PHOTO: DOC SEARLS
In a unanimous vote Jan. 11, the California Public Utilities Commission approved Pacific Gas and Electric Company's request to retire the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant by 2025.
A new grant from Ohio EPA will reimburse owners of large diesel or gasoline vehicles for a portion of the cost of the conversion or replacement of engines to use compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, or liquid petroleum gas such as propane or butane, including bi-fueled or dual-fueled vehicles that can run on both an alternative fuel and on gasoline or diesel fuel.
It is the most significant formal agreement on joint action about environment and health issues in more than 15 years, according to the partner organizations.
The website provides smog alerts and real-time monitoring data with which Georgia residents are familiar and adds information about individual air pollutants and their impacts.
PHOTO: WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY
The Government of Colombia has recently established a new marine and coastal area for conservation and sustainable use in partnership with local communities in Tumaco, Colombia.
More than $456 million in federal funding has been provided so far to the U.S. Virgin Islands for disaster assistance following the devastation to the region from hurricanes Irma and Maria in September.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $681,343 to The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, for research on the prediction, prevention, control, and mitigation of freshwater harmful algal blooms.
"This program will help meet the trucking industry's growing demand for safe, fuel-efficient drivers while educating existing operators on improved driving techniques. The real savings come in the form of reduced greenhouse gas emissions, helping meet Canada's domestic and international climate goals," said Jim Carr, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources.
FEMA transferred $1.46 billion of the NFIP’s financial risk to the private reinsurance market, increasing the NFIP’s flood claims-paying ability.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing over $1 million to two Portland-area organizations in an effort to reduce harmful diesel emissions from trucks and construction equipment in the Portland metro region.
There were 16 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters during the year, according to the agency, and the $306 billion in losses set a new U.S. record.
Alaska's governor supports the plan, which Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said would open more than 98 percent of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in federal offshore areas to exploration and development, a reversal from the current program, which he said puts 94 percent of the OCS off limits.
"Brookfield's acquisition of Westinghouse reaffirms our position as the leader of the global nuclear industry," Westinghouse President & CEO José Emeterio Gutiérrez said.
Two individuals and one company have now pleaded guilty to charges arising out of a federal investigation of collusion in the liquid aluminum sulfate industry, according to DOJ.
DEP said someone who does not want to use a do-it-yourself test kit should consider hiring a qualified radon professional to conduct a test.
The agency's order lists various violations and says Sunoco Pipeline's "unlawful conduct . . . demonstrates a lack of ability or intention on the part of Sunoco to comply with the Clean Streams Law, the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, and permits issued thereunder."
In addition to an 800-acre groundwater recharge basin, the project will install a 4.5-mile pipeline connecting the new recharge basin to the Friant-Kern Canal and 16 groundwater recovery wells within the Pixley Irrigation District.
The preorder of Tesla vehicles advances UPS's commitment to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions from global ground operations 12 percent by 2025, the company said, adding that, by 2020, it plans that one in four new vehicles purchased annually will be an alternative fuel or advanced technology vehicle.
The plan allocates $398 million to incentivize clean heavy-duty trucks, buses, and freight projects, including $190 million for advanced-technology freight equipment such as yard trucks, forklifts, and cranes. Most of the money comes from California's cap-and-trade auction proceeds.
The Georgia Public Service Commission unanimously approved the company's recommendation Dec. 21 to complete the first new nuclear units in the United States in 30 years.