 Environmental Journalism Today |
EJToday is SEJ's annotated selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday: Now on SEJ's new website, as of May 8, 2009. You can search archives previous to this date here, on our old website.
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 | May 7, 2009 |
 | | | Climate Change
National
"Most Emission Permits To Be Free: U.S. Rep. Doyle"
"WASHINGTON -- Most of the pollution emission permits that industry would need under a climate change bill being negotiated in the U.S. House of Representatives will initially be given to companies, instead of sold to them, Representative Mike Doyle said on Wednesday.
The Pennsylvania Democrat, who has been working on portions of the bill aimed at reducing U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, also told reporters that for the first 10 years to 15 years of the program, most of industry's permits would be free." Richard Cowan reports for Reuters May 6, 2009. [Ed. Note: There is no on-the-record confirmation of this story from the committee chairman, and no draft of the legislation has been publicly released.]
- See also: "Industries Push for Free Pollution Credits" (Wall Street Journal)
- "Waxman Said To Offer Free Pollution Credits" (Bloomberg)
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| | | Other
California
"Wind-Whipped Fire Rips Through Santa Barbara Neighborhoods"
"SANTA BARBARA -- Afternoon winds stoked a day-old brush fire into an out-of-control blaze Wednesday in Santa Barbara, sending it hopscotching across exclusive canyon neighborhoods and leaving firefighters nearly powerless before its advance.
The airborne embers ignited multimillion-dollar homes on the ridgetops. Firefighters did not offer an exact count, but photographers in helicopters in the smoky skies estimated that at least 20 homes had been incinerated." Catherine Saillant and Steve Chawkins report for the Los Angeles Times May 6, 2009.
- See also: Mansions Burn (AP)
- Thousands Flee (AP)
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| | | Nuclear Power/Radiation
Southwest
"BLM Authorizes Grand Canyon Uranium Exploration"
"The Bureau of Land Management has authorized several new uranium exploration permits near the Grand Canyon despite a congressional resolution last year barring new claims near the national park.
According to documents released yesterday by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Grand Canyon Trust, BLM on April 27 authorized Quaterra Alaska Inc. to conduct eight uranium mine exploration operations at five separate projects north of Grand Canyon National Park and west of the Kaibab Plateau." Eric Bontrager reports for Greenwire in the New York Times May 6, 2009.
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| | | Forests
National
"Career Conservationist Picked To Oversee Forest Service"
"President Obama nominated a career Agriculture Department employee yesterday to a political post overseeing the Forest Service and farmland conservation programs.
If confirmed by the Senate, Homer Lee Wilkes -- currently the Mississippi state conservationist and a 28-year veteran of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) -- would be undersecretary for natural resources and environment. The post directs the Forest Service and conservation projects at NRCS." Allison Winter and Noelle Straub report for Greenwire in the New York Times May 6, 2009.
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| | | Coasts/Beaches
Alaska and Hawaii
"Shell to Shift Alaska Exploration Plans"
"After battling native communities and environmental groups on Alaska's North Slope over its offshore drilling plans, Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday that it was scaling back its exploration program in the Beaufort Sea.
The company said it had informed the Minerals Management Service on Tuesday that it was withdrawing its drilling plans for the 2007-2009 period, which expires at the end of the year, and that it plans to file a new, more focused, exploration program soon." Jad Mouawad reports for Green Inc. in the New York Times May 6, 2009.
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| | | Cars/Fuels
National
"Ford Truck Plant to Build Electric Cars"
"Amidst one of the auto industry's largest wholesale shifts in modern history, the Ford Motor Company is investing $550 million to turn a factory that was dedicated to making large and fuel-hungry sport utility vehicles into a modern and scalable small-car plant that will eventually produce an all-electric version of the Focus.
The Michigan Assembly Plant, known as one of the world's most profitable manufacturing sites during the S.U.V. boom of the 1990s, was once the hub for the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The plant is expected to begin building the new Ford Focus next year, followed by production of the all-electric Focus in 2011." Nick Chambers reports for Green Inc. in the New York Times May 6, 2009.
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| | | Genetic Engineering
National
Shape-Shifting Fruits And Veggies
Vegetables can be really odd shapes. But what if you could alter fruits and vegetables into just about any shape you wanted? Some avid gardeners come up with strange looking hybrids, but The Environment Report's Julie Grant talked with a researcher who's taking the shape of produce to a whole new level. Aired May 6, 2009.
Author contact information:
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| | | Pesticides/Agriculture
International
"U.N. Seeks To Ban DDT Pesticide and Still Fight Malaria"
"OSLO -- The United Nations announced a plan Wednesday to rid the world by around 2020 of DDT, an outlawed toxic crop pesticide still used to spray homes to fight malaria-spreading mosquitoes.
Ten projects would be set up involving 40 nations in Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia to fight malaria without DDT or other chemicals after a pilot project in Mexico and Central America successfully cut malaria rates." Reuters had the story May 6, 2009.
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| | | Technology/business
National
"US Organic Sales Grow By 17.1 Percent In 2008"
"U.S. sales of organic products, both food and non-food, reached $24.6 billion by the end of 2008, growing an impressive 17.1 percent over 2007 sales despite tough economic times, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which has made available final results from its 2009 Organic Industry Survey." SPX had the story May 7, 2009.
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| May 6, 2009 |
| | | Planning/Development
Great Plains
"Tornado-Ravaged Town Seeks Rebirth as 'Laboratory for Eco-Friendly Living'"
"GREENSBURG, Kan. -- This is the story of a High Plains town, the tornado that broke it and the forces of nature that could build it back.
The EF5 twister -- nearly 2 miles wide -- came from the south two years ago tonight. Winds clocked at more than 200 miles an hour lifted and shredded more than 95 percent of Greensburg's buildings.
A third of the town's 1,400 residents salvaged what they could and left, but those who stayed vowed to build back a 21st-century showcase of sustainability." Michael Burnham reports for Greenwire in the New York Times May 4, 2009.
- See also: Greensburg TV Series on Planet Green
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| | | Endangered Species/Wildlife
Northeast
"Vermont Delegration Seeks Funds for Bat Disease"
"WASHINGTON -- Citing 'profound public health, environmental, and economic implications,' the Vermont congressional delegation today asked the Obama administration for emergency funds to investigate the cause of mysterious bat deaths.
'We ask for your help in providing immediate, emergency funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey for research, management, coordination, and outreach in order to provide an appropriate coordinated response to this deadly, newly emergent disease,' Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The letter also was signed by 23 other members of Congress." The Burlington Free Press had the story May 5, 2009.
- See also: 13 States Ask Funds To Probe Bat Disease (Newark Star Ledger)
- "Forest Service Closes Caves To Stop Bat Fungus" (Guardian)
- "Bat Version of Black Plague" (Chicago Tribune)
- Lawmakers Seek Funding (AP)
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| | | Cars/Fuels
National
"House Reaches Deal on 'Cash for Clunkers'"
"In a major advance for the so-called 'cash for clunkers' program, House negotiators reached a tentative agreement on a plan that would award vouchers of up to $4,500 to vehicle owners who trade in their old cars for more fuel efficient models.
Under the House plan, a car trade-in that improves fuel efficiency by at least 10 miles per gallon would qualify for a $4,500 voucher, as would the trade-in of a small truck that improves efficiency by 5 miles per gallon." David M. Herszenhorn reports in the Caucus blog for the New York Times May 5, 2009.
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| | | Endangered Species/Wildlife
International
"European Parliament Bans Commercial Trade in Seal Products"
"STRASBOURG, France -- The European Parliament voted today to ban most seal products from the European market, eliminating a primary source of revenue for the world's seal hunters. The legislative resolution was adopted with 550 votes in favor, 49 against and 41 abstentions. An exemption is allowed for indigenous communities." Environment News Service had the story May 5, 2009.
