Chemical Engineering November 2012 - 16

Newsbriefs
EPA SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY PROCESS
REFORM BILL INTRODUCED
Biofuels coalition defends
Renewable Fuel Standard
A
large coalition of advanced
and traditional
renewable-fuel stakeholders
joined forces last month
to defend the U.S. Renewable
Fuel Standard (RFS)
and the economic, employment,
and national security
benefits they say the RFS
provides. The new coalition,
Fuels America (Washington,
D.C.; www.fuelsamerica.
com), spans the full spectrum
of domestically grown
renewable fuel, national
security, renewable energy
and other stakeholders.
The launch comes as the
Environmental Protection
Agency considers a request
to " waive " the RFS, a move
that coalition members
stressed would have serious
consequences for America's
rural communities,
renewable technology innovators
and energy independence.
Coalition members
noted that the advanced
renewable-fuel sector has
benefited directly from the
RFS, with advanced facilities
now producing fuel in
several states.
OECD CLI forecasts weakening growth,
ACC report says . . .
he August composite
leading indicator (CLI)
from the Organization for
Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD;
Paris; www.oecd.org) shows
that most major world
economies will continue to
see weakening growth in
coming quarters, according
to OECD data that were
included in the American
Chemistry Council's (ACC;
Washington, D.C.; www.
americanchemistry.com)
Weekly Chemistry and Economic
Report.
T
The economies of the U.S.
and Japan will likely see
moderating growth, while
those of Canada, Germany,
France, Italy and other
areas of Europe will see
weak growth, as will those
of India and Russia. CLIs
for the U.K. and Brazil,
however " continue to point
to a pick-up in growth, " the
ACC report says.
" In China, the CLI points
to soft growth, but tentative
signs are emerging
that the recent deterioration
in the short-term outlook
may have stabilized, "
the ACC report comments.
he American Chemistry
Council recently released
its monthly Chemical
Activity Barometer
(CAB), a leading economic
indicator derived from a
composite index of chemical
industry activity. The
September CAB showed
a 0.3% growth over the
previous month. This represents
the third consecutive
monthly increase in
the CAB, and follows small
upward revisions for the
previous three months.
" While it is encouraging
to see three consecutive
months of gains, this is
not yet cause for celebration.
Rather, what we're
seeing is that the CAB is
signaling sub-par economic
growth into 2013 as the
economy continues to face
strong headwinds and
.S. House Science, Space and Technology committee members
introduced legislation to reform the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA; Washington, D.C.; www.epa.gov)
Science Advisory Board (SAB) and its sub-panels.
The bill (H.R. 6564) is aimed at strengthening public participation,
improving the process for selecting expert advisors, expanding
transparency requirements and limiting non-scientific
policy advice.
Established by Congress in 1978, the SAB plays a critical
U
role in reviewing the scientific foundation of EPA regulatory
decisions and advising the Agency broadly on science and
technology-related matters.
These provisions draw upon recent recommendations from
the Keystone Center's Research Integrity Roundtable, the Bipartisan
Policy Center and other stakeholders, as well as relevant
testimony received recently by the Committee. ❑
Environmental product impacts
addressed in ASTM initiative
A
STM International
(West Conshohocken,
Pa.; www.astm.org) has
launched a new initiative
aimed at understanding
the real environmental
impact of products, from
raw material extraction to
disposal and recycling.
The ASTM program " will
provide scientifically based,
quantifiable information
about product parameters
such as resource consumption
and ozone depletion,
which will give both businesses
and consumers an
understanding of a product's
real impact on the
environment, " says Timothy
Brooke, vice president
of certification, training
and proficiency testing at
ASTM. Through ASTM's
concerns around the fiscal
cliff crystallize, " said
Kevin Swift, ACC chief
economist.
certification program, technical
advisory committees
will oversee the development
process for Product
Category Rules (PCRs).
The initiative is a Program
Operator for PCRs
and Environmental Product
Declarations (EPDs),
which will provide the
venue for developing PCRs
and verifying EPDs. PCRs
will detail the rules and
guidelines for developing
environmental declarations
for products that can fulfill
equivalent functions. EPDs
will be verified to ensure
their adherence to the ISO
14040 standards, as well
as to ensure that lifecycle
assessment data accurately
describes the environmental
aspects of a product.
. . . while leading economic indicator for U.S. suggests sub-par 2013 growth
T
" Interestingly, we are
seeing this year's economy
repeat the pattern of 2010
and 2011 ... just as the
first quarter discussion
about economic recovery is
finally gaining traction, the
recovery ... disappears. "
According to Swift, Sep16
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM NOVEMBER 2012
tember's uptick in growth,
after three consecutive
months of sub-par growth,
reveals a trend also witnessed
in both 2010 and
2011, where the ACC observed
a strong upswing in
the fourth quarter of the
year, a gradual slowing of
growth in the first quarter,
followed by consecutive
declining months into the
third quarter.
■
http://www.epa.gov http://www.fuelsamerica http://www.astm.org http://www.oecd.org http://www.americanchemistry.com http://WWW.CHE.COM
Chemical Engineering November 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering November 2012
