coal

EPA Proposes First Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules for Power Plants

EPA Proposes First Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules for Power Plants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a wide-ranging new proposal for limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal– and gas-fired power plants. If finalized, the new rule will be the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, which generate about a quarter of the country’s emissions. […]

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    Fossil Fuels 101: Everything You Need to Know

    Fossil Fuels 101: Everything You Need to Know

    Quick Key Facts What Are Fossil Fuels? Fossil fuels are fuels that literally come from fossils. Tens of millions of years ago, plants took energy from the sun and used it to turn carbon dioxide and water into carbon and hydrogen via photosynthesis. Animals ate those plants and stored the same elements in their bodies. […]

    EPA Proposes ‘Strongest Ever’ Standards for Keeping Coal Plant Pollution Out of U.S. Waterways

    EPA Proposes ‘Strongest Ever’ Standards for Keeping Coal Plant Pollution Out of U.S. Waterways

    When wastewater from coal-fired plants is released into wider waterways, it can have serious consequences. Environmental toxins including mercury, arsenic, bromide and chloride can pollute drinking water and aquatic habitats, causing cancer and other ailments in humans and making it harder for wildlife to reproduce. That’s why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved on […]

    China Approved Two New Coal Plants per Week in 2022, Study Finds

    China Approved Two New Coal Plants per Week in 2022, Study Finds

    Despite warnings from scientists that the world must rapidly cut coal use in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, China approved more new coal plants in 2022 than at any point in the last seven years. That’s the conclusion of […]

    Biden’s EPA Restores Rule Protecting Vulnerable Communities From Mercury and Other Toxic Power Plant Emissions

    Biden’s EPA Restores Rule Protecting Vulnerable Communities From Mercury and Other Toxic Power Plant Emissions

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reaffirmed the legal, scientific and economic bases of the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) that require coal– and oil-fired power plants to implement “significant reductions” in emissions of mercury, acid gases and other toxic pollutants, a press release from the EPA said. The decision reverses the […]