U.S. legislation capping greenhouse gas emissions would have a “modest” negative effect on the international competitiveness of industries such as cement, steel and aluminum, according to a study by the Pew Center on Climate Change.

These manufacturers on average would lose 1 percent of annual production to imports, the study projects.

Source: Bloomberg

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Pipeline construction, as anyone who has travelled this province knows, is big business. But are you aware that contractors lay between 12,000 and 15,000 km of pipeline in Alberta, Canada each year?

About 85% of that is pipe less than 12 inches in diameter-in fact, most pipe has a diameter less than six inches. Yet, virtually every installation requires excavating a trench between 32 and 42 inches wide.

Source: Alberta Construction

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Cancelation of a coal-fired power plant in Michigan announced on Friday brings to 97 the number of plants scuttled since 2001, said the Sierra Club, an environmental group that opposes coal plants because they are major emitters of gasses blamed for global warming.

Plans remain active for only 59 of the 220 coal coal-fired plants planned and in various stages of permitting since 2001, said Bruce Nilles, head of the Sierra Club's campaign to eliminate coal-fired power plants in the United States.

Source: Reuters

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Democratic leadership appears to be falling short of the votes needed to pass a major greenhouse gas bill out of the House energy subcommittee, lawmakers say.

Moderate Democrats on the Energy and Environment Subcommittee say fundamental issues concerning the impact of the program on energy and industries in their regions are still unresolved and a vote previously expected next week appears increasingly unlikely.

Source: Dow Jones

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