Environment

Carbon dioxide emissions reach record high

Emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide reached an all-time high last year, further reducing the chances that the world could avoid a dangerous rise in global average temperature by 2020, according to the International Energy Agency, the energy analysis group for the world's most industrialized...

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Archive by category ''Environment

ENVIRONMENT

New study details mercury contamination in California sport fish

SAN JOSE, Calif. - New findings from the first statewide study of contaminants in fish caught off the California coast show that methylmercury, a toxin that damages the nervous system of humans, was found in high concentrations in more than a third of the locations that researchers sampled.

1 day ago
ENVIRONMENT

Idaho DEQ stops reviewing Dynamis Energy landfill project; application is ‘incomplete’

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has determined Dynamis Energy’s air quality permit application to build a waste-to-energy facility at the Ada County landfill is incomplete.

1 day ago
ENVIRONMENT

Ada County waste-to-energy plant could process more than 1,000 tires daily; Elmore County may get tire-gasification facility

According to Dynamis Energy's pending application with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for an air quality permit, the company could gasify between 6 and 40 tons of tires daily at its waste-to-energy plant in the Ada County landfill. The average tire weighs 25 pounds, so that would ...

2 days ago
STATE

Idaho National Laboratory chief suggested revising nuke deal

An internal document mistakenly distributed to Gov. Butch Otter’s nuclear panel shows INL wanted to revise 1995 nuclear waste agreement in 2010. Now the issue is back.

2 days ago
NATIONAL POLITICS

Beyond oil, can Alaska be tapped as a source for renewable energy?

Alaska has massive hydro, wind, geothermal and other renewable resources, but the state's rural villages are chained to diesel and suffer oppressive energy costs they say threaten their existence. Lawmakers, energy experts and Native leaders said Thursday it's a dire problem with elusive solutions...

1 day ago
ENVIRONMENT

BP to spend $400 million in air pollution settlement

BP will spend more than $400 million to significantly reduce noxious air pollution from its massive refinery in northwest Indiana, the company announced Wednesday in a settlement with federal authorities and environmental groups that could set a precedent for oil companies nationwide.

2 days ago
ENVIRONMENT

BP to spend $400 million in air pollution settlement

In a move that promises cleaner air throughout the Chicago area, BP on Wednesday agreed to spend more than $400 million to settle legal complaints about chronic pollution problems at the oil company's sprawling refinery in northwest Indiana.

2 days ago
ENVIRONMENT

Ban on plastic bags at L.A. markets is approved

Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to approve a ban on plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, handing a hard-fought victory to environmentalists and promising to change the way Angelenos do their grocery shopping.

2 days ago
POLITICS

Ada County extends Dynamis partnership to 2042

Ada County extend its public/private partnership with Dynamis to 30 years and cleared the way for Dynamis to bring in additional hot-burning waste, like tires, to fuel its waste-to-energy plant. The contract also lets Dynamis, after five years, start collecting the tipping fees on trash delivered...

3 days ago
IDAHO ECONOMY

Financial woes hit Hoku plant in Pocatello

Contractors have begun foreclosure proceedings against Hoku Materials, forcing the polysilicon manufacturer to lay off workers even as its new $700 million plant in southeastern Idaho was near the start of production.

3 days ago