In its efforts to tackle the problem of climate change, the Australian government will introduce a carbon tax starting July 1, 2012. Australia’s goal is to reduce the country’s total emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2020; to achieve this goal, the country is starting with a carbon tax,
[continue reading...]

The first-ever Carbon Management Technology Conference will be held 7–9 February 2012 in Orlando, Florida, USA. Eight engineering societies are sponsoring this conference, bringing together all disciplines to share the latest technologies, strategies and systems related to the management and containment of carbon production. The three-day technical program will feature more than 200 presentations on
[continue reading...]

Failure of a cement barrier in the production casing string was identified as a central cause of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to the Report Regarding the Cause of the April 20, 2010 Macondo Well Blowout released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
[continue reading...]

A recent report from market research firm Environment Analyst indicates that the environmental consulting sector in the United Kingdom (UK) contracted by 8.4 percent in 2010, to stand at slightly less than US$ 2 billion (GB£ 1.2 billion). [1] This is the market’s second consecutive decline after more than two decades of unbroken growth. This
[continue reading...]

Market research firm Environment Analyst reports that the environmental consulting sector in the United Kingdom achieved nearly US$ 2 billion (GB£ 1.2 billion) in revenue in 2010, an 8.4 percent decrease from the previous year. In order of market share, the top environmental consulting firms in the UK are …

This fall, colleges across the United States can compete to see which schools reduce, reuse, and recycle the most waste as part of the U.S. EPA’s 2011 Game Day Challenge. The challenge is for schools to design a waste reduction plan for one 2011 regular season home football game. Registration for the competition is now open, and champions will be crowned this December…

Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) was formed in 2010 when Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell committed US$1 billion to develop a containment response system that could operate in the Gulf of Mexico in 10,000 feet of water and process up to 100,000 barrels of fluid and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day. In May 2011, MWCC opened its headquarters in Houston [...]

The surprising thing about Canada’s May 2, 2011 federal election is not so much that the Canadian electorate returned a majority at last for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government but that it deserted the Liberal Party in droves to catapult the National Democratic Party (NDP) into second position, making the NDP Canada’s official opposition party for the first time in its history. Politically polarized to the right and to the left, the Conservatives and the NDP are also at odds in their approach to the environment [...]

A global oil and gas company was found liable for soil and ground water contamination associated with historic drilling operations that impacted Ecuador’s northern jungle. The company was ordered to pay US$ 8.6 billion in remediation and restoration costs. The amount was far below the $27.3 billion recommended by a court-appointed expert. Plaintiffs allege that their hunting and fishing grounds near the headwaters of the Amazon River were contaminated by toxic wastewater [...]

Egypt continues to witness social, economic and political turmoil as thousands of protestors have vowed to increase the momentum of demonstrations across the country. The majority demand the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt for three decades. Having taken power in 1981 following the assassination of former President Anwar al-Sadat by Islamist
[continue reading...]