In the Green Power Community Challenge, communities from across the country compete in renewable energy use. The program gives out two awards: one for the community achieving the highest percentage of green power in electricity use, and one for the community using the most green power.

Thirty-five communities participated, with representation coming from Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, California, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Missouri and the District of Columbia. (Sure Oregon and California are expected to join any efforts toward renewable energy, but notice red states like Utah, Texas and Missouri are in the competition there too!)

And this year’s winners are…

• Washington, D.C., Green Power Community, which took home the prize for most kilowatt-hours of green power. Over the last year, D.C. government, businesses and residents used their collective purchasing power to buy more than 1 billion kWh of green power, constituting more than 11 percent of the district’s total electricity use.
• Oak Park, Ill., Green Power Community, which came in first for the highest percentage of green energy. Oak Park used clean energy to achieve an astounding 91.9 percent of its total electricity needs.

According to the EPA, the challenge blew past its original goals. Participants in the program used a collective 5 billion kWh of sustainable energy in the past year – the greenhouse gas reductions are equal to what would be done by turning off the electricity in 426,000 homes.

The EPA is continuing the program, currently inviting communities to participate in the 2012-2013 challenge. Winners get bragging rights and “special attention from the EPA.” This year’s achievements are certainly respectable, but imagine what kind of impact would be possible with a shinier prize. (Just a suggestion!)

Main photo credit: Johan Swanepoel/Shutterstock

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This year’s winners hail from all over the United States, including red states like Texas and Arizona, proving that environmentalism doesn’t have to be tied up in politics. So who won this year? A full list from the EPA is available here, but these are my personal favorites:

• Dallas Area Habitat For Humanity, Frazier Courtyard Homes – In an effort led by Habitat, the Fair Park Partnership with Inner-city Community Development Corporation, the Dallas Housing Authority, the City of Dallas, and the Dallas Sustainable Skyline Initiative, 55 acres of crime-ridden, dilapidated public housing were transformed into a sustainable, healthy community of 40 affordable, LEED certified single-family homes. These homes not only save about one ton of carbon dioxide pollution per year each, they also save their owners up to 22 percent on energy costs. The success has led Dallas Habitat to build all of its homes to LEED standards.

• Frito-Lay, Incorporated-Beloit, GHG Emission Reduction Projects – Corn chips don’t exactly conjure images of environmentalism, but this Wisconsin facility has committed itself to a five-year sustainability strategy to focus on cutting greenhouse gas emissions through technological advances and employee engagement. Through a multi-pronged approach, the facility has cut costs on heat, electricity and fuel. One particularly stunning achievement: less than 1 percent of its waste ends up in landfills. The building became the first food-manufacturing site in the state of Wisconsin to receive the LEED Gold certification for existing buildings. Hopefully other food manufacturers will follow Frito-Lay’s example.

• Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), Free Zoo & Trolley Too! – In an effort to encourage use of public transportation, RIPTA offered this program from May to September 2011 providing complimentary environmentally friendly bus service to the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, R.I. The number of passengers on the hybrid/diesel red trolley doubled on just the first day of the promotion.

Main photo credit: Shutterstock

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The EPA’s new rules are enforceable under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) which established the second phase of the Renewable Fuel Standards program. The EISA already specifies a one billion gallon minimum volume requirement for the biomass-based diesel category for 2012 and beyond, so the EPA’s slight requirement increase shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise to the diesel industry.

Biodiesel is a non-petroleum fuel typically made from fats or oils such as soybean oil, but it can also be derived from waste vegetable oils. According to the National Biodiesel Board, it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend, and can be used in existing vehicles with diesel engines with little or no modifications.

The move is good news for states like Iowa that depend on the biodiesel industry to buy up their soybean crops. Currently Iowa is the country’s largest producer of biodisel with 13 dedicated facilities and the capacity to produce 320 million gallons on its own every year. Yet, some are still doubtful that using food crops for fuel production is a good use of America’s agricultural capabilities, and there have been questions about whether or not biodiesel is really a cleaner-burning fuel. And, of course, the petroleum industry is unhappy, having previously claimed that the EPA’s mandate makes it more expensive to produce diesel, a cost that’s ultimately passed on to the consumer.

Still, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack seems optimistic that the move will be good for the economy: ”Over the past three years, we have doubled generation from renewable energy and [this] announcement by the EPA will ensure that we are continuing to utilize biodiesel to help meet our energy needs, create jobs and strengthen the rural economy,” he said.

Photo credit: Frontpage/Shutterstock

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Forty years ago, when many environmental experts sounded the death knell for Lake Erie, Richard Nixon and Canadian leadership signed the Great Lakes Water Quality agreement. On Friday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent signed an updated version of the agreement, signaling renewed commitment to Great Lakes conservation.

