PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Jan. 7 (TNSjou) -- Carnegie Mellon University issued the following news: In a warming world, coal can often seem the "bad guy," but coal has uses aside from burning it. A team at Ohio University used the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's Bridges-2 system to carry out a series of simulations showing how coal might eventually be converted to valuable -- and carbon-neutral -- materials like graphite and carbon nanotubes. A joint initiative between Carnegie Mellon Univer  more

DENVER, Colorado, Jan. 7 (TNSsro) -- The Colorado Public Utilities Commission issued the following weekly meeting agenda: * * * Consent Items TRANSPORTATION 1. PROCEEDING NO. 21A-0570R New Elk Coal Company IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF NEW ELK COAL CO., LLC FOR AUTHORITY TO REPAIR AND UPGRADE A COUNTY ROAD RAILROAD GRADE CROSSING AT COUNTY ROAD 20.8 AND NEW ELK COAL CO., LLC (COUNTY ROAD 20.8 IN JANSEN, LAS ANIMAS COUNTY, STATE OF COLORADO) . Filing Date and Party: 12/27/2022 New Elk  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper on Indonesia - GHG emissions and climate change policy (No. IF12300) on Jan. 6, 2023. The white paper was written by Natural Resources Policy specialist Pervaze A. Sheikh, Asian affairs specialists Bruce Vaughn and Ben Dolven; and research assistant Elisabeth Lohre. Here are excerpts: * * * Indonesia: GHG Emissions and Climate Change Policy Introduction The Republic of Indonesia faces  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (TNStalk) -- Earthjustice issued the following statement on Jan. 6, 2023: * * * The Biden administration released Guidance on the Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change. This critical guidance assists federal agencies in their consideration of the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change when evaluating proposed actions in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and delivers more certainty in the permitting proce  more

BOONE, North Carolina, Jan. 7 (TNSgov) -- Appalachian Voices posted the following news release on Jan. 6, 2023: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed important but insufficient updated National Ambient Air Quality Standards, or NAAQS, for particulate matter pollution, commonly known as soot. The agency proposed that the annual average standard for fine particulate matter be lowered from 12 micrograms to a range of 9-10 micrograms per cubic meter. While this is an improvement, the pr  more

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jan. 7 (TNSrep) -- The European Union's European Court of Auditors issued the following special report (No. 22) in November 2022 entitled "EU Support to Coal Regions - Limited Focus on Socio-Economic and Energy Transition." Here are excerpts: * * * CONTENTS Executive summary ... I-VII Introduction ... 01-21 * The decline of the coal sector and its impact on energy supply ... and employment ... 01-06 * The negative impact of coal mining and combustion on health, the envi  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Internal Revenue Service issued the following notice (No. 2023-6) in Internal Revenue Bulletin (No. 2023-2, Jan. 9, 2023): * * * SECTION 1. PURPOSE This notice provides guidance on the new sustainable aviation fuel credits under Sec.Sec. 40B and 6426(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) (collectively referred to as a SAF credit or the SAF credit) and related credit and payment rules under Sec.Sec. 34(a)(3), 38, 87, and 6427(e)(1).   more

FRANKFORT, Kentucky, Jan. 7 (TNSsro) -- The Kentucky Public Service Commission issued the following order (Case No. 2022-00372) on Jan. 6, 2023: * * * In the Matter of: Electronic Application Of Duke Energy Kentucky, Inc. For (1) An Adjustment Of Electric Rates; (2) Approval Of New Tariffs; (3) Approval Of Accounting Practices To Establish Regulatory Assets And Liabilities; And (4) All Other Required Approvals And Relief ORDER This matter arises upon the petition of Sierra Club, filed Decemb  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (TNStalk) -- The League of Conservation Voters issued the following statement on Jan. 6, 2023: * * * In response to EPA proposing to slightly tighten only the annual Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standard (and not the daily standard), the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) released a statement from Senior Director of Government Affairs and former EPA health scientist Matthew Davis: "This draft rule misses the mark and does not adequately slash soot pollut  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 7 -- Mayer Brown, a law firm, issued the following news: Mayer Brown is representing R&Q Insurance Holdings Ltd. (R&Q) in the formation of a new joint venture with Obra Capital (Obra) and the acquisition of a wholly owned subsidiary ("Target") from global safety equipment manufacturer MSA Safety Incorporated. The Target holds legacy product liability claims relating to coal dust, asbestos, silica, and other exposures. MSA Safety contributed approximately $341 million i  more

BILLINGS, Montana, Jan. 7 -- The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, Jesse Laslovich, posted the following news release on Jan. 5, 2023: The former mine safety director at the Signal Peak Energy LLC coal mine near Roundup today admitted to charges that he conspired to not report as required an incident in which a mine employee injured his fingers, resulting in partial amputation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. Curtis Floyd, 47, of Billings, pleaded guilty to an information charging  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 5 (TNSper) -- Rainforest Action Network posted the following news release on Jan. 4, 2023: Liberty Mutual's new CEO Tim Sweeney, who officially took helm of the Boston-based insurer on Sunday, is facing calls to clean up his company's climate and human rights record. Activists gathered outside the insurer's Boston headquarters this week to ask Sweeney if he will step up as a climate leader and stop insuring fossil fuel expansion projects. "A global campaign of clima  more