EPA sets tighter standards for soot pollution

Have you seen the news reports about the awful air pollution across China? With all its breakneck growth over the past 25 years or so, the words “air pollution” and China are almost one and the same. Chinese growth has created huge investment opportunities, in recent years. But now we’re at a critical point in the “China story,” where Chinese air pollution is investable, too. Hint: Think platinum and palladium.

WASHINGTON — The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency resigned abruptly last week, reportedly to protest the Obama administration’s apparent plans to approve TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline in the coming months. The American environmental movement is abuzz following a New York Post report that Lisa Jackson suddenly quit the post because she doesn’t want to be at the helm of the agency when the White House rubber-stamps the controversial project. That could happen as early as March or April, the paper suggested.

The US Environmental Protection Agency is expected to publish new proposed rules setting air quality standards for soot this week under terms of a tentative settlement agreement reached with eleven states that sued EPA for NOT acting to promulgate rules for fine particulate matter under the Clean Air Act.If you are curious about the air quality where you live you can visit the EPA Air Now website and check out the daily readings being reported.  For most of us the map looks green (green is good remember) and the urban areas tend to shade yellow…

Environmental advocates say her nomination could come as early as next week.

Obama should pick an Energy secretary, who can explain the benefits offered by natural gas development to a skeptical public Four years ago, President Barack Obama said his energy and environmental advisers would work to develop a “new hybrid economy” based on wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources.

By Blake Tyler:The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged under Section 111 of the 1977 Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from major stationary sources. Earlier this year, the EPA proposed a New Source Performance Standard designed to regulate pollution from stationary power facilities.