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Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Cummins updates its midrange, natural gas engine lineup
By Jason Cannon, CCJ.
Cummins announced Tuesday at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis several improvements to its lineup of midrange engines for the 2017 model year.
Jeff Caldwell, Executive Director of North American Truck OEMs, says the company’s market-leading B6.7 is seeing an average improvement that exceeds the program’s 7 percent initial target.
By Jason Cannon, CCJ.
Cummins announced Tuesday at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis several improvements to its lineup of midrange engines for the 2017 model year.
Jeff Caldwell, Executive Director of North American Truck OEMs, says the company’s market-leading B6.7 is seeing an average improvement that exceeds the program’s 7 percent initial target.
“Today’s 6.7 is the B Series’ most efficient engine to-date,” Caldwell says, noting the engine’s Efficiency Rating jumped 8.5 percent and Performance Rating boosted 5 percent over the EPA 2013 ISB6.7.
For some applications and duty cycles, specifically pickup and delivery, Caldwell says the Efficiency Ratings have shown up to a 13 percent fuel economy improvement over the EPA 2013 ISB6.7.
“As the program progressed,” he says, “we found opportunities to tune and optimize the engine, delivering further efficiency, and allowing us to surpass initial expectations.”
Apart from base engine fuel economy enhancements, Cummins features a Stop-Start capability with the B6.7, which Caldwell says provides additional fuel economy improvement from 3 to 15 percent. Stop-Start technology allows the engine to operate only when necessary by shutting off the engine during idle, which reduces fuel consumption and increases durability.
Trump is poised to issue a sweeping order dismantling Obama’s climate plan this week
By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post.
President Trump could issue a sweeping executive order within days aimed at reversing his predecessor’s climate policies, a measure that energy industry officials and environmentalists have been anticipating for weeks.
The directive will instruct members of the Cabinet to rewrite regulation restricting carbon emissions from both new and existing power plants, lift a moratorium on federal coal leasing and revise the way climate change is factored into federal decision-making — all key elements of the Obama administration’s effort to address climate change. It will also reverse an executive order former president Obama issued that instructs agencies to incorporate climate change into the National Environmental Policy Act reviews it applies to federal actions, according to individuals briefed on the order.
By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post.
President Trump could issue a sweeping executive order within days aimed at reversing his predecessor’s climate policies, a measure that energy industry officials and environmentalists have been anticipating for weeks.
The directive will instruct members of the Cabinet to rewrite regulation restricting carbon emissions from both new and existing power plants, lift a moratorium on federal coal leasing and revise the way climate change is factored into federal decision-making — all key elements of the Obama administration’s effort to address climate change. It will also reverse an executive order former president Obama issued that instructs agencies to incorporate climate change into the National Environmental Policy Act reviews it applies to federal actions, according to individuals briefed on the order.
While the exact timing of the executive order remains in flux, administration officials are under pressure to address a pending lawsuit before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. That legal challenge — originally mounted by several Republican attorneys general, including Oklahoma’s Scott Pruitt, who now heads the Environmental Protection Agency — argues that the EPA exceeded its legal authority in imposing carbon emission curbs on operators of existing plants. The restrictions aim to cut carbon pollution by about one-third by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.
Pruitt is no longer a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The directive would instruct Attorney General Jeff Sessions to ask the D.C. Circuit to hold the lawsuit in abeyance while the EPA revisited the rules it wrote during President Barack Obama’s tenure. If the court agreed to that request, the agency would have to establish an administrative record on why it had decided to pursue a different path.
White House cuts to EPA may be deeper than first reported
By Devin Henry, The Hill.
The Trump administration is weighing even deeper cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency than previous versions of their budget outline suggested, according to a new report.
The EPA and agency chief Scott Pruitt did not fight the 25 percent cut the White House proposed in its first budget draft last month, Axios reportedTuesday, and officials are now considering cutting the agency’s $8.1 billion budget even further.
In talks with the administration, Pruitt only fought proposed cuts to the agency’s clean-up budget, something he told a group of mayors earlier this month he would do.
Vox: What Scott Pruitt’s recent climate denial means for the EPA
By Brad Plumer, Vox.
Over the past eight years, the Environmental Protection Agency has become the main US agency in charge of tackling climate change, issuing a slew of regulations to curtail emissions of carbon dioxide — a key greenhouse gas heating up the planet.
So it’s a big deal that Scott Pruitt, President Trump’s new EPA head, now openly dismisses basic climate science. On CNBC last week, Pruitt said: "I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do, and there's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that [carbon dioxide is] a primary contributor to the global warming that we see.” (This is wrong: there’s ampleevidence that human CO2 emissions are a primary contributor.)
Pruitt’s comments, while stunning, weren’t totally unexpected. He’s been hinting for a while now that he doesn’t think global warming is a problem and plans to roll back as many Obama-era EPA climate policies as possible. But in light of this CNBC interview, it’s worth rehashing what he can — and can’t — do to put these views into practice:
DC Circuit Court Pauses EPA 2017 Biofuel Standards Challenge
By Kat Sieniuc Law360.
The D.C. Circuit on Friday put on hold the American Petroleum Institute’s challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2017 renewable fuel volume requirements, saying the panel will first rule on another challenge to the agency’s 2016 biofuel standards.
