Supreme Court rules 6-2 on EPA Air Pollution Reduction Requirements
This week, President Obama’s environmental agenda gained a victory.
The Supreme Court revived a 2011 Environmental Protection Agency regulation, known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, limiting power-plant emissions blowing across state lines. The ruling will now require 28 states to reduce power-plant emissions, which hurt the air-quality in states located downwind.
The new regulation stands to affect approximately 1,000 power plants in the eastern half of the U.S., many of which may have to adopt new pollution controls or reduce operations. The decision could further threaten the viability of some coal plants already facing other market and regulatory pressures.
Boehner says country can be energy independent in 5 years
Speaker of the House John Boehner told a group at the Middletown Rotary Club on Thursday that the United States could be energy independent in as early as five years.
And Butler County’s two largest cities — Middletown and Hamilton — are at the forefront of what Boehner called an “energy boom.”
Opinion: The Weight of the Facts
In legal proceedings, we often hear about the burden of proof — implying that facts and data are weighty things that can hold a person down.
The truth is heavy. And when the facts aren’t on your side, the truth can weigh you down like lead. The weight of facts that don’t fit your worldview can crush you and make you desperate to change the story, to try to redefine facts.
New York making $1B investment in solar power
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state is making a long-term, $1 billion investment in support of solar power.
The Democrat said Thursday that the money will provide funding certainty for efforts to expand solar power over the next decade.
Cuomo says the investment will help the state’s solar power industry to move away from government subsidies.
The money is part of the NY-Sun initiative run by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which is funded mostly through assessments on utilities.
Cuomo’s office says the state has more than 400 solar power companies that together employ 5,000 workers.