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The article focuses on the development of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President George W. Bush administration. It notes that EPA softened regulations that were deemed industry-friendly. The administration shuttered its technical and scientific libraries and lessened the information companies submit on their toxic substance release. EPA became less independent than its predecessors and closely tied to White House ideology.

The article focuses on the science program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is said that the program gives data that help shape the pollution control regulations. It is also said that science program at EPA encounters tight budgets which will leave the agency ill-equipped to address future environmental problems. It is suggested that president Barack Obama administration can do to better EPA science by increasing its transparency.

The article provides information related to sustainability. The author relates that the most commonly cited definition of sustainability comes from the United Nation's World Commission on Environment & Development, which establishes in 1983. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The article reports on the United States' climate-change policies. According to the article, about 13 bills have been introduced in the U.S. Congress that take varied approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as tax on fossil fuels and a mandatory system in which carbon dioxide emissions are capped. A group of senators has introduced the America's Climate Security Act that combines elements of 12 previous climate-change proposals.

The article reports on the problems striking the consolidation among paint material makers in the U.S. The recent consolidation is driven by the paint businesses' slow growth, complications formed by growing environmental regulations, and difficulties in passing along increases in energy and material costs due to tough competitions.

The article focuses on the contribution of retiring House Republican Sherwood L. Boehlert to environmental policy in the U.S. Boehlert has been shaping environmental policy ever since his push for the pioneering pollution trading program that has since substantially reduced sulfur emissions from power plants and thus acid rain. He attributed his success on acid rain to the partnership he had with Waxman and bemoans the absence of bipartisanship today.

The article focuses on the changes advocated and the challenges faced by George M. Gray, the new chief of the Office of Research & Development of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program is now facing a dwindling budget while it aims to meet the greater demands for information and science. Nevertheless, Gray is optimistic and proposed some changes, including the improvement of the agency's database for risks and uncertainties and research for sewage and water infrastructure.

Focuses on the plan of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce chemical and engineering companies' load for reporting Toxics Release Inventory data. Changes to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act; Drivers of the changes; Difficulties associated with filing the report.

Focuses on the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Methanex Corp., Vancouver-based company that produces methanol. Claims of the company that California's ban of methyl tert-butyl ether hurt the company's investments because it affected market demand for methanol; Citation of Methanex as the first chemical manufacturer to sue under the section of the NAFTA; Concerns over the use of provisions under the trade deals by foreign business to attack domestic environmental laws.

Focuses on the concerns related to nanomaterials and biomonitoring which were evident at the GlobalChem conference held on March 22-23, 2005 in Arlington, Virginia. Anxiety caused for the chemical industry by the European Union's draft legislation on the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals which may be implemented in 2007; Talks on the planned Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management being developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program; Industry attention garnered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's chemical regulation program.

Discusses the challenges encountered by scientists in the effort to test high-production-volume chemicals. Progress made by chemical manufacturers, environmental protection groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the generation of basic data on substances; Release of information on many chemical compounds on-line; Quality of information released to the public.

Discusses the efforts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reach out to universities and colleges across the country to help them comply with hazardous waste regulations. Institutional problems that lead to violations; Academic institutions' claim that they have problems with handling their hazardous waste appropriately because federal hazardous waste laws were largely written for industrial situations; Agency's call on institutions to do a self-check, called compliance audit, to seek out any hazardous waste violations and correct them; Institutions' chance to reduce or eliminate any fines for violations.

Focuses on the challenges faced by the United States government in trying to motivate old coal-fired electric power plants to clean up emissions. U.S. President George W. Bush's goal to develop a zero-emissions coal-fired power plant that creates hydrogen and electricity and captures and injects carbon dioxide deep into the earth; Costs to human health brought about the increased use of coal.

Discusses whether or not the Superfund taxes should be reinstated despite the existence of the possibility that the trust fund would have a balance of zero by the end of 2003. Increase in the amount of general tax revenues that the U.S. Congress had used to keep the Superfund program going; Implications for the cleanup of contaminated commercial sites that are included in the Superfund list. INSET: Questions Remain Over Which Sites Will Get Few or No 2002....

Focuses on the work of the United States Justice Department's Environment & Natural Resources Division in defending environmental policies. Lawyers' defense of the Environmental Protection Agency's regulations and policies; Agency's background history; Financial resources of the division. INSETS: A seamless journey from organic chemist to trial attorney.;A man of many skills..

Deals with the areas of agreement and conflict between the United States and the European Union on environmental issues. Impact of conflicting policies on international trade relations; United States' losses in exports of some agricultural products to Europe; Issue of global climate change; Genetically modified crops. INSET: European actions against genetically modified crops began....

Reports on mixed reviews generated by Project XL, a pilot program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, that tests innovative ways for companies to achieve better and more cost-effective environmental protection under conventional command-and-control regulation. Origins of program; 50 projects XL projects; Firms' citing of financial and environmental benefits; Other firms' skepticism about the project.

