Environmental Law

In The News (October 8)

By Dennis Pfaff and Kevin Livingston, Editors

• Nuclear power is getting a lot of attention from both major presidential candidates in this election year but voters still don't seem to be sold on it, reports the Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog. 
• And here's an attempt to parse some of the energy-related statements made by Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain in their debate, from Dot Earth at The New York Times. 
• Cholera, plague and bird flu are just some of the horrific diseases that could become more prevalent as a result of a changing climate, according to a study from a conservation group reported by Scientific American. 
• Electric cars are poised to dominate the market for greener vehicles, and China may help lead the way, says the world's largest car battery maker, according to Reuters.
• Meanwhile, the automobile industry stands to reap significant benefits from a bill recently signed into law to keep the government running because it contains more than $7.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy to support up to $25 billion in loans to automakers to encourage the development of plug-in hybrid vehicles, reports the energy department's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy News. 
• Maybe we can all retire there: The Amazon rainforest, at least, might be a beneficiary of the world's economic problems, which should force down commodity prices, Brazil's environment minister tells Reuters.
• Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to overturn federal regulators' decision to authorize a Colorado coal mine to expand and to daily vent millions of cubic feet of methane -- a greenhouse gas and also potential energy source -- according to a statement from Earthjustice.
• European Union legislators have voted in favor of laws aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also ruffled environmentalists by taking steps to ease the burden on industry, The New York Times reports.
• Exploiting Canadian oil sands could have environmental impacts far away from their location in Alberta, even threatening the water and air quality of the Great Lakes, collectively the world's largest body of fresh water, according to a university report cited in this article from the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Full post as published by Climate Law Update on October 08, 2008 (boomark / email).