By Madhuri Dey

Dec. 26, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The latest step in fighting global warming has been taken. The Consumers Energy and a number of other industries have been asked by the United States government to give an estimate of the amount of greenhouse gas they produce. The latest mandate, which is likely to work at a huge scale, according to Saulius Mikalonis, an environmental attorney, is likely to make its effect felt on many industries in the country, including the chemical production, refineries, and even the incinerators and the municipal landfills.

The latest mandate makes it imperative for these businesses to report their yearly emission of gases like carbon dioxide, sulfur hexafluoride, methane and nitrous oxide. They are also required to report their yearly emissions of fluorinated gases like the hydrofluorocarbons and the perfluorocarbons. However, the reports have to be filed if only the businesses emit more than 25,000 metric tonnes of the greenhouse gases, or comes even close to the parameter.

In case the businesses fail to file a report, the penalty may range to a huge $37,500 for each violation per day. The mandate comes closely after the report that had been issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming that the greenhouse gases are harmful for health and that they contribute considerably to global warming. The smaller businesses feel that they would be incurring much higher expenditure in case there is a limit imposed on the limitations. On the other hand, the EPA has claimed that this process is guaranteed to make these businesses more efficient, and that buy burning a decreased amount of fossil fuels, they would also incur lower costs.