Coal-fired Big Bend Power Station, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Wknight94, CC BY-SA 3.0.
These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.
- The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to overturn a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air pollution rule, saying that the agency didn’t adequately consider the costs. The rule setting limits on mercury, arsenic, and acid gas emissions from coal-fired power plants was considered a vital component of President Obama’s clean air policy.
- Greece has become the first developed country to default on a payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and be cut off from IMF resources. European finance ministers say no further bailout negotiations will take place until after the Greek referendum on Sunday.
- In the most recent installment of its series analyzing stock market crashes, Money Morning looks at the causes of the 2008 financial crisis that led to the Great Recession.
- Detroit declined to sue subprime lenders over risky mortgages following the financial downturn, despite having experienced an unusually high proportion of high-interest subprime loans leading up to the housing crisis. We’ve previously written about the blight problems created by the resulting foreclosures.
- In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a proposed oil pipeline is causing many homeowners to worry about decreasing property values, trouble selling due to stigma, and risk of future spills.
- New York has prohibited high-volume fracking anywhere in the state. After 7 years of environmental review, the State Department of Environmental Conservation concluded that the procedure’s adverse environmental impacts and risks to public health cannot be adequately avoided or minimized.
- With fracking potentially coming to Kentucky, seismologists are installing seismic monitoring stations to establish a baseline and watch for any increases in earthquake activity.
- Lancashire County Council rejected a fracking application over potential noise and visual impact. It would have been the largest fracking undertaking in the UK, and Cuadrilla is likely to appeal.
- A group of sixth graders won an award for their research on how to purify wastewater that is the byproduct of fracking.
- A home’s new owner has filed a lawsuit alleging that the property’s previous owner failed to disclose zoning violations committed during remodeling work, which dropped the home’s value by $1 million.
- An appraiser in Winnipeg, Manitoba says new municipal rules discourage homeowners from appealing property value assessments.
American flag in fireworks, courtesy of Beverly and Pack, CC BY 2.0.
And for those of you here in the United States about to celebrate July 4th, we wish you a safe and happy Independence Day!
Recent Comments