Remove Air Pollution Remove Carbon Dioxide Remove Technology
article thumbnail

Making Fossil Fuels Pay for Their Damage

Legal Planet

One option, a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, gets the most attention but seems politically impossible. The closest we’ve ever come to a carbon tax is a limited fee on methane emissions under the new IRA law. A carbon tax could cover the economy without the need for scores of regulations tailored to each industry.

article thumbnail

Ask a Scientist: Gas Plants Disproportionately Harm Marginalized Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

Responsible for 12 percent of all US global warming emissions from human activities, methane traps significantly more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, making it 86 times more harmful for the first 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere. First, there’s air pollution. Its primary component is methane.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Don’t Believe the Lies: Five Facts to Consider as the UN’s COP27 Comes to a Close

Union of Concerned Scientists

Their study examined the carbon dioxide and methane emissions from these companies’ products, as well as from the extraction and production processes of the largest gas, oil and coal producers and cement manufacturers. Data on the major carbon producers’ emissions have been published since 2014.

article thumbnail

Is It Possible to Phase Out Petroleum and Transform our Transportation System?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Tailpipes from our cars, trucks and buses are also a major source of toxic local air pollution that disproportionately harms overburdened and underserved communities. In other words, technological solutions are necessary but not sufficient. On the technology side, decarbonization is the key.

article thumbnail

Profs. William Boyd and Alex Wang Join Prof. Ted Parson in Emmett Institute Faculty Leadership

Legal Planet

Boyd is recognized as one of the country’s leading energy and environmental law scholars and has written pathbreaking articles on public utilities, risk regulation, forestry, and the role of science and technology in environmental law. His applied research is focused on solutions to environmental problems in China. Through the project, Prof.

Law 246
article thumbnail

Catch 22 at the Supreme Court

Legal Planet

CT , the Supreme Court said this: We hold that the Clean Air Act and the EPA actions it authorizes displace any federal common law right to seek abatement of carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel fired power plants. at 528–529. 7411(b)(1)(B); see also §7411(a)(2). Post, at 20. American Elec. Power , 564 U. at 427–428.

article thumbnail

Phasing out Fossil Gas: A Plan for Green Buildings, Jobs and Prosperity for Ontario

Enviromental Defense

Nearly a third of our current carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions come from burning fossil gas for electricity, home heating and other uses! A new report explains how the provincial government can do just that, while also creating jobs and growing the economy. Reserve hydrogen and gas from renewable sources (e.g.