News and Articles


Earth Day Texas Unveils the First Ever ‘Earth Day Texas Expeditions’

The world’s largest annual public green exhibition is launching a year-round event series to help the adventurous discover natural hidden gems around North Texas.

Enbridge Agrees to Pay Civil Penalties Over Pipeline Spills

The company's consent decree with EPA and DOJ includes civil penalties under the Clean Water Act of $61 million relating to the Line 6B release and $1 million related to the Line 6A release, both payable within 30 days of the effective date of the decree.

Sewage Spill Closes Beaches in California

The spill volume was initially reported at 108,000 gallons by the department, but the Los Angeles Times reported it had increased to more than 1.5 million gallons as of July 19.

U.S. Vehicles' Fuel Economy Progress on Track, EPA and DOT Announce

The National Program was developed jointly by the EPA and DOT, in coordination with CARB. It applies to passenger cars and light-duty trucks through model year 2025 and requires manufacturers to improve average fuel efficiency and reduce average greenhouse gas emissions over time.

"No matter who owns the company, the energy vision for Hawaii remains very clear – 100 percent renewable energy with a transformation to a customer-centered utility focusing on smart meters, smart grid, distributed local solutions, and as much consumer choice as possible," said Gov. David Ige.

Hawaii PUC Denies NextEra's Bid to Buy Hawaiian Electric Industries

Gov. David Ige said the 2-0 ruling "gives us a chance to reset and refocus on our goal of achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2045."

BP Tallies Total Deepwater Horizon Costs: $61.6 Billion

"Over the past few months, we've made significant progress resolving outstanding Deepwater Horizon claims and today we can estimate all the material liabilities remaining from the incident. Importantly, we have a clear plan for managing these costs and it provides our investors with certainty going forward," said Brian Gilvary, BP's chief financial officer.

Tacoma started by cleaning the waterways, polluted from decades of industry. New strategies, new technologies, such as "fingerprinting" of pollutants in the water, and new processes were developed, in partnership between UW Tacoma and the city. (Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County photo)

Recycling the Past to Build the Future

Tacoma searched for years to find an identity. While the search continued, the city found out who it was not by tearing down what it used to be, but by restoring, reclaiming, and reutilizing what was there already. The result is a city becoming a leader at cleaning and reusing.

Terracon Foundation Awards $105,500 in Grants

The foundation was established as the community investment arm of Terracon with a goal to reach out and become a real part of the lives of company employees and their communities. To date, the foundation has distributed more than $1.3 million in grants.

The tires must be off wheel rims, and only car and light truck tires size 16 inches or smaller will be accepted. Haulers and businesses aren

WVDEP Collecting Old Tires This Month

At each of five remaining collections this month, residents may dispose of up to 10 tires per person with a valid West Virginia ID for the county where the collection is occurring. The tires must be off wheel rims, and only car and light truck tires size 16 inches or smaller will be accepted. Haulers and businesses aren't allowed to participate.

Microsubs are "underwater watchdogs" that can provide early warnings of any potential problem with oil companies

BP Touts Microsubs' Potential

BP is working with manufacturer Planet Ocean, the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre at the UK's National Oceanography Centre, and the Scottish Association of Marine Science to optimize the microsub technology before starting the first trial in the North Sea in December.

Safety and Environmental Standards Raised for Arctic Exploratory Drilling

The regulations have been raised to ensure high safety standards for drilling activities on the OCS.

Alpha Natural Resources' Reorganization Plan Approved

The company's announcement said "Upon emergence, Alpha is expected to operate as a privately held company, positioned well to satisfy its environmental obligations on an ongoing basis."

USGBC CEO Joins WELL Building Institute

The International WELL Building Institute™ is a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and well-being through the built environment. It administers the WELL Building Standard™, which is an evidence-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring the performance of building features that impact health and well-being.

Chemtrade Receives New York State Recognition for Pollution Reduction with the Help of Dürr Technology

The process enters the SCR system at a relatively low temperature, so a heat exchanger/burner combination was incorporated into the system. The heat exchanger greatly improves the overall energy efficiency of the system while maintaining the small footprint Chemtrade required.

NOAA Awards $31 Million in Ocean Observing Grants

The five-year cooperative agreements are a fundamental activity for IOOS that fulfills requirements set forth in the 2009 ICOOS Act. Goals for these agreements focus on increasing the availability and accessibility of data and on maintaining and expanding the observing capabilities throughout the country.

New Commissioner Named for Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Andy Mack is an advisor to multiple Alaska Native Corporations engaged in oil and gas activities on the North Slope. The governor's announcement said in this role, he helped guide the regulatory drafting and implementation applied to drilling efforts in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

Volkswagen Will Pay Nearly $15 Billion in Emissions Violation Settlement

Volkswagen Will Pay Nearly $15 Billion in Emissions Violation Settlement

In two settlements, Volkswagen will be require to pay $14.7 billion to settle allegations of cheating emissions tests. $10 billion will be used to buyback affected cars and the remainder will be spent on pollution mitigation and zero-emission vehicle technology.

The time is right to begin looking beyond the tailpipe and instead consider the full life cycle emissions of vehicles.

North America's Leaders Announce Clean Power Generation Goal

They also committed to accelerated deployment of clean vehicles in government fleets; working with industry to encourage the adoption of clean vehicles; and encouraging public and private infrastructure investments to establish ‎North American refueling corridors for clean vehicles.

CDC

CDC Confirms Higher Blood Lead Levels in Flint Children

CDC continues to recommend that all children under age 6 living in the city of Flint have their blood tested for lead by a health care provider, particularly if they have not had a blood lead test since October 2015.

Vehicle-to-vehicle communication promises to prevent thousands of collisions and injuries annually, DOT and NHTSA believe. (Image downloaded from NHTSA August 2014 report)

Columbus Wins Smart City Challenge

Columbus plans to deploy three electric self-driving shuttles to link a new bus rapid transit center to a retail district and use data analytics to improve health care access in a neighborhood where the infant mortality rate quadruples the national average.