According to an EPA statement, the revised agreement includes strengthened measures to anticipate and prevent ecological harm, and it will allow both countries to take action on threats to Great Lakes water quality. New provisions address aquatic invasive species, habitat degradation and the effects of climate change, and support continued work on existing threats to people’s health and the environment in the Great Lakes Basin, such as harmful algae, toxic chemicals, and discharges from vessels.

“The new plan requires progress reports every three years on the efforts, which can involve dozens of parties and agencies across all levels of government as well as the private sector. It also expands the commission’s advisory board to include representatives of traditional indigenous peoples and local governments,” reports the New York Times.

With warmer temperatures giving way to toxic algae blooms, an ongoing invasion by Asian carp, and constant threats from industrial polluters, there’s no denying the Great Lakes could use the extra help. Still, advocates of the Great Lakes Water Quality agreement say the amendments are merely lip service where direct action is needed.

“While there’s lots of very good language [and] new issues addressed, how they are going to be tackled is completely unknown,” said Gail Krantzberg, director of the Center for Engineering and Public Policy at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “The actual procedures, programs, methods for implementing the agreement are really not defined.”

It seems that this yearning for clear, manageable conservation goals is something that permeates the governments of both nations. Transparency during the negotiation process was also lacking, according to environmental advocates. Although the agreements state that indigenous people will be included in decisions regarding the Great Lakes, critics say there are still groups excluded.

“More accountability would mean that the voices of industry, farmers, environmental groups and other communities would [also] be heard,” said John Jackson, interim executive director and program director for Great Lakes United, an association of Great Lakes advocates.

The entire text of the revised agreement can be found here: www.binational.net/home_e.html

Main photo credit: NASA/Flickr

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In August 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) to reduce the flow of pollution from 28 states to their downwind neighbors, estimating that its implementation would prevent up to 34,000 premature deaths. But 15 of those states challenged the law, and today, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in their favor, striking down the law and the limits it put on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants. By requiring states to reduce emissions beyond their own contributions, the court said, the EPA went beyond its legal authority. It also found that the ruling violated the Clean Air Act by not allowing states to propose their own pollution control plans.

In her 44-page dissent, Judge Judith Rogers chided the majority for straying from its past precedents and ignoring the “plain text of the Clean Air Act,” whose Good Neighbor provisions allow the agency to limit emissions that cross state borders.

Unsurprisingly, industry leaders and Republican politicians cheered the decision. Though Pennsylvania was not one of the states filing suit, state Sen. Pat Toomey stated said he was “pleased with today’s decision and hope[s] it will send a strong message to the EPA as it reconsiders its regulatory approach.” While some emphasized the decision’s importance in allowing states to handle pollution themselves, without interference from the federal government, others saw it as just a delay. Doug Biden, president of the Electric Power Generation Association in Pennsylvania, said “Some power plants in places like Texas may be breathing easier, and it may buy some time for a few here in Pennsylvania, but I don’t see a lot benefiting because many have already put in controls.”

In addition to the predicted health benefits of the law, the EPA also expected it to cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 73 percent and nitrogen oxide by 54 percent. So while power plant executives may be breathing easier, the people living in those states are not. Whether the EPA will draft a new rule or appeal the court’s decision is yet to be seen. In the meantime, emissions will continue as usual.

Main photo credit: Geograph

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Matt Hartwig of the Renewable Fuels Association called the decision “a good first step.”

Currently, the U.S. uses only two advanced biofuels: sugar cane-based ethanol imported from Brazil and domestic biodiesel, a combination of petroleum diesel and renewable sources. Most of what is made in the U.S. is conventional ethanol made from corn — causing some critics to complain that the diversion is raising food prices for consumers. Of course, those critics fail to note that part of the problem is that corn has become the go-to ingredient for everything from soda to cereal. Because sorghum is not typically used in human food, this move should lead to fewer complaints. However,  it is used in feed for poultry, cattle and other livestock, so it is not far-fetched to worry that the move could lead to higher meat and dairy prices.

One Kansas plant run by Western Plains Energy L.L.C. has already started investing in the new sub-industry, putting $30-$40 million into renovations to assure it will be one of the first to turn the crop into advanced ethanol.

“We’re going to try to produce over 50 million gallons (of advanced ethanol) per year,” said Curt Sheldon, the plant’s chief accounting officer. “At today’s prices, we could probably pay for the project in two to three years.”

Main photo credit: Larry Rana/USDA

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The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ruled that state regulators, not the EPA, have authority over pollution from the mines. The suit against the EPA was brought by a mining industry group and joined by the states of West Virginia and Kentucky.

Mountaintop removal mining is just what it sounds like. Miners use explosives to take enormous chunks from the top of a mountain and pull out coal seams. The remaining material gets dumped into low-lying areas, including waterways.

