Environment

As part of the Economic Recovery Act, Obama administration officials fanned out across the nation this week in a series of ribbon-cutting and ground-breaking ceremonies to highlight their commitment to renewable energy, especially projects that are creating jobs in advanced battery manufacture. Senior Administration officials will travel to eight Recovery Act advanced battery and vehicle project sites nationwide where work has begun constructing new manufacturing plants, adding new manufacturing lines, building electric vehicles, and installing electric vehicle charging stations. This series of events was emphasized by President Obama on Thursday, July 15th, at Compact Power, Inc. where he officially "broke ground" on a new advanced battery manufacturing factory in Holland, Michigan. After brief introductions by Peter Ban-Suk Kim, Chief Executive Officer of LG Chem Ltd., Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and Holland Mayor Kurt Dykstra, the president spoke for about fifteen minutes reiterating his progress in advance battery manufacturing and job creation.

Environmentalism has done a tremendous job of awakening the American public over the last ten years to many of the fundamental issues of our times. It is now apparent that, with the explosion of emerging market economies, the energy needs of the world are going to exponentially grow over the next 20 years. Along with the topic of energy, atmospheric gases have come into central focus in the American public. The issue of global warming, whether one believes completely in its claims or not, has raised American awareness to level where it's now clear that we cannot continue to release emissions and pollutants into the atmosphere in uncontrolled amounts and expect it to not affect our world. One such company in the U.S. industrial gases sector that is heavily involved in renewable energy is Air Products and Chemicals(NYSE: AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS). AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS specializes in supplying atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services worldwide.

In the effort to slow the pace of global warming, researchers and policy makers are encouraging the use of lighter colors for rooftops and streets worldwide. Dark, non-reflective surfaces which are common for asphalt and asphalt shingles, absorb heat from the sun and create a "heat-island" effect, plus a greater need for air conditioning. Lighter surfaces would reflect the sun’s rays back to outer space, reducing ground-surface temperatures and overall energy requirements.

The United States and dozens of other countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars toward clean energy initiatives to help battle climate change, U.S. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu said on Tuesday. Meeting in Washington, D.C., for a two-day conference, delegations from 24 countries representing 80 percent of global energy consumption promised 11 initiatives that would mean building fewer power plants and using more clean energy. "We know the clean energy challenge won't wait, and we won't wait either," Chu said. With the U.S. Senate virtually gridlocked on passing an energy and climate change package this year, the Obama administration is under pressure to provide leadership in global climate talks that are making little progress.

Environmentalism has done a tremendous job of awakening the American public over the last ten years to many of the fundamental issues of our times. It is now apparent that, with the explosion of emerging market economies, the energy needs of the world are going to exponentially grow over the next 20 years. Along with the topic of energy, atmospheric gases have come into central focus in the American public. The issue of global warming, whether one believes completely in its claims or not, has raised American awareness to level where it's now clear that we cannot continue to release emissions and pollutants into the atmosphere in uncontrolled amounts and expect it to not affect our world. One such company in the U.S. industrial gases sector that is heavily involved in renewable energy is Air Products and Chemicals(NYSE: AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS). AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS specializes in supplying atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services worldwide.

America has been getting rid of its industrial base and as a result pollution will tend to decrease in America. Where does it all go? Other countries should know the bitter lessons of pollution should they not? Maybe yes and maybe no. Industry has gone to many other nations including China especially in the last decade. According to the People's Republic of China's own evaluation, two-thirds of the 338 cities for which air quality data are available are considered polluted. Respiratory, cancer and heart diseases related to air pollution are the leading cause of death in China. Meanwhile in Tehran, which is one of the most polluted cities of the world, there is a similar situation. Air pollution in the Iranian city of Tehran is not new. Ever since 1950 population and automobile ownership has risen dramatically.