Energy

A U.S. judge threw out New York’s lawsuit seeking to hold five of the world’s biggest oil companies financially responsible for contributing to climate change. U.S. District Judge John Keenan dismissed the city’s claims against Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips, ruling that the federal Clean Air Act controls carbon dioxide emissions and blocks suits such as New York’s. The problem of climate change is for Congress and the Executive Branch to address, he said. [node:read-more:link]

America’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been in place for more than a decade, undeniably improving the nation’s energy security and environmental health by diversifying our energy choices. It also has boosted rural economies by expanding markets for agriculture — something that farmers need now more than ever. Growing America’s agricultural and energy production brings additional benefits for global food security. Too often, those benefits are overlooked or misunderstood. [node:read-more:link]

Ethanol advocates are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to raise the 2019 federal ethanol production mandate to make up for waivers granted this year. Scott Pruitt, the EPA Administrator who resigned earlier this month, issued waivers so some small refineries didn’t have to blend ethanol into gasoline. Ethanol advocates say more than two billion gallons of the corn-based fuel would have been added to gasoline if Pruitt hadn’t granted those waivers. Lamberty and others are lobbying the EPA to add onto the 2019 federal production guidelines to make up for the losses. [node:read-more:link]

Rural households across the United States spend a disproportionately high share of their income on energy bills — about 40 percent more than their metropolitan counterparts, according to a new report released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) coalition. The problem is most glaring in the East and Southeast, and among low-income households across all regions. [node:read-more:link]

Amid Scott Pruitt's departure as administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency, biofuel interests are ramping up their calls for a course correction at the agency as it looks to set upcoming blending levels. Amid Scott Pruitt's departure as administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency, biofuel interests are ramping up their calls for a course correction at the agency as it looks to set upcoming blending levels. [node:read-more:link]

Weeks after Minnesota regulators approved the replacement of an oil pipeline that crosses the state, Native American and environmental groups are starting to oppose the project with a similar playbook to a failed effort to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. [node:read-more:link]

A $1.1 billion U.S. shale pipeline on Monday was denied an exclusion to the Trump administration’s tariff on imported steel, the first such ruling on a major energy project since the tariff went into effect. Pipeline operator Plains All American Pipeline LP’s request was denied because suitable product is available from domestic producers, the Commerce Department ruling said.The Trump administration this spring slapped a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum to safeguard U.S. jobs. [node:read-more:link]

House lawmakers in both parties are hoping to use a spending bill to block offshore oil and natural gas drilling in the waterways off their states’ coasts. A handful of lawmakers, mainly from coastal states, are sponsoring proposed amendments to the annual appropriations bill for the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would block Interior funding to allow drilling in particular areas. [node:read-more:link]

The Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway, or "The Ray" for short, is a section of Interstate 85 in southwestern Georgia that has implemented environmentally minded projects in honor of its namesake. Anderson founded carpet manufacturer Interface Inc. and was called the "greenest CEO in America" for his efforts to make his company environmentally sustainable. [node:read-more:link]

Six New Hampshire biomass plants might be in jeopardy of closing after a bill was recently vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu. The governor said the bill could have cost Granite Staters millions, but plant managers and employees said the plants are in jeopardy if lawmakers don't act. The governor issued the veto in June, saying the veto would not take anything away from the biomass industry. He said the bill would have given the industry an additional $30 million in subsidies, and vetoing it saved ratepayers about $25 million. Plant managers said the veto has already had an impact. [node:read-more:link]