AP, 12/01/2011"BALTIMORE — An environmental group said Wednesday that infrared video shows air pollution streaming from natural gas sites that have been sprouting up across the Chesapeake Bay watershed."
"Can Coal Plants Afford EPA's New Air-Toxics Rule?"
McClatchy, 11/30/2011The first-ever rule to limit toxic mercury in coal-fired powerplant emissions is about to take effect. It will require updating antique equipment -- and part of the utility is fighting that tooth and nail, complaining about how costs will hurt the economy. But where plants have installed the new scrubbing devices, many new jobs have been created.
"Chicago-Area Coal Plant To Shut Down Earlier Than Expected"
Chicago Tribune, 11/18/2011"After deciding it isn't worth cleaning up one of the nation's dirtiest power plants, the owners of an aging coal-burner along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan are shutting it down sooner than expected."
Groups: "EPA Could Save 35,700 Lives by Limiting Soot, but Won't"
Mother Jones, 11/18/2011"Stronger national standards on fine particulate matter could prevent 35,700 premature deaths and save Americans $281 billion per year, according to a new report. Earth Justice, the American Lung Association, and Clean Air Task Force published the report in conjunction with a petition they filed yesterday against the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to meet its deadline to revisit the standard."
"EPA To Propose Utility Carbon Rules Next Year"
Reuters, 11/18/2011"The top U.S. environmental regulator will propose early next year twice-delayed rules on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, she told the energyNOW television show."
Special Report: "Poisoned Places: Toxic Air, Neglected Communities"
iWatch/NPR/INN, 11/17/2011A special joint investigation by National Public Radio, the Center for Public Integrity's iWatch News, the Investigative News Network, and others shows that hundreds of U.S. facilities have been violating their Clean Air Act permits for years without running into federal or state enforcement. In many cases, the pollution has made people sick, and sometimes local communities have taken up the job that federal and state agencies have failed at.
U.S. Starts National CO2 Permits, Cap-and-Trade Works, and More
Scientific American, 11/17/2011"The U.S. has begun to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants—quietly, with little fanfare and starting in Texas."
"Clean Air Groups Settle With EPA Over Haze Cleanup"
ENS, 11/15/2011"A coalition of clear air advocates and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have filed a legal settlement that establishes firm, enforceable deadlines for action on plans to clean up regional haze pollution in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands."

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