The API, a longtime foe of the EPA’s renewable fuels program, challenged the agency's 2017 requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard program in February, saying increasing the volume of higher-ethanol fuel blends "is irresponsible" and could force consumers to pay for unnecessary repairs to vehicles that are not designed to handle such fuel mixes.
Regina landfill waste project producing electricity that can power 1,000 homes
By CBC news.
The City of Regina hopes to make millions off its waste.
The Landfill Gas to Energy Project, a partnership with SaskPower, was unveiled Monday morning.
The facility collects methane gas produced from decomposing waste at the Fleet Street landfill in Regina and uses it to generate one megawatt of power — enough to power 1,000 homes.
The electricity from this facility is then sold and sent to SaskPower's provincial electrical grid.
"From December to January, we saw three, new peak usages here in province," said Howard Matthews, vice president of power production at SaskPower. "The province continues to grow, so an extra megawatt of cleaner burning energy is always welcome."
House Committee Debates a More Open Scientific Process for EPA & Revision to EPA's Scientific Advisory Board
By Jason Hayes, Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
On March 6, members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committeeintroduced the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017 (HONEST Act). At the same time, Reps. Frank Lucas, R-OK, and Lamar Smith, R-TX, proposed legislation to reform the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board.
Rep. Smith explained why the HONEST Act was introduced. “An open and honest scientific process is long overdue at EPA. American taxpayers have often had to foot the bill for regulations and rules based on hidden science that has not been available for review by the public. … This bill would prohibit any future regulations from taking effect unless the underlying scientific data is public.”
By Jason Hayes, Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
On March 6, members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committeeintroduced the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017 (HONEST Act). At the same time, Reps. Frank Lucas, R-OK, and Lamar Smith, R-TX, proposed legislation to reform the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board.
Rep. Smith explained why the HONEST Act was introduced. “An open and honest scientific process is long overdue at EPA. American taxpayers have often had to foot the bill for regulations and rules based on hidden science that has not been available for review by the public. … This bill would prohibit any future regulations from taking effect unless the underlying scientific data is public.”
He also defended the Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2017. “The SAB at EPA,” he said, “has the opportunity to include a more balanced group of scientists to assist EPA in fulfilling its core mission.” He added, “This bill would ensure that scientists advising EPA on regulatory decisions are not the same scientists receiving EPA grants.”
The Office of Science Advisor within the EPA says, “Science is the backbone of EPA's decision-making. The Agency's ability to pursue its mission to protect human health and the environment depends upon the integrity of the science on which it relies.”
The OSA continues by describing the importance of scientific integrity, using words like objectivity, clarity, and reproducibility. It also notes that scientific integrity “helps to build public support” as “people are more likely to support the Agency if they can trust the quality and integrity of the work.”
New Jersey Senate committee approves 5 food waste reduction bills
By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive.
- The New Jersey Senate's Environment and Energy Committee voted to pass a package of food waste reduction bills on March 14. Among those bills is one that would set a goal to reduce the amount of food waste in the state 50% by 2030, as reported by NJ Spotlight.
- Another bill would establish a standardized date labeling system for manufacturers and retailers. The preferred terminology would be an "elevated-risk date" and a "quality date." The bill would also establish a public education program around the change.
- The three other bills focus on food donation. One would expand tax deductions for donations from business inventory, another would extend liability protections to schools and higher education institutions, and another would clarify existing liability protections for all donors.
Trump likely to propose deep cuts in 2018 budget this week
By Philip Brasher, AgriPulse.
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2017 - President Trump this week will release a proposed budget for fiscal 2018 that is expected to call for deep cuts to agencies throughout the government to pay for a $54 billion increase in defense spending.
According to reports, the proposed cuts could be as high as 37 percent, for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, while the EPA could be reduced by 25 percent.
By Philip Brasher, AgriPulse.
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2017 - President Trump this week will release a proposed budget for fiscal 2018 that is expected to call for deep cuts to agencies throughout the government to pay for a $54 billion increase in defense spending.
According to reports, the proposed cuts could be as high as 37 percent, for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, while the EPA could be reduced by 25 percent.
The budget, which the White House will release on Thursday, is almost certainly dead on arrival on Capitol Hill, but the recommendations will highlight the stark choices that lawmakers face if they want to increase defense spending without touching entitlement programs and boosting the budget deficit.
Such deep cuts would pose a particular problem for EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who says he’s committed to accelerating the approval process for pesticides and other products while also protecting EPA’s water infrastructure funding programs, which account for more than 40 percent of its budget.
One of Trump’s pending cabinet nominees who is important to agriculture will have his confirmation hearing this week, Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative. Another hearing planned Wednesday for Labor nominee Alexander Acosta has been postponed until March 22.
Shell to increase investment in renewable energy to $1 billion a year by the end of the decade
By Ron Bousso, Reuters.
The oil and gas industry risks losing public support if progress is not made in the transition to cleaner energy, Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said on Thursday.
The world's second largest publicly-traded oil company plans to increase its investment in renewable energy to $1 billion a year by the end of the decade, van Beurden said, although it is still a small part of its total annual spending of $25 billion.
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