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The Bad News:

Coal mine explosion kills 25

Oil spills devastate Delta wildlife refuge

Chinese ship slams into Great Barrier Reef

The Good News:

UN launches global greenhouse emissions calculator

Obama signs the first federal fuel economy standards into law

Clean technology investments soar in 2010

First the Bad News…

Coal mine explosion kills 25

Everyone by now should know about the tragic coal mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 25 employees of the Massey Energy Company on April 5. But now, media outlets are beginning to scrutinize the company about its safety record as well as its environmental impact.

In the last two months, miners had to be evacuated from the Upper Big Branch mine three times because of dangerously high methane levels. According to the New York Times, “In 2008, one of its subsidiaries paid what federal prosecutors called the largest settlement in the history of the coal industry after pleading guilty to safety violations that contributed to the deaths of two miners in a fire in one of its mines. That year, Massey also paid a $20 million fine — the largest of its kind levied by the Environmental Protection Agency — for clean water violations.”

Oil spills devastate Delta Wildlife Refuge

A Chevron Pipe Line Company pipeline leaked an estimated 18,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana last week. No word yet on the damage, but investigators are flying planes above the area to try and assess the situation.

The refuge covers nearly 49,000 acres of marsh and is the habitat of many different species of birds and other wildlife.

Chinese ship slams into Great Barrier Reef

The Chinese coal-carrying ship Shen Neng 1 ran aground two weeks ago on Douglas Shoals, off the coast of Queensland state in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The shoals are in a protected part of the reef where shipping is restricted by environmental law. This ship was nine miles out of the shipping lane it was supposed to be traveling in.

The ship is currently leaking oil into an otherwise pristine environment and it could take weeks to get the ship off the Reef. Here’s Patrick Quirk of Queensland’s Maritime Safety department, courtesy of the Associated Press:

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The ship’s owner could be fined up to 1 million Australian dollars ($920,000) for straying from a shipping lane used by 6,000 cargo ships each year.

Now the Good News!

UN launches global greenhouse emissions calculator

On March 23, the United Nations launched the first common system of calculating the amount of greenhouse gases produced in a given city, allowing cities to compare their performances and analyze differences. It’s called the Global Greenhouse Gas Standard. The new common standard also takes into account cities’ primary energy sources, climate, means of transportation and urban form.

“In reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cities are part of the solution: city officials are discovering new ways to get people out of cars and into rapid transit buses; to harness the methane released by landfills and turn it into energy; to support compact urban development and not urban sprawl,” said Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT.

First federal fuel economy standards created

The EPA and the Department of Transportation have tag-teamed President Obama’s greenhouse gas directive, announcing on April 1 the first-ever national greenhouse gas emissions standards. The new program claims it will do the following:

• Reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 960 million metric tons over the lifetime of the vehicles regulated, equivalent to taking 50 million cars and light trucks off the road in 2030.

• Conserve about 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles regulated.

• Enable the average car buyer of a 2016 model year vehicle to enjoy a net savings of $3,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle, as upfront technology costs are offset by lower fuel costs

Clean technology investments soar in 2010

Here’s our shortest story on record!

In the first three months of 2010, investors worldwide have already spent $1.9 billion in clean-tech startups! That is an 83% increase from the same quarter last year and a 29% increase from the fourth quarter of 2009.

Startup industries include solar tech, electric cars, and efficient lighting.

Headline Stories

Obama proposes billions for NASA to study climate change

Morocco plans to power almost half its kingdom with solar energy

Largest non-profit HMO Kaiser Permanente to install 15 MW of solar arrays on their roofs

Solar powered plane being tested in Switzerland

FedEx to add electric trucks to their delivery fleet