UMass Amherst Political Economy Research Institute’s Toxic 100 Names the Top U.S. Climate, Air and Water Polluters

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) today published new editions of its lists of the top corporate air and water polluters and top greenhouse gas emitters in the United States using the most recent data available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Top U.S. polluters identified.

PERI unveiled its 2018 Greenhouse 100 index, ranking U.S. companies by their emissions responsible for global climate change according to the U.S. EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, and the Toxic 100 Air and Toxic 100 Water indexes, ranking U.S. industrial polluters using the U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory. The PERI indexes also include environmental justice indicators to assess impacts on low-income people and minorities.

Read the Science and Technology Research News story - “UMass Amherst Political Economy Research Institute’s Toxic 100 Names the Top U.S. Climate, Air and Water Polluters.”

Ed King avoids making predictions, but give his 'take' on 2016

El Nino ‘on steroids’ will cause drought, flooding; clean energy investments will soar; polluters will face court; Arsenal will win the Premier League.

Ed King from Climate Home says, “Only fools make predictions, so here’s my take on the next 12 months.”

Read his story here - “Climate calls in 2016: 9 predictions for the new year.”

Just a few pages of 'The Corporation' will illustrate Direct Action's weaknesses

R

ead Joel Bakan’s “The Corporation” and it will be evident within pages that this will simply not work.

Tony Wood, energy program
director with
 the Grattan Institute.

Our power companies that respond, without question, to the fundamentals of corporations and that is that their first and only responsibility is to make a profit for shareholders.

The social and environmental needs of the communities they serve barely make it onto the agenda.

An ABC story - “Top polluters to set own limits virtually penalty free, according to Direct Action policy paper” – reports that “Australia's 140 top polluters will set their own limits for future pollution virtually penalty free, according to the Government's latest Direct Action policy paper.”

The story reports that Grattan Institute energy program director Tony Wood said the ideas proposed in the paper simply would not work.

"The safeguard mechanism was always a critical element of the Direct Action plan, but there is nothing in this safeguard mechanism that puts any absolute limit on a whole range of sectors," he said.

Just 10 companies our worst polluters - Australian Conservation Foundation

"S

adly, the Federal Government appears to be listening to the biggest polluters over the Australian people," the Australian Conservation Foundation says.

The ABC reports that the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has named and shamed Australia's top 10 worst polluters.

The story says the ACF has taken aim at the coal-fired power industry and the mining sector naming them as the most damaging in the country.

Headed: “Ten companies directly responsible for third of Australia's greenhouse gas pollution, Australian Conservation Foundation reportfinds,” the story says just 10 companies are directly responsible for a third of Australia's greenhouse gas pollution based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator.