EPA science advisers axed; execs from regulated industries to replace them

Natural gas flaring from oil well [licensed under Creative Commons from Flickr user Sirdle]While much of the nation's capital is preoccupied with the unpredictable Trump administration and its possible ties to Russia, the fate of the Environmental Protection Agency generates less news coverage. That's not to say there hasn't been news. Administrator Scott Pruitt is proceeding swiftly with a radical plan to restructure—critics...

EPA’s internal watchdog to check vulnerability to emission cheating

BMW M3 M Performance exhaustEven with a new leader apparently at odds with its mission, the Environmental Protection Agency continues to function on some level. On Thursday, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said carbon dioxide released by human activity is not a major cause of climate change, directly contradicting the scientific consensus. The day before that, however, the...

Trump’s EPA deletes ‘science’ from Science Office mission statement

Bill Nye in new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, Jan 2017 [photo: Oskar Liners, Community Chevrolet, Burbank]The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is emerging as one of the government entities most targeted by the new Trump Administration for change. In this case, if reports of the administration's draft budget proposal are accurate, change means wholesale elimination of staff, funding, and programs. Yesterday, however, an even more remarkable fact...

VW diesel cheating produced 1,200 premature deaths: MIT study

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDIIn September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in its diesel cars. The software routines allowed cars to pass emissions tests while still producing up to 35 times the legal limits of nitrogen oxides in real-world driving, setting off a scandal that is still being dealt...

Photos reveal how polluted the U.S. was before EPA was founded

Smog obscures George Washington Bridge, 1973 [From EPA Documerica series]It can be argued that the current presidential administration appears to lack interest in the traditional mission of the Environmental Protection Agency. As a candidate, Donald Trump advocated wholesale repeal of environmental regulations and increased production of fossil fuels. He has also called climate science a "hoax" created by China to hurt...

Coal industry hopes to don disguise as clean-power player via carbon capture

Coal, by Flicker user oatsy40 (Used Under CC License)As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump vowed to "bring back coal" as part of a larger program to encourage greater production of fossil fuels. But the coal industry believes it needs more than an ostensibly friendly administration in Washington to survive. With coal production down and electric utilities continuing to switch to lower-cost...

London to charge pre-2006 diesel cars $27 to enter on weekdays

Mark Webber driving a 2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid in LondonFor more than 13 years, London has collected a stiff charge from motor vehicles entering the congested core of the city during weekday business hours. Known as the congestion charge, the fee of £11.50 a day, or $14.50 (£10 with automatic payment, or $12.50) is levied from 6 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday except holidays. First...

China axes 103 coal-fired power plants, citing smog, overcapacity

Beijing smogDuring negotiations for the Paris Climate Treaty signed last fall, a major concern among critics was whether the carbon emissions of China's sprawling and inefficient energy sector could be reined in. With China, the U.S., and dozens of other countries signing the agreement, the world's most populous country committed itself to decarbonizing its...

Global carbon emissions have been flat for three years now

Ontario Power Generation Nanticoke Generating Station coal power plantGlobal efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions may be starting to pay off, suggests a recent study. Last month, scientists released an assessment that suggests global carbon emissions did not increase significantly in 2016. That makes this the third year in a row that carbon emissions have remained flat. DON'T MISS: Renewable energy growth...