A California man was arrested and charged Monday with allegedly smuggling potent, planet-heating greenhouse gases from Mexico, marking the first such prosecution in the US, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Michael Hart, a 58-year-old man from San Diego, pleaded not guilty to smuggling hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs — commonly used in air conditioning and refrigeration — and selling them for profit, in a federal court hearing Monday. “The illegal smuggling of hydrofluorocarbons, a highly potent greenhouse gas, undermines international efforts to combat climate change,” said David M. Uhlmann, the assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. In 2016, nearly 200 nations including the US agreed to the Kigali Amendment to reduce planet-heating pollution from these greenhouse gases. Wildflower forecast is murkyWill rains bring another Southern California superbloom?

Source: CNN March 05, 2024 20:19 UTC