In response to the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764; Public Law 110–161), EPA has proposed a rule that requires mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from large sources in the United States.

The proposed rule would collect accurate and comprehensive emissions data to inform future policy decisions.

In general, EPA proposes that suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial greenhouse gases, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of GHG emissions submit annual reports to EPA.  The gases covered by the proposed rule are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), and other fluorinated gases including nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) and hydrofluorinated ethers (HFE).

Houston, Texas – February 17, 2009 – VisionMonitor Software, a leader and innovator in environmental risk management solutions, is releasing v5.0 of its environmental risk management solution.  VisionMonitor v5.0 enables real-time, enterprise-wide data monitoring of companies’ environmental operations and delivers optimized analysis to oil and gas, refining, utility, chemical and petrochemical companies.  The new VisionMonitor v5.0 product suite, keeping up with an unparalleled track record of robust real-time environmental operational data management, brings together enhancements balanced to provide our clients with a scalable platform that is adaptable to changing business and regulatory landscapes with best of breed technology features.   The new product suite will define a gold standard for environmental risk management with features to support collaboration, agility, business execution and rich user experience using Microsoft’s Sharepoint Server 2007, AJAX, Silverlight 2 and Microsoft Virtual Earth technologies.  VisionMonitor v5.0 will be available for general release in Q2 2009.

 
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The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s refusal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars is “not in accordance with law”.  The case was narrowly decided by a majority of five to four and is the first high court decision involving global warming.
More from NewScientist:

“The nation’s highest court said the EPA “has offered no reasoned explanation” for its refusal to regulate CO₂ and other vehicle emissions that contribute to climate change.

This is one of the most prominent environmental cases to reach the Supreme Court in decades. It revolves around the US Clean Air Act’s statement that the head of the EPA “shall” regulate emissions of new vehicles “which in his judgment cause, or contribute to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger the public health or welfare”.

The EPA has declined to regulate greenhouse gases from cars under the statute, citing scientific uncertainty. It has also claimed that if Congress had intended for that part of the Clean Air Act to apply to greenhouse gases, it would have said so explicitly when it last amended the act in 1990.”

While this ruling has the greatest potential to affect emissions of greenhouse gases from vehicles, it will be interesting to see how it impacts energy production and thoughts and legislation on other topics such as CO2 caps and trading.

You can read the full article here.
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