Tesla Motors, the makers of high-end electric vehicles, is expected to post its first ever profit due in large part to an environmental credit program managed by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) under the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate. Under the regulation, 15 percent of all new car sales in California must come from vehicles classified as "zero emission" by 2025. According to Wall Street analysts, the ARB's credit program could be worth up to $250 million for Tesla.

The EPA recently announced that US greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) dropped 1.6% from 2010 to 2011, which continues a downward trend that observers believe is due in large part to increasing vehicle fuel economy standards and the large fuel-switching underway by electric utilities from burning coal to natural gas.

America's largest supermarket chain, Cincinnati-based Kroger, recently announced it would install 225 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at 125 stores across California and Arizona according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in April 2013, in the matter of Tarrant Regional Water District v. Herrmann. While the specifics of the case pertain to a dispute between Texas and Oklahoma over water from the Red River, the court’s ruling will be watched closely by the numerous interstate compacts that regulate shared bodies of water. 

States are currently grappling with the cleanup of Cold War era, defense waste sites across the country. Leaking underground storage tanks of nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in February 2013 underscore the  urgency of resolving these long-term challenges in a timely manner before additional risk placed on the public However, Washington’s current fiscal problems and the heightened sensitivity of transporting and storing waste do not lend easy or immediate solutions. 

On July 1st, provisions banning the disposal of electronic waste like TVs, computers, DVD players, and other devices will go into effect under Colorado's "Electronic Recycling Jobs Act." For consumers in the state looking for solutions to get rid of their unwanted gadgets, the Colorado Department of Public Health has created a website with information on the nearest recycling centers or retail stores like Best Buy or Staples that may also offer free recycling programs.

New Jersey state agriculture officials recently announced a victory in the daunting task of battling invasive pests with the eradication of the Asian long-horned beetle. The 10 year effort required the removal of more than 20,000 infected trees and through its successful quarantine program, it's now the second state (after Illinois) to have confirmed the eradication of the destructive pest that bores into America's most common tree species like maple, birch, and poplar.

Stateline Midwest ~ February 2013

In December, water levels on lakes Michigan and Huron reached an all-time recorded low. And concerns about this trend have never been higher — as reflected in much of the discussion at a January meeting in Chicago that explored the new Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

For the first time in its 41-year history, the binational pact makes adapting to climate change a priority for action on both sides of the border. 

Though they have always fluctuated, the recent low readings in lakes Michigan and Huron have led many to conclude that “we have reached a tipping point,” noted John Nevin of the International Joint Commission (IJC), with warmer air and water temperatures leading to increased evaporation of Great Lakes waters.