A western Kentucky plastics plant is among the top 10 emitters of chlorine air pollution, according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project. The Calvert City plant is owned by the Westlake corporation and manufactures ethylene, a primary ingredient used to make plastics, along with polyvinyl chloride. Alexandra Shaykevich, research manager for the Environmental Integrity Project, said the plant has been scrutinized by federal regulators for environmental violations. .
The plastics industry is releasing illegal pollution but rarely faces discipline for environmental permit violations, according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project. Companies producing plastics emitted nearly 63 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, about as much as 15 coal-fired power plants. Alexandra Shaykevich, research manager for the Environmental Integrity Project, pointed out while many people and industries are now trying to minimize their use of fossil fuels, the plastics industry is moving in the opposite direction. .
A court hearing is scheduled this week in a lawsuit claiming New Mexico is violating residents rights to a clean and healthy environment by not holding its oil and gas industry accountable. Tim Davis, staff attorney for Wild Earth Guardians Climate and Energy Program, said the lawsuit was filed last May by a coalition that includes environmental groups, indigenous communities and frontline residents near extraction sites. Oil and gas production and their revenues have skyrocketed in New Mexico in the past decade. .
Charging by how much electricity vehicles use, not how long they take to recharge, could open the state up to more than $78 million in federal EV infrastructure grants.
Charging by how much electricity vehicles use, not how long they take to recharge, could open the state up to more than $78 million in federal EV infrastructure grants.