EPA Sued by Industry in 12 States Over Clean Power Plan
A Los Angeles Times article reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is being challenged by the coal industry in a dozen coal-dependent states that filed lawsuits claiming the EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) will kill jobs and boost electricity costs. According to the EPA, greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of domestic emissions that fuel climate change.
Thousands of coal miners assembled in Pittsburgh to protest the plan initiated by the current administration. The industry and its allies are challenging alleged weak spots in the Clean Air Act, on which the proposed rulings are based.
The lawsuits are yet another tactic used by industry to derail the efforts of the EPA who they claim is overstepping its boundaries and abusing its powers by imposing unreasonable and irresponsible regulations that are harmful to the economy.
The Chemical Industry Must Take a New Direction in 2015
According to a study by Strategy &, a global team of industrial strategists that analyze industry trends and provide solutions to tough problems in volatile economic environments, the chemical industry cannot be passive about restructuring their businesses to fit the times and new technologies.
The research reveals that although the industry has enjoyed global sales that more than doubled in the last decade, much of the success was driven by oil and gas prices. Also, the market is rapidly changing with new technologies and emerging economies that are creating a new customer base in a wider variety of geographic markets. Incremental advances by small companies that target new solutions for particular problems are taking the place of the blockbuster breakthroughs of the late 20th century. The industry is experiencing dramatic change as economic environments fluctuate and shift, and consumer as well as industrial needs change in the aggressive, rapid advances of the technology race that is accelerating at an unprecedented pace on a global scale.
