EPA Tightens Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules

EPA Tightens Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules At Landfills. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has tightened standards for the greenhouse gas emissions rules at nation’s landfills to reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants.

EPA estimates the new rules announced Friday as part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan will reduce methane from decomposing household waste by about 480,000 tons a year by 2025.

Landfills rank as the third-largest human-related source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming at 25 times the rate of an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. Landfills also emit such toxic gasses as benzene, toluene and vinyl chloride. EPA Tightens Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules At Landfills

EPA says implementing the new standards will cost about $55 million over the next decade.

A spokeswoman for the Solid Waste Association of North America said the industry group is studying the new standards before responding.The climate system receives nearly all of its energy from the sun. The climate system also radiates energy to outer space. The balance of incoming and outgoing energy, and the passage of the energy through the climate system, determines Earth’s energy budget. When the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, earth’s energy budget is positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out, the energy budget is negative and earth experiences cooling.

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