emissions Archives - The Pennsylvania Daily Star

Biden EPA Locks in Stringent Emissions Rule for Heavy-Duty Vehicles to Fight Climate Change

March 30, 2024 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized aggressive emissions standards Friday for heavy-duty vehicles that will effectively require huge increases in the numbers of electric or zero-emission buses and trucks sold over the next decade.

The agency is projecting that the heavy-duty vehicle emissions standards for model years 2027 to 2032 could result in zero-emission or electric vehicles (EVs) making up 25% of new long-haul trucks sold and 40% of all new medium-sized truck sales by 2032, according to The New York Times. The EPA’s final emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles complements the agency’s recent release of the final tailpipe emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles that has been characterized as an “EV mandate.”

Commentary: A Clean Future Does Not Exist Without Nuclear Energy

January 7, 2024 RealClearWire

On the heels of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, it’s clear that nuclear energy’s role in achieving a clean energy future cannot be overlooked or understated.

At COP28, we heard from dozens of top minds in-person and from afar who echoed the same message: Transitioning to cleaner energy sources cannot come at the price of an unreliable power supply, and that is where nuclear energy comes in. Not only is it a reliable, proven technology, but it is also clean, producing zero carbon emissions. Already, the United States’ 94 nuclear power reactors generate around 18% of all U.S. electricity.

Biden Admin Preparing to Finalize Barrage of Methane Regulations

November 26, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Biden administration is gearing up to finalize a host of emissions rules and regulations in the coming months, E&E News reported Wednesday.

The rules and regulations are all focused on methane, a greenhouse gas that is more potent, but dissipates more quickly, than carbon dioxide, and align with the administration’s commitment to attacking climate change with a “whole-of-government” response. The Biden administration is aiming to finalize the slew of methane regulations in the coming months ahead of the 2024 election, which would make the rules more difficult for a potential Republican administration to scrap should President Joe Biden lose, according to E&E News.

Pennsylvania Appeals Carbon ‘Tax’ Decision

November 23, 2023November 22, 2023 The Center Square

The Shapiro administration will appeal a Pennsylvania court’s decision to strike down a proposed carbon “tax” as unconstitutional in a bid to “protect” the authority of future governors.

The news comes just one day after Gov. Josh Shapiro teased the appeal during a press club luncheon in Harrisburg. He said it was important to “listen” to all sides involved, most of whom agree that “cap and trade” is a good idea to reduce harmful emissions.

House Follows Senate in Voting for Resolution to Halt Tougher EPA Vehicle Emission Standards

May 25, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The GOP-led House on Tuesday voted in favor of a resolution to strike down the Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions restrictions for heavy-duty trucks.

The joint-chamber resolution, which passed the House by a 221-203 vote, was introduced by Republican lawmakers in February via the Congressional Review Act (CRA) – a law that allows Congress to reverse rules made by a federal agency.

Commentary: The Great Carbon Capture Scam

May 8, 2023May 8, 2023 Admin

Carbon capture is like burning witches.

In the 15th to 17th centuries, the elite in Europe and the United States believed that “evil humans were negatively affecting the climate and weather patterns.” The people were demanding something — anything — be done about famine and crop failure. There must be consequences, facts be damned, so inconvenient women on the fringes of society were labeled “witches” and burned at the stake in droves.

Pennsylvania Republicans Propose Bill Preventing California Air Resources Board Emission Rule

January 11, 2023January 10, 2023 Bradley Vasoli

Four Republican state senators are encouraging their colleagues to join them in legislating to keep a new requirement from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) from going into effect in Pennsylvania.

Two decades ago, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began requiring that heavy-duty diesel-vehicle engines receive CARB certification as part of the agency’s Heavy-Duty Diesel Emissions Control Program.

Commentary: Be Grateful for Global Warming

January 31, 2022 Admin

"It's not easy being green" sign in the middle of a crowd

Present-day warming has been termed a crisis, and modern economic development a cancer. But what if I told you that much of the recent advancement in human prosperity would have been impossible without the temperature increases of the last several hundred years?

A key to the sustenance of any society is food security. Today’s world should be grateful for today’s relative warmth as well as higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels because both have been instrumental in propelling plant growth globally.

A review of human and climate history reveals a strong link between the rise and fall of temperature and the rise and fall of civilization—just opposite of what the climate doomsayers are telling you.