Metro has switched sides in air pollution fight: Ross (Burnaby NewsLeader) To Patricia Ross, Metro Vancouver’s strategy to build waste-fired energy plants is diametrically opposed to its past positions in defence of Lower Mainland air quality. [News Source]

Exxon, Valero face new curbs on carcinogenic gases under Obama. President Barack Obama is considering new curbs on U.S. oil refineries whose gas emissions pose a cancer risk to hundreds of thousands of people living near the plants, setting up a potential conflict with companies over the cost of new regulations. [News Source]

U.S., California programs to reduce ship emissions. Targeting one of the biggest sources of air pollution, federal and state regulators moved forward Wednesday with plans to slash emissions from big diesel-powered ships entering U.S. coastal areas. [News Source]

Climate’s smoky spectre. Recent research suggests that lowly soot particles--black carbon-- could be responsible for a large fraction of Arctic warming. In SE Asia, studies suggest that it is choking the moisture supply for the Indian monsoons and contributing to the retreat of mountain glaciers that provide fresh water for more than a billion people. [News Source]

Mixed rulings in four Rubbertown lawsuits. A federal judge issued rulings Wednesday in four Rubbertown class action lawsuits alleging that the chemical plants had emitted emissions so foul that thousands of people had been denied the full use and enjoyment of their homes. [News Source]

Fourth of July turning green? As beautiful bursts of red, blue, green and yellow shoot up into the air every Fourth of July, many people forget the effect fireworks can have on the environment. [News Source]

Sinking finances throw Iceland’s ‘hydrogen-based economy’ into the freezer. The financial crisis that brought Iceland to the brink of bankruptcy has postponed this volcanic island's ambitious dream of ditching fossil fuels and transforming itself into the world's first hydrogen-based economy. [News Source]

Solar energy helps to power huge ship at Port of Long Beach. The huge car carrier ship called the M/V Auriga Leader burns through enough electricity to power 100 homes, while it idles at Long Beach. But unlike other diesel-spewing, power-draining vessels, this ship sports 328 solar panels. [News Source]

Solar-powered ship docks in Long Beach. The globe's first car carrier ship powered partly by solar energy from 328 rooftop solar panels steamed into port early Wednesday spewing a little less soot than expected for a ship its size. [News Source]

£30m fund for ‘green’ buses may stimulate production. The UK Government has launched a new £30m fund to encourage the purchase of low carbon buses, a move that could have positive repercussions for Ballymena-based Wright Bus. [News Source]

State must conduct review, hold hearings on latest coal-plant proposal. The federal EPA has essentially told the state and Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to start over in considering a permit to build a coal-burning power plant in southwest Kansas. [News Source]