Focuses on government moves to increase the role of states and localities in the setting of environmental policies, thus reducing the workload of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Efforts in Congress to reduce the EPA's enforcement powers; Trend in legislative circles to push toward greater state control and responsibility; Relationship between the EPA and states and localities.

Cites the reasons behind companies' avoidance of environmental audits. Concerns by the US Environmental Protection Agency of implementing the Clean Air Act; Advantages and disadvantages of environmental auditing; EPA's criteria for an effective audit; Assessment of environmental audits by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). INSET: Ciba bids to join EPA's environmental leadership program..

The article focuses on the growing interests of scientists and policymakers on geoengineering schemes that could mitigate the effects of global warming. It notes that the idea started from the book "SuperFreakonomiks" which asserts geoengineering is an easier, less costly way to deal with climate change than changing the world's economy to low-carbon energy. It also says that geoengineering has significant unintended consequences such as who would be allowed to deploy and govern such projects.

The article discusses the climate change bill and a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It states that Senators Barbara Boxer and John F. Kerry introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, the Senate's version of the climate change bill that passed in the House of Representatives. It adds that EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced a proposal that will require carbon dioxide emitting companies to cut emissions of greenhouse gases.

The article reports that the U.S. Congress is facing pressure to settle climate change conflicts. According to the article, congressional members are willing to argue over the impact and costs of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Members of the Congress argued about national security impacts, legislative approaches to reduce carbon dioxide, the cost of action and inaction and ways to meet future energy demands.

The article reports that the U.S. Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are exploring options for the permanent storage of mercury. The U.S. is facing international pressure to ban exports of mercury. Thousands of tons of mercury are being used by eight U.S. chemical plants that will eventually shut down, and the mercury at these sites will be recovered. EPA is also exploring possible storage options for private-sector mercury.

The article reports that the completion of the HPV Challenge Program designed to make public basic information on hundreds of mass-produced or high-production-volume chemicals in the U.S. remains elusive. The program was to be completed in 2005 but some companies have yet to submit plans for voluntary tests on their products.

The article reports that the U.S. National Research Council's Committee of Models in the Regulatory Decision-Making Process is studying how the Environmental Protection Agency should select and use models for regulatory decisions. These models can help legislators determine the cleanup level for a particular chemical. It can also predict how pollutants move through the environment. Others are used to estimate the costs and benefits of proposed new regulations. Other parties interested in the models include the public and lobbying groups.

Reports on the issue of global climate changes. Nations' agreement on the Kyoyo Protocol, requiring industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; Refusal of the United States to sign the agreement; Intensification of climate issues in the U.S.

Focuses on near-completion of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's decade-long effort to reassess the health risks of dioxins. Agency's Science Advisory Board executive committee's approval of a draft report on dioxins; Expected editorial changes by the executive committee; Step forward toward possibly stricter dioxins controls.

Focuses on United States Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to test the impact of industrial chemicals on children. Concerns raised by public health experts; Inadequacy of regulations designed to shield adults from environmental assaults; Formation of the Children's Health Chemical Testing Program.

Reports that a group of experts discussed the precautionary principle, a different approach to the environmental policy, in Wisconsin, in an effort to develop a revised guide to the United States policy. Insight into what documents and legislation the principle already exists in; Detailed information on the conference held in Racine, Wisconsin; Details on the sponsorship of the meeting; Topics of discussion. INSET: Precautionary principle requires different questions.

Discusses the reauthorization of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Goal of the CWA; Objections of diverse groups, including the chemical industry to provisions that address discharges into groundwater; Issue of unfunded mandates; Protection of wetlands; Risk assessment for industries affected by the CWA regulations.

The article offers information on the decrease in the shale gas output target by China due to lack of environmental regulation and impact studies as of January 2015. It mentions the views of Xiaoliang Yang, research analyst at the World Resources Institute (WRI), on the lack of regulations for fracking products and safe disposal of wastewater from fracking. Topics discussed include shale gas resources in China, fracking equipments and development service, and natural gas imports in China.

The article discusses opposition from U.S. chemical industry groups against a pending Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal. Executives at the 2012 GlobalChem annual conference expressed opposition to the EPA proposal that would restrict confidentiality claims for the identity of a chemical and health safety studies, saying it would violate trade secret chemical identities and threaten innovation and profitability in the chemical industry. Further details on the EPA proposal are cited.

The article focuses on the plan of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review and assess controversial chemicals or classes of substances, according to Wendy Cleland-Hamnett of the Office of Pollution Prevention & Toxics. A two-step process is being planned by the EPA for selecting priority chemicals. Proposals were given by representatives of the chemical industry and health advocacy groups on how the EPA should proceed with the selection process.

