In our daily efforts to lead eco friendly lives, we often overlook a humble but powerful tool right in our kitchens, the in sink garbage disposal. It is sad but there is no dispute that more than one third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten, wasting not only the food itself but also creating a multitude of environmental externalities, among the most significant being methane produced from food waste disposed of in landfills. While reducing waste and composting have their merits, installing and using an under the sink garbage disposal is more than just an incredibly effect ..read more

In an unprecedented decision, a state court has dismissed a lawsuit “for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted” by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore against 25 major fossil fuel companies, which alleged the companies are responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. Baltimore claims that the defendants misled the public about the risks of fossil fuels, contributing to climate change and its adverse effects on the city. In July 2018, Baltimore filed suit alleging that the 25 companies “are individually and collectively responsible for a subs ..read more

With 431,063 signatures submitted on July 2, 2024, to the Washington Secretary of State’s office, it is all but certain that a voter initiative will be on the November ballot to prevent the state from banning natural gas in homes and businesses. Initiative 2066 would expressly protect natural gas use and repeal provisions of HB 1589, now chapter 351, Laws of 2024, widely referred to as “the decarbonization bill” that aims to transition away from natural gas. In 1912, Washington became one of the first states to adopt the initiative and referendum process, securing the rights of citizens to mak ..read more

The Supreme Court decision in Ohio et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency et al. is a significant victory for environmental protection while reigning in the power of federal agencies. Among the blockbuster decisions issued in this term, the Court granted this application for a stay, halting the enforcement of the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule on the Federal Implementation Plan for controlling ground level ozone, the main ingredient in smog. (Okay, the details of what EPA is proposing may be a little inside baseball, but the minutiae and inner workings of what happened here are as f ..read more

Earlier this month, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed an Executive Order leapfrogging Maryland to the front of all state climate efforts. No other government has enacted such a sweeping statewide green transition. The Maryland Governor’s June 4th, 2024, Executive Order 01.01.2024.19 is summarized below: Stated Purpose: To lead and coordinate state efforts to implement Maryland’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan, addressing the existential threat of climate change and promoting sustainability and environmental justice. Background: Climate change threatens Maryland’s economy, resources, and pu ..read more

A novel lawsuit is seeking to have a court order manufacturers to warn consumers that normal operation of its gas stoves produces air pollution at levels that can be harmful to human health.  Last week the U.S. PIRG Education Fund filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia Superior Court against Haier US Appliance Solutions, maker of GE Appliances, alleging that the company is violating the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act by failing to warn consumers that normal operation of its gas stoves produces air pollution at levels that can be harmful to human hea ..read more

Last week the State of Maryland and the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Development agreed to advance Maryland’s offshore wind development in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the ‘all of government’ approach to addressing climate change.   On the same day as that announcement, U.N. Secretary Antonio Guterres said in a speech at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, “Like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, we’re having an outsized impact. In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor. We are not only in danger. We are the danger. But we are also ..read more

Last Tuesday the White House unveiled a commitment to the role of carbon offsets in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Not to bury the lede, but the Biden Administration loudly endorsed the opportunities of voluntary carbon offsets in addressing climate change. Carbon offsets are widely criticized not only by apocalyptic environmentalists but also the subject of deep divisions between environmental groups in the U.S. In releasing New Principles for High Integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets the Administration is elevating ideas that already exist to buttress a carbon offset marketplace that today ..read more

Maryland consumes about 40% more electricity than it generates. The extra supply of more than 200 Trillion Btu of electricity, annually, is delivered to the state over the PJM regional grid. And the amount imported is growing dramatically.  While the percentage of imported electricity varies from day to day (depending upon weather conditions, costs of fuel sources, energy public policy, etc.), this is not a new situation, dating back approximately 40 years, and will increase in coming years. That in 2022 the two reactor 1970s era Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant located on the western s ..read more

Much attention has been paid to the Biden Administration’s announcement last week of 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, however with only a few thousand Chinese EVs ever exported to the U.S., barely breaking 1% of U.S. EV sales, that duty is more election year politics than impactful. However, also raising tariffs on Chinese solar panels and their component parts from 25% to 50% through 2026, claiming China is “flooding global markets with artificially low priced” solar panels, will increase the price of solar installations to large numbers of U.S. customers concomitantly slowing the u ..read more