Environment Report 31 Dec 2001 to 6 Jan 2002

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S/N

Title

Synopsis

I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulations

1

Canada to clear its air with new initiatives

The Government of Canada has committed to clear its air with 2 new initiatives - one that seeks an increase in the amount of renewable energy used for electricity generation and another that would lower emissions from new fossil fuel power plants.

2

Tough emission norms to cost Indian refiners US$7.25 billion

Indian refineries need to invest 350 billion rupees (US$7.25 billion) in the next eight years to improve the quality of fuels to abide by strict emission norms.

3

EU pushes US to label products that impact global warming

European Environment Agency urges the US to show production energy data on its products to benchmark its energy efficiency against European products.

II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology

4

New York spending millions on clean fueled buses

New York State plans to spend US$4.2 million in Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act funds to help purchase 163 new clean fueled buses throughout the state.

II. Subject Area: Waste Management and Green Energy

5

UN to fund Perth University's green research

UN will establish an environmental technology centre at the Murdoch University in Perth and will fund the development and implementation of global projects on waste recycling, renewable energy and alternative transport fuel.

6

New technology helps clean up hazardous waste

The University of Texas-San Antonio, has developed an innovative system to remove a wide range of toxic materials from the ground using a product called cyclodextrin.

7

Promising alternative to waste incineration

The US Department of Energy's Idaho Engineering and Environmental Laboratory has identified a new "Silver II" technology for treating certain waste streams without incineration.

V. Subject Area: General Environmental News

8

UNEP launches freshwater information portal

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has opened the UNEP.Net Freshwater Portal, an online gateway to information about freshwater.

9

Water Security Summit 2001 discussed terrorist threat

The Water Security Summit 2001 was held in Connecticut recently to discuss security measures to prevent potential bio-terrorist attacks on potable water supplies.

10

Environmental SWAT team targets hazardous waste facilities

Canada's Environmental SWAT Team has ordered 11 hazardous waste transfer and processing facilities to take corrective actions following an inspection sweep of hazardous waste operations.

SUMMARY REPORT

Period Covered: 31 Dec 2001 to 6 Jan 2002

Item 1	Canada to clear its air with new initiatives
Summary	The Government of Canada is keeping up with its commitment to clear its air with two new initiatives - one that seeks an increase in the amount of renewable energy used for electricity generation and another that would lower emissions from new fossil fuel power plants. The renewable energy push comes in the form of the draft Guideline on Renewable Low-Impact Electricity, which will help consumers identify electricity generated from renewable energy sources. The new power plant emission guidelines will be issued during the summer of 2002 under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). The national emission standards will apply to new coal, oil and gas-fired steam-electric power plants and will cover sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and total particulate matter (PM) in line with the performance capabilities of current best available technologies. The new emission limits would call for a 60% reduction in NOx emission limits, a 70% reduction in PM emission limits from those in the existing Guidelines, and would introduce a new minimum of 70% reduction in SO2 emissions from uncontrolled levels.
Reference	http://www.gnet.org/news/newsdetail.cfm?NewsID=19021&image1=2

Item 2	Tough emission norms to cost Indian refiners $7 billion
Summary	An interim report of a government committee on Auto Fuel Policy reported that Indian refiners need to spend 170 billion rupees (US$3.52 billion) to meet emission norms in 2005 and another 180 billion rupees (US$3.73 billion) to meet stricter standards by 2010. India's automobile industry would need to invest about 250 billion rupees on technology to reduce emissions from vehicles. The report has suggested that the oil and automobile industries should be given import and excise duty concessions for equipment needed for upgrading and offered low-interest loans for modernization.
Reference	http://www.planetark.org/dailynesstory.cfm/newsid/13907/story.htm

Item 3	EU pushes U.S. to label products that impact global warming
Summary	In the light of growing demand for energy and its impact on global warming, the head of EU's European Environment Agency has challenged the United States to publish environmental data in order to benchmark its product against European products. The Agency insisted that US products should be labeled to show consumers how much energy was used to produce the products in line with the 1997 Kyoto agreement on reducing greenhouse gases - the deal rejected by the US earlier this year. The Agency reported that EU's greenhouse gas emissions are down 4% from 1990 levels, but US emissions are up 11%, but the EU could still miss its Kyoto target of an 8% reduction by 2012. The EEA report, a snapshot of the state of Europe's environment, showed the biggest environmental challenges were the growing demand for transport and energy and the task of tackling an ever-growing mountain of waste.
Reference	http://www.enn.com/indepth/warming/prevention1.asp

Item 4	New York spending millions on clean fueled buses
Summary	New York State plans to spend US$4.2 million in the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act funds to help purchase 163 new clean fueled buses throughout the state. The fund provides US$230 million for clean air projects. To date, US$25 million has been committed to clean fueled buses. The latest round of the Clean Fueled Bus Program will assist in purchasing 35 hybrid-electric buses and 128 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses that will be used in New York City, Rochester, Syracuse and Long Island. These buses will reduce the transportation sectors reliance on petroleum products by replacing the use of more than 85 million gallons of diesel fuel, while reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 10,000 tons and particulate matter emissions by almost 600 tons over the lifetime of the buses. Studies have demonstrated that these pollutants contribute to smog formation and respiratory ailments.
Reference	http://www.ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-02-09.html

Item 5	UN to fund Perth University's green research
Summary	The United Nations will establish an environmental technology centre at the Murdoch University in Perth and will fund the development and implementation of local projects in Third-World countries. Murdoch University will receive US$1.2 million from the UN and US$600,000 from the state Government over the next three years to work on global projects. The funds will be injected into the university's existing environmental technology centre. The center at Murdoch University will be the first of four centres worldwide. It will cover the Asia-Pacific region, with other centres in Africa, West Asia and Latin America. Areas of research and development include water resources, waste recycling, renewable energy and alternative transport fuel.
	http://web.lexis-nexis.com/api.universe/search/documentDisplay?_

