EnvironmentalRSS

  • December 8, 2009

    Kyoto Violators May Escape Serious Punishment

    Canada and certain other countries are in danger of not fulfilling their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, but if they receive any punishment it likely will be just a slap on the wrist, according to experts.

  • December 7, 2009

    USPTO To Speed Green Tech Patents To Market

    The federal government has said it will launch a pilot program that could slash by a year the time it takes to get new environmentally friendly technologies to market by pushing applications for green patents to the front of the line for review.

  • December 7, 2009

    Steel Co. Seeks $11.4M In Insurance Spat

    Following a favorable summary judgment ruling, Indiana-based steel company Ispat Inland Inc. said Monday that insurance underwriter Kemper Environmental Ltd. should pay it more than $11.4 million in a breach of contract dispute.

  • December 7, 2009

    EPA Unveils Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday formally rolled out its long-awaited endangerment finding on greenhouse gases, paving the way for the agency to implement new vehicle emission standards and begin monitoring greenhouse gas pollution from major industrial sources.

  • December 7, 2009

    Insurer, Others Fight To Sue EPA Over Oil Well Blast

    Lexington Insurance Co., two energy services companies and a man seriously injured in an oil well explosion have asked a federal judge to allow them to pursue claims against federal environmental authorities that handled cleanup from the blast, saying the agencies are holding up insurance payouts.

  • December 7, 2009

    Philly Port Asks To Join Del. River Dredging Suit

    The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority has moved to intervene in a lawsuit brought by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that claims a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project designed to deepen the Delaware River in order to increase sea commerce will flood the New Jersey coastline with contaminated sediments stirred up by the dredging process.

  • December 7, 2009

    Dry Cleaners Seek To Bar Insurers' Pollution Defense

    The owners of an Alaska property contaminated with dry-cleaning chemicals have accused two insurers of waiting too long to assert several policy exclusions to avoid contributing to the multimillion-dollar cleanup.

  • December 7, 2009

    LG Slams DOE Over New Energy Efficiency Standards

    LG Electronics USA Inc. has sued the U.S. Department of Energy, seeking to overturn an “arbitrary and infeasible” agency directive that forces the appliance manufacturer to follow new testing standards to comply with the government's Energy Star program.

  • December 7, 2009

    5 Issues Set To Spark Hot Debate In Copenhagen

    At the Copenhagen climate conference, which started Monday and wraps up Dec. 18, there is sure to be a lot of talk about mandatory emissions reduction targets, particularly for large greenhouse gas emitters like the United States. But there will also be debate surrounding other contentious, and lesser known, subjects — ranging from carbon offsets to financing.

  • December 4, 2009

    Senate Bill Aims To Extend Wind Energy Tax Credit

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has introduced legislation to extend through 2016 tax credits for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources including wind and open-loop biomass facilities.

  • December 4, 2009

    Dirty Water Yields Fine, Repair Orders For Mass. City

    One of Massachusetts' most popular summer destinations is being fined by the state's Department of Environmental Protection and ordered to make about $8 million in repairs to a faulty water treatment plant that yielded bacteria-laced water in August.

  • December 4, 2009

    Kerry Bill Lays Ground For Global Green Investments

    Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has unveiled legislation that would increase funding to help developing countries deploy clean technologies, reduce deforestation and cope with climate change in hopes of providing the basis for an international investment deal at crucial United Nations talks next week.

  • December 4, 2009

    Environmental Attorneys Dominate At Beveridge

    With a whopping 91 percent of its attorneys devoted to environmental work, Beveridge & Diamond PC has the heaviest concentration of environmental lawyers of any firm with 100 or more lawyers, according to Law360's 2009 practice area survey.

  • December 4, 2009

    Sweeping Approach Catapults Latham To Top Of Heap

    With climate change and other environmental issues front and center these days, Latham & Watkins LLP's army of 160 environmental attorneys has opted for a divide-and-conquer strategy as the firm seeks to provide clients with comprehensive answers to the pressing questions of the day.

  • December 4, 2009

    Optimism Surrounds Copenhagen, Despite Setbacks

    The United States and certain other countries have not been able to pass domestic cap-and-trade legislation before the Copenhagen climate conference, and Europe remains the only region with a comprehensive scheme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But although this lack of progress has led to doubts that the international community will be able to hammer out a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, many experts have seen signs lately that a breakthrough will eventually occur.

  • December 3, 2009

    PG&E Forges Wind Power Deal With Iberdrola

    Pacific Gas and Electric Co. revealed Thursday a deal with Iberdrola Renewables Inc., the U.S. unit of Spain's Iberdrola SA, to purchase and operate a major wind power-generating plant in Southern California in what will be the utility's first wind project.

  • December 3, 2009

    Enviro Group Sues EPA Over Polar Bear Protection

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been hit with a lawsuit alleging it is violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to ensure that registered pesticides do not jeopardize the threatened polar bear and carry out programs for the species' conservation.

  • December 3, 2009

    EPA Sued Over Delayed Phoenix Air Quality Plan

    Phoenix residents have filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging it has failed to take action on the city's proposed plan to curb microparticulate air pollution under National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

  • December 3, 2009

    Experts Doubt Senate Will Ratify Post-Kyoto Treaty

    The U.S. Senate may not ratify any legally binding global climate treaty no matter what happens with the current round of international negotiations or with domestic legislation, according to experts.

  • December 3, 2009

    Group Hopes NEPA Can Save Historic Fed Building

    A conservation group is invoking the National Environmental Policy Act in an effort to save the historic former Seattle branch headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, after the bank sold the building to a buyer who wants to tear it down.