Environment | WPN World People News

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has struck down an EPA-created loophole that would have made limits on toxic air pollution from cement plants harder to enforce. When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrote the cement plant rule, it invented an “affirmative defense” that allowed plants that violate emission standards to escape having to pay penalties as long as they claimed the violation resulted from a malfunction.

Allegations about Soco were raised in a documentary film.

Italian Artisanal Fisherman in Sicily

Measures to stop invasive alien species of plants animals or insects getting into the EU, or limit the ecological and economic damage caused by those that do, were backed by Parliament on Wednesday. The legislation bans species declared to be of “Union concern” and requires more and better-coordinated action by member states to tackle the threat.

On 16 April 2014, Greenpeace activists unfurled a 10 x 17m banner at the Bayer headquarter in Leverkusen (Germany) reading: “Bayer: STOP KILLING US!”, in order to protest against beekilling pesticides.

EU aid to EU and EU candidate countries hit by flooding or other natural disasters should be delivered faster and more efficiently thanks to EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) rule changes approved on Wednesday. These changes, already agreed with EU ministers, include extending the deadline for applying for natural disaster aid from 10 to 12 weeks, paying 10% of the aid in advance, and simplifying aid approval criteria for smaller, “regional”, disasters.

EU countries would have to reduce the use of the most common and most polluting plastic bags by at at least 80% by 2019, under draft rules backed by Parliament on Wednesday. MEPs recommend using taxes and levies, marketing restrictions or bans. Plastic carrier bag litter is a major environmental problem, known to pollute water bodies and aquatic eco-systems in particular.

A soybean field in Ohio

Fifteen Greenpeace Germany activists demonstrated at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate urging governments and businesses to deliver “Power to the People – Clean Energy Now” as the world´s leading climate and energy experts presented a new UN report showcasing the solutions to climate change.