Carbon Dioxide

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from U.S. power plants, the largest source of carbon dioxide, a pollutant linked to climate change. The rules would permit emissions from new power plants at 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour, about the level for a modern natural-gas plant, the EPA said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement. The limit would effectively preclude construction of new coal-fired plants. "We're taking a common-sense step to reduce pollution in our air, protect the planet for our children, and move us into a new era of American energy," Lisa Jackson, EPA administrator, said in a statement.

A biologist told the Franklin Township Board of Education and about 20 people last night that some areas of the Mary F. Janvier Elementary School have elevated levels of carbon dioxide, which may be one of the culprits that is causing some students and staff to become sick. Cynthia Toth of Terra Bio Chem Environmental Services Inc. suggested that the board install either overhead fans or air deflectors to improve the circulation of fresh air. Since 1992, teachers and students have complained of dry throats, headaches, irritated eyes and difficulty breathing.

Residents of Kennedy Crossing and the adjacent neighborhood of Cardinal View once again packed Plymouth Township's auditorium this week to learn the results of carbon dioxide testing that began nearly a month ago. And, once again, they went home with unanswered questions. Although officials from the Montgomery County Health Department and the federal Environmental Protection Agency said they had completed the first round of testing in most of the homes, they said additional tests were needed to determine the source of the unusually high levels of carbon dioxide that caused a girl to faint in her Kennedy Crossing basement Sept.

Concerned and frustrated residents of two Montgomery County neighborhoods learned last night that health officials are stymied by the high levels of carbon dioxide found in many basements since Hurricane Floyd hit Sept. 16. "This is the first time something like this has occurred and we don't know what's going on, if it's manmade or naturally occurring," said Greg Herbert, director of environmental field services for the Montgomery County Health Department. Herbert said elevated levels of carbon dioxide had been found in homes in the Kennedy Crossing and adjacent Cardinal View neighborhoods.

When scientists began studying ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, to help lessen global warming, some felt a promising tool was the vast Amazon rain forest. Trees, after all, absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, and early measurements from aerial towers in the Amazon suggested that the forest sucked up the offending gas with a vengeance. But Anthony Aufdenkampe, a biogeochemist now at the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, Chester County, is poking holes in that theory.

The township filed two citations against a soil-cleaning company yesterday for violations of their land development agreement. A company spokesman questioned the necessity of one citation and expressed surprise at the other. CleanSoils Inc., which has leased space on the old USX Fairless Works plant since October 1993, burns soil to remove diesel fuel and gasoline. The first citation states that the company is planning to pave an area and has not obtained township permission, as is required.

The Upper Moreland School District is trying to clear the air. Although tests now show there is no cause for alarm, carbon dioxide levels recently were marginally elevated in two district buildings - Upper Moreland High School and Cold Spring Elementary School - when compared to a comfort-range standard set by a national engineering society. Superintendent Paul Beck said last week that ventilation systems in the district's schools, some of which are nearly 45 years old, would be upgraded to include carbon dioxide sensors with automatic fresh-air dampers.

The Earth's climate may warm up a teensy-weensy bit less in the next century, thanks to Public Service Electric & Gas Co., New Jersey's largest utility. Earlier this week, the power company pledged to reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide by about 10 percent by 2000. Carbon dioxide is among those gases that are heating the atmosphere, many scientists believe. The utility also has agreed to make the Environmental Defense Fund its very own watchdog to make sure it lives up to its commitments.

Federal, state and county health officials investigating high levels of carbon dioxide in a local subdivision will meet with Kensington Crossing homeowners tonight to discuss findings and remediation efforts. Investigators are trying to determine whether the gas was a factor in the death of a resident there last week and the fainting spell of a young girl in a basement of one of the homes. "We really are still in the information-gathering phase," said Robert Gage, director of the Montgomery County Health Department.

The latest test results on the high school's air quality are in, and although the school passed, it did not make the honor roll. In March the school was temporarily shut down after a fungus buildup in the heating vents led to concern over the building's air quality. Herman W. Levin of International Environmental Services Inc. (IES), which conducted the testing, said the latest results showed bacteria and mold in the air but "not enough to get all worked up about. " He also said, however, the results indicate that the school does have "lousy air. " The testing, which measured carbon dioxide, bacteria and mold in 14 rooms, was conducted April 26 while school was in session.

