Posts Tagged ‘energy’
A Clean(er) World
By Molly Moore No country is an energy island. In the face of a European Union sanction that bans steel imports, Iran is using roundabout trading methods to secure metallurgical coal, used in steel manufacturing, from Ukraine. A state-backed firm in Abu Dhabi plans to invest in Saudi Arabia’s growing renewable energy efforts. And in…
Read MoreThe Dirty Money Dozen
According to both the Center for Responsive Politics and Oil Change International, contributions from oil, gas and other energy industries skyrocketed in the past five years, with the coal industry alone contributing more than $8 million in 2009-2010 — more than twice what the industry had contributed in any previous election cycle. And during 2011,…
Read MoreToo Big to Fail, But Not to Change
When “pink slime” hit the headlines in March, Americans were rightfully disgusted. The thought of being poisoned for profit by beef-product filler treated with ammonia sparked national outrage. Grocery stores and even mega-fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Taco Bell were quick to publicly shun the slimy substance. Over the course of just a…
Read MoreCoal-fired Generation Falls to 40 Percent
By Madison Hinshaw, Communications Editorial Intern in Spring 2012. This just in: Despite the coal industry’s misleading commercials, coal no longer provides 50 percent of all energy in the U.S.! The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released data showing that coal’s share of total monthly generation fell below 40 percent in November and December 2011…
Read MoreEPA Issues First-Ever National Mercury and Air Toxic Standards
In December 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards, the first-ever national standards to protect families from mercury and toxic air pollutants emitted by power plants. Pollutants from coal-fired power plants include arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium and cyanide. The standards will cut these emissions with proven pollution controls…
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