The article examines prospects for the future of coal-fired electrical power plants in the U.S. According to a report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), coal-fired power plants are among the most important and oldest units in the country. It notes the importance of coal units to U.S. industrial growth. It points out the potential impact of new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on electricity generation and these plants.

The article reports on the promise of U.S. House leaders who oversee energy and environmental issues to investigate and eliminate regulations which they claim have resulted to job cuts. A letter was written by Representative Fred Upton (R-Michigan) for Energy Secretary Steven Chu which criticized the stimulus spending of the administration of President Barack Obama. Upton emphasized that their top environmental priority is to challenge the plan of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to control industrial emissions of greenhouse gases.

The article focuses on the air pollutants called brown clouds. It states that brown clouds contain nitrogen oxides, fly ash, and soot particles that could cause respiratory problems. It mentions that brown clouds affect five areas including East Asia, the Sahara Desert, and eastern Pakistan, and also persist throughout Europe and eastern U.S. It also notes that environmental activists and policy groups call for global reduction in black-carbon emissions to minimize human-induced global warming.

A letter to the editor is presented commenting on the article "Bush and the Environment" in the May 26, 2008 issue.

The article reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted a request from environmental and other activist groups seeking toxicity tests on the long-term effects of nonyphenol ethoxylates on aquatic life. However, EPA rejected requests for product-labeling requirements and other regulatory actions. According to EPA, the surfactants and their breakdown products can harm aquatic animals and plants.

The article highlights the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Environmental Performance Track program. The program rewards chemical facilities that exceed regulatory requirements, work closely with their communities and excel in protecting the environment and public health. However, environmental activists criticize the program. They fault EPA for painting entire companies with a green Performance Track brush when only one of their plants is actually a member of the program.

The article reports on the indecision by the Environmental Protection Agency whether to require a new international environmental toxicity pictogram on labels of commercial chemicals that can cause aquatic toxicity in the U.S. Some activists consider the issue as a way of attesting the limited control of the agency under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

The article reports on the introduction of the Vehicle & Fuel Choices for American Security Act, a legislation designed to curtail domestic petroleum consumption, particularly in transportation sector in the U.S. The legislation aims to increase the demand for renewable fuels and alternative technology vehicles. The bill provide tax credits and loan guarantees to encourage automakers to retool and produce flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on gasoline and alternative fuels, gas-electric hybrids, fuel cell vehicles and other technologies.

Focuses on the indirect control of the U.S. Congress on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the EPA funding law for 2006. Areas where the Congress is influencing the agency, such as experiments involving the intentional dosing of humans with pesticides; Refusal of the Congress to the plan of the administration of President George W. Bush to give a slice of the budget of the EPA to the agency's regulatory programs; Desire of Congressional appropriators for the National Academy of Sciences to again study polychlorinated biphenyls dredging, while refusing to delay cleanup of the Hudson River downstream of a General Electric plant in New York.

Reports on the installation of mercury emissions controls by coal-fired utilities in the United States. Finalization of regulations to reduce mercury emissions; Importance of electric utilities and coal companies to the economy; Solution to the failure of utility regulation document to recommend a regulatory approach.

Discusses a proposed plan for the United States Environmental Protection Agency on how to rank submissions of chemical companies on safety of high-production-volume chemicals. Assessment of data on chemicals which pose a health or environmental hazard; Review of information on lower priority substances; Prioritization of submissions for assessment.

Describes trends that may partially undermine the success of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer environmental treaty involving the use of methyl bromide. Production of the ozone-depleting fumigant; Decision to phase out use of methyl bromide in developed countries by 2005; Decline in methyl bromide consumption in the U.S. from 1991 to 2003.

Discusses the challenges faced by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) commission regarding a part of the pact that threatens environmental policies. Investment protection section of the agreement; Exploration of ways to allow NAFTA governments to issue legitimate environmental regulations as opposed to rules that are disguised barriers to trade or otherwise discriminate against foreign investors. INSET: Using NAFTA Threats Against New Regulation..

Focuses on the lack of coordination on the implementation of climate policies in the U.S. Anticipation of greenhouse gas reductions from implementation of the policy; Controversy on the legislation for regulation of carbon dioxide emission from plants; Plan of the administration on coal generation.

Reports on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plan to determine the characteristics of scientific data that can be useful to environmental regulations. Division of EPA that will handle the project; Issuance and implementation of environmental rules; Types of scientific information that will be evaluated; Views from EPA Science Advisory Board members.

Focuses on the attempt of United States President Bill Clinton's administration to propose and finalize major health and environmental rules. Reaction of Republican members of the U.S. Congress; Approval of the abortion pill RU-486 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Organic food production standards; Proposed rule on diesel exhaust.

Comments on the cleaning up procedures for nuclear weapon sites of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Failure in recognizing the role of long-term stewardship; Issues on the operation costs of the DOE site stewardship; Importance of checking land use near the sites; Call for the integration of stewardship into the cleanup plans.