In today's episode, I interview the American Council for Capital Formation's Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Margo Thorning about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulations aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Use the audio player below to listen to information about the article and follow along with the show notes. I hope you find the podcast informative.

00:12 Starting on January 1st this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began phasing in regulations that are aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources. Those sources include hospitals, power plants, refineries and other facilities. But now serious questions are being raised about whether these regulations make sense... more »

The staff at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a whip snapping at its heels. For more than a decade now, the agency has been developing and refining its methodology for a "top down" inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States based on macroeconomic information. With that, the agency's career professionals have been rushing for the past two years to establish a "bottoms up" process for inventorying GHGs, including carbon dioxide and methane, and have ordered large and small facilities all over the country to collect emissions data and file reports.

If you thought the government already had a good handle on the GHG emissions generated in the United States, you'd be mistaken. The fact is, this reporting rule is designed to gather detailed emissions data to inf... more »

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plan to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is being challenged in court--again. The most recent suit was filed Thursday by more than 90 companies and trade associations which are questioning the EPA's finding that GHGs endanger public health.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the suit alleges that "EPA violated its statutory duty" and made a "sweeping judgment" about carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions without independent scientific review. Additionally:

• Politico reports that the White House is stalling the release of EPA's guidance on how large companies including refiners and power plants are supposed to reduce GHG emissions. According to the report, some officials want to cap the costs on pollution controls against EPA's will.
• A report... more »

The Weyburn oil field in southern Saskatchewan is the largest greenhouse gas storage facility in Canada. Under a project sponsored by the International Energy Agency, academic institutions and industry partners, the oil field is being injected with carbon dioxide (CO2) piped from a North Dakota coal gasification plant. By injecting CO2 into the oil-bearing rock formation, it's believed that the oil field's life could be extended by 25 years while providing storage for 20 million tons of CO2.

The potential demand for carbon capture and storage is immense. At present, fossil fuels account for 85 percent of the energy consumed worldwide every day. In the United States, 6 billion tons of CO2 is produced annually by power plants, vehicles and homes. About 2.9 billion metric tons of CO2 is produ... more »