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What’s Been Killing U.S. Coal?

Legal Planet

electricity to about one-fifth today. The passage of the 1970 Clean Air Act and its major 1990 Amendments don’t show up at all in a graph of coal use. In fact, there was a surge in construction of new coal plants after 1970 due to high electricity demand. But this could only have a contributing factor.

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EPA’s Power Plant Carbon Rules Are Critical—and Complex. Here’s What to Know, and What to Watch.

Union of Concerned Scientists

The ongoing pollution from these power plants is an affront to public health and wildly incompatible with every climate ambition this country —and this world—has. Which means the consequences of these polluters unabashedly continuing to pollute aren’t just severe—they’re compounding. So what follows from that obligation?

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Danger Season Underscores Need for Strong EPA Power Plant Carbon Standards

Union of Concerned Scientists

An opportunity to directly tackle power plant carbon pollution The power sector remains one of the nation’s largest sources of heat-trapping emissions, with about 60 percent of the electricity generated to keep our lights on coming from fossil fuels. EPA must ensure the final rule equips states to take advantage of this flexibility.

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Ask a Scientist: UCS Transportation Program Adds Equitable Mobility to its Portfolio

Union of Concerned Scientists

In 1963, a typical car—which ran on leaded gasoline without pollution control devices— emitted 520 pounds of hydrocarbons, 1,700 pounds of carbon monoxide, and 90 pounds of nitrogen oxide every 10,000 miles traveled. Soon thereafter, it began extolling the virtues of battery electric vehicles , which it continues to do today.

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EPA Releases White Paper For Comment On Reducing Climate Pollution From New Natural Gas-Fired Electric Generation

PA Environment Daily

Environmental Protection Agency issued for public input a draft white paper on control techniques and measures that could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new stationary combustion turbines. electricity generation in future years, primarily use natural gas to create electricity.

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The Good Neighbor Provision on Steroids: Third Circuit Ruling Resurrects Clean Air Act Section 126(b)

The Energy Law Blog

In the recent ruling, the Third Circuit held that it was reasonable for EPA to interpret Section 126(b) to be an “independent mechanism for enforcing interstate pollution control,” thereby giving EPA authority to directly regulate a specific source in an upwind state. See GenOn REMA, LLC v. 12-1022, slip op. at 29 (3d Cir. 7426(c)).

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State Air Regulations Can Go Above and Beyond National Standards 

Legal Planet

States and local air quality regulators have the legal authority to set particulate matter (PM), ozone, and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions standards and adopt regulations for these pollutants when they are already in attainment of the national ambient air quality standards ( NAAQS ) set by the U.S.