An e-mail from an imprisoned friend of the Saints' coaching staff with a postscript saying, "put me down for $5,000" on Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has become another sore point between players being punished for New Orleans' bounty system and the NFL. The e-mail, obtained by the Associated Press, was written from prison by marketing agent Mike Ornstein shortly before the Saints' 2011 season opener against the Packers....

KENTUCKY DERBY-winning trainer Doug O'Neill could face a suspension in California after one of his horses was found to have an elevated level of total carbon dioxide, an infraction for which he previously has been punished. The California Horse Racing Board is considering the case, which involves "milkshaking," the illegal practice of giving a horse a blend of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes. The mixture is designed to reduce fatigue and enhance performance. O'Neill faces his third total carbon dioxide violation in California and fourth in a career that has spanned 25 years.

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from U.S. power plants, the largest source of carbon dioxide, a pollutant linked to climate change. The rules would permit emissions from new power plants at 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour, about the level for a modern natural-gas plant, the EPA said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement. The limit would effectively preclude construction of new coal-fired plants. "We're taking a common-sense step to reduce pollution in our air, protect the planet for our children, and move us into a new era of American energy," Lisa Jackson, EPA administrator, said in a statement.

BILOXI, Miss. - Republican presidential contenders and their super PAC supporters campaigned aggressively Monday on the eve of primaries in Alabama and Mississippi that could solidify or shake Mitt Romney's standing as front-runner. In the Deep South, one of the most conservative regions of the country, Romney and his Republican rivals polished their credentials with attacks on President Obama's handling of the economy and the nation's use of energy. "The dangers of carbon dioxide?

Seven Pennsylvania coal-fired power plants are among the 100 highest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases in the United States, according to data released Wednesday by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Ranking 12th on the national list is FirstEnergy Generation Corp.'s Bruce Mansfield plant in Beaver County, the state's biggest. The other plants are Brunner Island, Conemaugh, Hatfield's Ferry, Homer City, Keystone, and Montour. No New Jersey plants made that top 100 list.

A look into the fossil record suggests that tables may one day be turned on humanity. It probably won't happen the way it did in the original Planet of the Apes , where chimps and gorillas exploit their former exploiters. Instead, our planet could be reclaimed by a more ancient life-form - sulfur-eating bacteria. Oxygen is poison to them, so they live in shadowy places, such as the bottom of the Black Sea. But when the climate gets disturbed, they can come back with a vengeance.

By George Parry On Saturday afternoon, well into my second full day of we're-all-gonna-die television coverage of the approaching Hurricane Irene, I sat in my Barcalounger feverishly loading banana clips for my assault rifle. Rivulets of sweat coursed down my face as Terror Track Weather warned yet again that Philadelphia was squarely in the path of a killer storm. "Dear," my wife said tenderly, "what in the hell are you doing?" I explained that I was preparing to deal with the looters who were sure to pillage the neighborhood in the storm's aftermath.

LOS ANGELES - Think Mars today is a hostile place? It was worse 600,000 years ago, according to new research that suggests the planet had a dustier, stormier atmosphere. "It was an unpleasant place to hang out," said lead researcher Roger Phillips of the Southwest Research Institute. He said Mars' climate was probably a lot like the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s - but a lot worse. The evidence comes from the discovery of a huge underground reservoir of dry ice, or frozen carbon dioxide, at its south pole - much more than scientists had realized.

In the Region Jobs, hours cut for some at Einstein Albert Einstein Healthcare Network is undergoing its second round of layoffs in as many months. It told 48 employees this week that their jobs are being eliminated or hours reduced. Most were administrative and clerical workers and aides, said Lynne Kornblatt, vice president of human resources. Einstein, Philadelphia, which has 7,400 employees, laid off 28 employees in May. Kornblatt said human resources would work with the affected employees to match them to jobs that open in the system.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, said it would receive $253 million in federal stimulus money to design, build and operate a system to capture carbon dioxide at a Valero Energy Corp. refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. The funds, from the Department of Energy, will pay for two-thirds of the $384 million project. The carbon dioxide is a by-product of methane reformers that produce hydrogen to help make cleaner-burning transportation fuels.    - Paul Schweizer