Ask any New Yorker what their top five complaints are about the city and either “traffic” or “gridlock” (or both) are all but certain to be represented. Indeed, you don’t get to be called “the Business Capital of the World”...more
3/14/2025
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Infrastructure ,
New York ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
Transportation Industry ,
Urban Planning & Development
In 2019, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) brought suit against Dupont and 3M seeking clean-up, removal, and costs for what NJ officials claimed was more than 100 years of indiscriminate dumping of...more
2/13/2025
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contamination ,
Damages ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Jury Trial ,
New Jersey ,
NJDEP ,
PFAS ,
State and Local Government ,
Toxic Chemicals
Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) is a very reactive, brown-hued gas commonly produced when fuels are burned at high temperature by motor vehicles, chemical plants, etc. Industries will often intentionally oxidize NOx to produce lacquers,...more
It has the origins of a great American Success Story – in 1886, in the midst of the Second Industrial Revolution, a vast reservoir of oil was found in Lima, Ohio, prompting legendary entrepreneur John D. Rockefeller to hire...more
Through the modern industrial age, there’s always been a push-and-pull between the utility of our innovations and the risks they often inadvertently create. In the 70’s, we discovered the synthetic pesticide that was so...more
On a clear day, you can’t actually see forever — if you follow the blue sky out to the horizon, you will often see it become somewhat more pale and opaque, owing to ‘visible pollution,’ or “haze” — the result of the...more
Stationary combustion turbines, often referred to as gas turbines, are used to generate high volumes of electricity at power stations, dams, and industrial centers. Despite their size, noise, and prodigious output, these...more
It all started in the early 40’s, when the smog was so bad in California that visibility was measured in city blocks, and people suffered from nausea, stinging eyes, and difficulty breathing. By the 50’s, the California...more
In March 2023, the EPA issued its final Good Neighbor Plan, the last in a series of legislations designed to reduce emissions of ozone-forming nitrogen oxide (NO2) which cross state borders. Specifically, the Plan was...more
Ever since the Clean Water Act of 1972 dramatically overhauled the way in which America, through the EPA, monitors and protects its waterways, there has been the struggle between the literal life-and-death need for clean...more
In the 1970’s, a series of tests of community water systems across the country led to some disturbing findings; varied standards of water containment, transmission, and handling were resulting in substantial health risks to...more
In a world of solar power, green energy, and electric cars, it is sometimes surprising to consider how much of a political hot potato good ol’ fashioned coal remains. There are more than 300 coal-fired power plants still...more
In a world of solar power, green energy, and electric cars, it is sometimes surprising to consider how much of a political hot potato good ol’ fashioned coal remains. There are more than 300 coal-fired power plants still...more
Pop quiz: What is the naturally occurring gas that forms a life-sustaining, protective barrier when in the Earth’s stratosphere (15-30km above the surface), blocking harmful ultra-violet radiation reaching the planet from the...more
No one can dispute that the New York subway system, operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was a marvel of 20th century engineering. With a total of about 850 miles of track, more than 450 stations in...more
Refrigeration technology has come a long way since ancient Chinese cultures harvested ice from frozen lakes and desperately tried to keep them insulated in ice cellars more than a thousand years ago. The technology advanced...more
In 2007, Massachusetts sued the United States Environmental Protection Agency because the state’s government, joining a collection of private organizations, did not think EPA was doing enough under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to...more
The EPA on Friday granted a waiver of its traditional summer ban on the sale of gasoline with 15-percent ethanol — or “E15” — to continue mitigating the disruption of fuel commerce around the globe caused by the conflict in...more
California has been pushing hard recently to lose its status as the second-largest contributor of the nation’s greenhouse gases (still comfortably behind Texas.) ...more
In 2021, an unidentified person hacked the computer controlling the water system in Oldsmar, Fla., and increased the concentration of sodium hydroxide 100 times the normal amount, in an attempt to poison people. That same...more
With names like “boiler slag” and “bottom ash,” it’s no wonder that anyone who has ever heard of coal ash, or the coal combustion residuals (CCRs) produced from burning coal, assumes they are the basest forms of pollution....more
The pendulum of policy on the environment was sent pounding back toward regulation again when the Biden administration issued new directives for greenhouse gas emissions. The Interim Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse...more
The Biden administration in April gave a large boost to vehicle-fuel-economy standards when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced its intention to increase Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency...more
The principals of electrochemical power have been known for more than 200 years. Two specific chemicals are stored in a battery, separated by a third chemical called an “electrolyte.”...more
Last week, four environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to assess the hard-data consequences of pesticides in its approval process. Back in 1987, the Environmental Protection Agency...more