Environmental Law

In The News (September 18)

By Dennis Pfaff and Kevin Livingston, Editors

• Michigan lawmakers approve a sweeping change in the way that state regulates electric utilities and prods the development of alternative energy such as wind power, reports the Detroit Free Press.
• Fallout from that big vote in the House the other day on energy and, by the way, offshore oil drilling, includes the creation of divisions among environmentalists, an issue examined by the Washington Post.
• An influential committee of European Union lawmakers is proposing easing carbon caps in the 27-nation bloc by allowing more use of payments to developing countries, through carbon offsetting, Reuters reports.
• France says "oui" to throwaway utensils, cups and plates by dropping plans to institute what the opposition had derisively dubbed a "picnic tax," from another Reuters dispatch. 
• A process of getting at natural gas reserves, known as "hydraulic fracturing," has helped boost production but also prompts warnings of environmental harm, a subject taken on by the Christian Science Monitor.  
• U.S. ethanol makers found their shares taking a beating, as unpredictable corn prices, dwindling cash and tightening capital markets all combine to cause difficulties, as reported by Reuters.
   

Full post as published by Climate Law Update on September 18, 2008 (boomark / email).