Item 6	New technology helps clean up hazardous waste
Summary	A University of Rhode Island researcher will receive US$830,000 from the Department of Defense to field test a new technology for cleaning up hazardous wastes that uses an innovative system to remove a wide range of toxic materials from the ground using a product called cyclodextrin. Cyclodextrin is a type of sugar made from corn starch. Due to the chemical structure of cyclodextrin, many toxic materials like solvents, pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are attracted to it. To clean up a site, cyclodextrin solution is injected into contaminated soil and groundwater. After allowing the material to move through the earth and attracting the contaminants, the cyclodextrin will be pumped out of the ground and recycled.
Reference	http://www.ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-03-09.html

Item 7	Promising alternative to waste incineration
Summary	The US Transuranic and Mixed Waste Focus Area (TFMA) sponsored by the DOE Office of Science and Technology has chosen the AEA Technology Engineering Service's "Silver II" method for further testing. The "Silver II" process treats most organic wastes, reduces waste volume, produces no dioxins or polyaromatic hydrocarbons and does not require pretreatment for small solids, slurries or liquid wastes. Pretreatment of larger solid organic waste may still be required. The "Silver II" has been tested by the US Army at the Aberdeen Proving Ground to destroy chemical weapons agents and on surrogate waste types for DOE to assist the Department in its effort to find effective and affordable alternatives to incineration.
Reference	http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=5914

Item 8	UNEP launches freshwater information portal
Summary	In order to help environmental assessment professionals and policy makers keep up to date with the most authoritative information on this critical environmental field, UNEP has launched an information portal on freshwater. The portal is an extensive catalogue of information resources ranging from documents, to databases, to maps and graphics, covering the most critical freshwater issues of the day. The UNEP.Net Freshwater Portal is part of the UNEP.Net information system, a network of cooperating centers facilitating access to authoritative environmental information from a broad range of information and data providers.
Reference	http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=5910

Item 9	Water Security Summit 2001 discussed terrorist threat
Summary	More than 600 water utilities and government officials from around the world attended a Water Security Summit 2001 in Connecticut to discuss security measures to prevent potential bio-terrorist attacks on potable water supplies. The Summit explored water system vulnerabilities; discussed guidelines on implementing security plans; and reviewed existing federal, state and private resources. The topics of the proceedings focused on the theme, "Prevent, Detect, Respond," including how to: Assess the vulnerability of water systems Obtain state and federal funding for infrastructure protection Develop strategies for decreasing exposure to attacks Identify and mitigate physical, chemical and biological threats Develop emergency management plans Implement warning, monitoring and detection technologies Apply hydraulic models to assess system vulnerability and emergency response capabilities
Reference	http://www.pollutiononline.com/content/news/article.asp?DocID={00C74F3A-FD69-11D5..

Item 10	Environmental SWAT team targets hazardous waste facilities
Summary	Canada's Environmental SWAT Team has ordered 11 hazardous waste transfer and processing facilities to take corrective action following an inspection sweep of hazardous waste operations in central Ontario. In addition to ordering corrective action, the team referred cases to the ministry's Investigations and Enforcement Branch for review and possible prosecution. A company convicted of its first major offence could be fined up to $6 million per day. To date, the team has completed more than 700 inspections in a variety of sectors. The team's inspections complement the significant number of regular inspections conducted by the ministry's district offices.
Reference	http://www.newswire.ca/releases/January2002/03/c0279.html

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S/N	Title			Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulations
1	Canada to clear its air with new initiatives	The Government of Canada has committed to clear its air with 2 new initiatives - one that seeks an increase in the amount of renewable energy used for electricity generation and another that would lower emissions from new fossil fuel power plants.
2	Tough emission norms to cost Indian refiners US$7.25 billion	Indian refineries need to invest 350 billion rupees (US$7.25 billion) in the next eight years to improve the quality of fuels to abide by strict emission norms.
3	EU pushes US to label products that impact global warming	European Environment Agency urges the US to show production energy data on its products to benchmark its energy efficiency against European products.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
4	New York spending millions on clean fueled buses	New York State plans to spend US$4.2 million in Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act funds to help purchase 163 new clean fueled buses throughout the state.
II. Subject Area: Waste Management and Green Energy
5	UN to fund Perth University's green research		UN will establish an environmental technology centre at the Murdoch University in Perth and will fund the development and implementation of global projects on waste recycling, renewable energy and alternative transport fuel.
6	New technology helps clean up hazardous waste		The University of Texas-San Antonio, has developed an innovative system to remove a wide range of toxic materials from the ground using a product called cyclodextrin.
7	Promising alternative to waste incineration		The US Department of Energy's Idaho Engineering and Environmental Laboratory has identified a new "Silver II" technology for treating certain waste streams without incineration.
V. Subject Area: General Environmental News
8	UNEP launches freshwater information portal		The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has opened the UNEP.Net Freshwater Portal, an online gateway to information about freshwater.
9	Water Security Summit 2001 discussed terrorist threat		The Water Security Summit 2001 was held in Connecticut recently to discuss security measures to prevent potential bio-terrorist attacks on potable water supplies.
10	Environmental SWAT team targets hazardous waste facilities		Canada's Environmental SWAT Team has ordered 11 hazardous waste transfer and processing facilities to take corrective actions following an inspection sweep of hazardous waste operations.