This was found on PioneerLocal.com

Though carbon dioxide emissions have decreased about 50 percent in Illinois and Indiana over the past decade, both states rank among the nation’s 10 ten worst in emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants in 2010, according to an environmental watchdog group.

A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project shows that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants in the U.S. rose 5.56 percent in 2010 over the year before, the biggest annual increase since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began tracking emissions in 1995.

The report is based on data from the EPA’s “Clean Air Markets” website, which tallies emission reports from electric generators, according to a release from the Integrity Project, a nonprofit environmental group created in 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys to advocate for effective enforcement of environmental laws.

Texas power plants led the pack in 2010, with nearly 257 million tons of CO2 emissions, as much as the next two states combined (Florida and Ohio), and more than seven times the total CO2 emissions from power plants in California, according to the release.

The 10 worst states for CO2 pollution identified in the report are Texas, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri.

Indiana, ranked No. 4, had 123,695,438 million tons of CO2 emissions.

While the amount of CO2 emissions in Indiana has gone down 53 percent since 2000, the release said, there was an increase of about 6 million tons from 2009 to 2010.

Illinois ranked No. 6, with 107,082,729 tons of C02 emissions, also an increase from 2009, by about 4 million tons. Since 2000, however, Illinois has seen a 49 percent drop in C02 emissions.

According to the release, nationwide C02 emissions from power plants rose 5.56 percent in 2010 over the previous year, the biggest annual increase since the EPA began tracking emissions in 1995.

Electricity generators released 2.423 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2010, compared to 2.295 billion tons in 2009, according to information available in the EPA’s “Clean Air Markets” database.

Power plant emissions are still below the high water mark of 2.565 million tons set in 2007.

Last year’s rise was driven in part by a 4 percent net increase in overall generation for the 12 months ending in November of 2010, as a result of the economic recovery and unusually warm weather in some parts of the country.

Commenting on the report, Integrity Project’s director, Eric Schaeffer, said: “The industry’s allies on Capitol Hill are working hard to turn back the clock by repealing environmental standards for coal plants that are already many years overdue. Congress may weaken or even eliminate EPA’s ability to stop coal plant pollution, and block further study of climate change. But even the most powerful legislature in the world is subject to the laws of science, and global warming will not disappear because our politicians choose to pretend that it does not exist.”

Average global temperatures last year reached the 2005 level, the warmest year on record.

Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The combustion of fossil fuels for electricity generation in the U.S. accounts for more than one third of our nation’s total U.S. releases of CO2, and about 5 percent of CO2 emissions worldwide.

Coal-fired boilers provided 45 percent of U.S. electricity in 2010, but were responsible for 81 percent of total CO2 emissions from electricity generation last year.

Found on TradingMarkets.com

Feb 10, 2011 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) —

Ameren Missouri’s Labadie plant in Franklin County was the 15th-largest emitter of mercury among 451 coal-fired power plants nationwide in 2009, according to a report by Environment Missouri.

Overall, Missouri ranked 11th in the nation in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants in 2009. Illinois was 7th.

Emissions data is from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory, an online database of pollutants released annually.

The EPA is set to issue standards next month that would significantly limit mercury emissions from power plants. The report is meant to push the agency to follow through with regulations in the face of political pressure and opposition from industry.

Mercury emitted from power plants settles into waterways and ends up in the food chain. Exposure at high enough levels can cause neurological and developmental disorders in humans. Young children and unborn babies whose nervous systems are still developing are especially vulnerable.

Feb 10, 2011 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) —

Ameren Missouri’s Labadie plant in Franklin County was the 15th-largest emitter of mercury among 451 coal-fired power plants nationwide in 2009, according to a report by Environment Missouri.

Overall, Missouri ranked 11th in the nation in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants in 2009. Illinois was 7th.

Emissions data is from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory, an online database of pollutants released annually.

The EPA is set to issue standards next month that would significantly limit mercury emissions from power plants. The report is meant to push the agency to follow through with regulations in the face of political pressure and opposition from industry.

Mercury emitted from power plants settles into waterways and ends up in the food chain. Exposure at high enough levels can cause neurological and developmental disorders in humans. Young children and unborn babies whose nervous systems are still developing are especially vulnerable.

Found on Los Angeles Business Journal.com

Despite a larger quarterly loss, Capstone Turbine Corp. shares rose nearly 11 percent Tuesday as the company reported positive cash flow from operations for the first time in its history. Shares also benefited from an analyst’s upgrade.

The Chatsworth maker of micro-turbines reported late Monday a fiscal third quarter net loss of $8.1 million (-3 cents share), compared with a loss of $7.2 million (-4 cents) a year earlier. The company had fewer shares in the year-earlier quarter.

The company blamed most of the larger loss on a change in the company’s accounting standards requiring it to record charges on certain warrants. Without the charges, the net loss would have been $6.9 million (-2 cents).

Revenue rose 51 percent to $24.2 million. The company shipped 171 micro-turbines during the quarter, 40 percent more than a year earlier. Its order backlog at the end of the quarter was up 8 percent to $84.7 million.

“More than ever before, we can all clearly see the path forward from here to profitability and sustainability for our clean and green microturbine technology,” said Chief Executive Darren Jamison in a conference call.

The company, founded in 1988, manufactures micro turbines for use in hybrid electric vehicles, building generators and other applications.

On Tuesday, Ardour Capital Partners raised its recommendation on Capstone shares from “accumulate” to “buy,” with a 12-month price target of $1.80, noting the company had reported positive cash flow of $4 million, a company’s first.

“We have increased confidence that (Capstone) is on track to maintain positive gross margins and reach profitability in the near-term,” wrote analyst Walter Nasdeo in a note to clients. “We forecast year-over-year revenues to continue on a record pace, supported by the development of new markets and an improving distribution network.”

Shares closed up 15 cents, or 10.9 percent, to $1.53 on the Nasdaq.