March 23, 2020 RE: COVID-19 UPDATE Dear MIRATECH Partner, Our organization is closely following recommendations of global health organizations as well as local authorities in the markets that we serve to ensure that our response to the Coronavirus outbreak is proportional to the situation. Our main priorities continue to be keeping our people, our customers, […]

Twenty one environmental groups petitioned the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission for new regulations on diesel emissions from construction vehicles and other nonroad sources, according to a December 23, 2019 Oregon Public Broadcasting report. The petition calls for a cap on diesel emissions from construction sites, distribution centers and rail yards. It also seeks a new […]

The fossil fuel industry may be responsible for a much greater share of the world’s methane emissions than previously estimated, according to new research that could intensify urgency around curbing the potent gas from oil and gas production according to a February 21, 2020 Scientific American report. The research, published in the journal Nature, delves […]

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased 3.1% between 2017 and 2018 according to a February 13, 2020 report by E&E News regarding EPA figures published February 12th in the Federal Register. The jump is the first time in a half-decade that U.S. emissions have gone up — a trend that undercuts efforts by the Trump administration […]

Here’s further proof that air pollution ignores borders: In most states, about half of the premature deaths caused by poor air quality are linked to pollutants that blow in from other states, a new study found according to a February 12, 2020 New York Times report. The study, published February 12th in Nature, investigated the […]

On February 6, 2020 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it has approved the state of Texas’ clean-air plan for ozone pollution in the Houston area, Kallanish Energy reports. The EPA has determined the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria metropolitan area with its 6.7 million people continues to attain two federal ozone limits: the federal Clean Air Act’s […]

The Trump administration has proposed fundamental changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) according to a January 9, 2020 Washington Post report. EPA’s proposed changes to NEPA regulations are an attempt to speed up new mines, pipelines and hundreds of other projects around the country. Prior to NEPA, Federal agencies were mission oriented. […]

In December, 2019 the New York Times published an interactive Web site allowing users to compare the worst levels for 2019 PM 2.5 pollution where they live to those of the world’s most polluted cities.  From the Bay Area to New Delhi, users can see how the world’s worst air pollution compared with their local […]

The bosses of some of the world’s biggest oil companies discussed adopting much more ambitious standards for carbon emission targets at a closed-door meeting in Davos on January 22, 2020, a sign of how much pressure they’re under from activists and investors to address climate change according to a Bloomberg report on WorldOil.com. The meeting, […]

On January 16, 2020 the Washington state Supreme Court reinstated a severely limited version of Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan to cap carbon pollution, a decision Inslee described as a “clarion call” that lawmakers must act on climate change according to an Associated Press report in the Olympia HeraldNet. But in its 5-4 ruling, the court […]