Last year, the EPA revised its rules on the practice, banning the dumping of material if it would degrade the nation’s waters or contribute to violations of a state’s water quality standards, or if there are less damaging practices that a company could use. The new ruling dismantles those standards.

Mountaintop removal is the most profitable kind of coal mining and allows coal companies to reach coal that they couldn’t extract in other ways. But the practice has devastated large sections of Appalachian wilderness. According to one study, 5 percent of southern West Virginia has been converted to mountaintop mines, and pollution from the mines is so significant that 22 percent of streams may qualify as impaired under state rules.

The mining industry argues that mountaintop removal is an important source of jobs, but many locals don’t agree. Although the United Mine Workers of America has been fairly supportive of the mining practice, there is significant opposition to it among workers in the area.

Image credit: iLoveMountains.org/Flickr

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Back in the late 1980s, Aristech Chemical Corp. had worked out a neat little process for getting rid of dangerous, chemical-laden waste from its acetone manufacturing plant. Convinced that injecting the waste into rock would somehow keep it encapsulated forever, the company had taken to drilling “disposal wells” about 6,000 feet under the Earth’s surface. It would shove the chemical waste in under high pressure, plug up the well, and call it a day.

It didn’t take long before workers drilling a new well in the same area of Southern Ohio started to smell phenol — a deadly chemical used in Aristech’s processes that is known to cause internal burns, muscle spasms and organ failure — wafting up from the mud removed from the drill site.

Turns out, the chemical waste wasn’t staying put like the company, and the Ohio EPA, thought it would. The high pressure injection process had created tiny fissures in the rock, and the chemicals were slowly working they’re way up toward the surface — and local drinking water supplies. That discovery sparked an investigation, which in turn started a flood of corporate denial that makes your head spin.

The EPA kept investigating and Aristech kept denying that the chemicals were a threat … for over 20 years. Eventually, the phenol did make it into the drinking water, but by that time, the company had bought and sold several times, making it almost impossible to hold anyone accountable. Just a few years ago, after a suspicious personal meeting with company officials, the Ohio EPA decided to simply drop the case.

Just like that. No fines, no penalties. No justice (or even a heads up) for the untold number of Ohioans that may be consuming contaminated water.

Sadly, the Aristech situation isn’t an isolated case. Chemical companies are drilling injection wells and dumping millions of gallons of toxins into them all over the country. Lax oversight and a lack of education mean it’s the public that ultimately pays the price. Yet, somehow, “we’re gonna bury it” is still considered a valid way of dealing with the toxic refuse of our “progress.”

Read more about this issue in ProPublica’s in-depth series on chemical injection wells.

Photo credit: kateausburn/Flickr

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More than 60 lawsuits seeking to eradicate federal greenhouse gas rules have been filed against the EPA by companies including Mass Energy Co., business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and states such as Texas and Virginia, according to Bloomberg News.

“Today’s ruling is a setback for businesses facing damaging regulations from the EPA,” said Jay Timmons, the president of the National Association of Manufacturers. “The EPA’s decision to move forward with these regulations is one of the most costly, complex and burdensome regulations facing manufacturers. These regulations will harm their ability to hire, invest and grow.”

But the court said the EPA has “substantial record evidence” that greenhouse gases probably caused or contributed to global warming.

“In the end, petitioners are asking us to re-weigh the scientific evidence before EPA and reach our own conclusion,” the judges wrote in their ruling. “This is not our role.”

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said the ruling validates the EPA’s approach to greenhouse gas emissions regulations.

“I am pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that EPA followed both the science and the law in taking common-sense, reasonable actions to address the very real threat of climate change by limiting greenhouse gas pollution from the largest sources,” she said in a statement.

Main photo credit: CECAR/Flickr

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Created to encourage the generation of renewable energy via anaerobic digestion, the map connects organic waste producers (i.e. food processing facilities) and those seeking such waste (i.e. wastewater treatment facilities). It’s the first mapping tool available online supporting biogas production via co-digestion.

Co-digestion technology allows fats, oils, and grease (FOG), along with food waste, to be added to a typical anaerobic digestion system, thereby further diverting waste from the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. FOG and food waste produce three times the amount of methane as plain old manure does in an anaerobic plant, making it a viable source of additional renewable energy in the form of biogas.

The mapping tool was developed for the Pacific Southwest of the United States, encompassing Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Islands. Users will be able to search by address for either facilities generating waste or for utilities looking to accept waste for digestion. Once search results have been located, a pop-up box will show details and contact information for each facility listed on the map. It could prove invaluable for connecting waste producers to energy producers, helping to clean up the environment while generating cleaner, renewable energy.

[via EcoSeed]

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