Environment Blog

Buy a Car, Get a Goat

by kespeland May 29, 2009

I’m thinking of moving to New Zealand, just to take advantage of this fabulous offer from Mitsubishi: buy a model called the Triton, and get a free goat!

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If you’ve got a hankering to get into the electric vehicle market, now’s a good time. The U.S. Department of Energy has marching orders to dole out billions in stimulus funds to, well, stimulate this emerging market.

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A Good Week for the Atmosphere

by kespeland May 22, 2009

Well, mostly. We did have air quality alerts here on Thursday and today (Friday), caused essentially by too many cars on the roads and high temperatures.

But on Capitol Hill, administrators and legislators alike made progress on curbing the kinds of emissions that can lead to those alerts.

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Obama Could Announce Fuel Efficiency Standards Tuesday

by kespeland May 18, 2009

Top news outlets, including the Associated Press, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal are reporting that the Obama administration is poised to announce, possibly as early as Tuesday, a one-size-fits-all standard for fuel efficiency for all cars and light trucks by 2016.

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Green in the Spotlight on Capitol Hill This Week

by kespeland May 15, 2009

The U.S. House of Representatives is shining its legislative spotlight on the environment this week. House Democrats have been hashing out the details of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a bill sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.). The bill is the first climate change legislation to get environmentalists pretty excited.

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New EPA Study Finds Enviro Ed Improves Air Quality

by kespeland April 13, 2009

Few studies have been done to determine the extent to which environmental education in our nation’s schools actually has a positive effect on the environment. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency is reporting that, indeed, there’s evidence it does.

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Louisville's First “Food Summit” on April 11

by kespeland March 30, 2009

Public and private organizations are collaborating to hold Louisville’s first “Food Summit” on April 11. The panel discussions and breakout sessions throughout the day will examine the relationships between those who grow our food, those who sell it, and those who eat it.

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Recyclers Losing Money, Closing Plants

by kespeland March 19, 2009

The economy is squeezing just about every market sector, and recyclers are no exception. But they may be particularly vulnerable. Many recyclables are trading commodities, traded and priced on the Chicago Board of Exchange. Commodity prices have taken a huge hit, which means recyclers aren’t getting what they used to for a ton of white office paper or a bale of plastic.

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EPA Will Regulate, Inspect Coal Ash Ponds

by kespeland March 11, 2009

The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it plans to develop regulations for managing coal waste. The news comes a little less than three months after a coal ash spill in Tennessee buried more than 300 acres under ashy sludge, polluted nearby rivers, killed fish, and destroyed homes.

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