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| | | Hazardous Waste
Mountain West
"'Rumple Report' Finally Goes Public"
"LIBBY, Mont. -- An internal memo criticizing the Environmental Protection Agency's cleanup of asbestos in Libby was released to the public last week under less stringent Freedom of Information Act guidelines set by President Barack Obama's administration.
Cory Rumple of the Office of Inspector General division of the EPA reported three years ago the results of his investigation into Libby's cleanup in a memo that has since been referred to as the 'Rumple Report.' Libby residents and others had repeatedly requested that the EPA release the document but were unsuccessful until Tuesday, a week after the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a lawsuit against the OIG division of the EPA for not making the document public." Canda Harbaugh reports for the Libby Western News May 5, 2009.
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| | | Hazardous Waste
National
Yucca Mountain: One Man Switches Sides
Politically speaking, America's nuclear waste storage policy is a mess. Hazardous spent nuclear fuel is supposed to be buried under Nevada's Yucca Mountain, but after two decades - it's not finished. Congress pushed the project onto Nevada in the 80s by passing what's known as the "Screw Nevada Bill." The Environment Report's Shawn Allee met a man who regrets helping put nuclear waste at Nevada's doorstep. Aired May 4, 2009.
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| | | Endangered Species/Wildlife
National
"As Deadline Looms, Interior Mulls Bush's Polar Bear Rule"
"Prominent House Democrats and environmental groups are pressuring the Obama administration to overturn a special rule on polar bears from the Bush administration -- part of an effort to provide another federal tool for addressing climate change and curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Interior Department has until Saturday to throw out the contested polar bear rule, a move that could open the door to scrutinizing the potential emissions of greenhouse gases of a wide range of projects -- from power plant proposals to new housing developments and interstate highway expansions -- as threats to polar-bear habitat.
The special rule in question limits the use of the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The Bush administration finalized the rule in December... ." Allison Winter reports for Greenwire in the New York Times May 4, 2009.
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| | | Climate Change
Great Lakes
Michigan's Cherry-Growers Face Climate Uncertainty
"In the glacier-carved hillsides of northwest Michigan where half of America's tart cherries grow, buds that look like half-burst popcorn will erupt any day into brilliant white blossoms.
But in that six-county area flanking Lake Michigan, climate change is already in full bloom.
The state is two degrees warmer on average than it was 30 years ago, and it's generally wetter, said Michigan State University geographer Jeffrey Andresen, the state climatologist." Andrew McGlashen reports for The Daily Climate May 6, 2009.
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| | | Energy
National
"States Rethink Weatherization Program"
"The state-run Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income families was singled out for big stimulus spending partly because it had worked the same way for nearly 35 years and didn't need adjustments. But governors in some states are proposing brand new approaches that critics say could derail the tried-and-true home insulation program. ... Targeted for hefty stimulus funding, weatherization has been attacked by members of Congress and taxpayer groups who say the local agencies that run the program won't be able to spend the windfall fast enough to generate much needed jobs." Christine Vestal reports for Stateline.org May 5, 2009.
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| | | Other
California
Fruit Foragers In The City
With everybody looking for ways to save money, free food has never looked better. The Environment Report's Devin Browne followed around a group of people who forage for fruit in the city. They look for fruit trees on private and public property to see what they can grab. Aired May 4, 2009.
Author contact information:
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| May 5, 2009 |
| | | Toxics/Chemicals
Mid-Atlantic
Congressional Leaders Call for Deeper Probe of Bayer Bhopal Gas Stockpile
"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Congressional leaders are pushing the U.S. Chemical Safety Board for a more thorough investigation of the methyl isocyanate stockpiled by Bayer CropScience at the company's Institute plant.
Committee leaders from the House and Senate wrote to board Chairman John Bresland on Monday to ask the board to exercise its authority to broadly examine ways to make chemical manufacturing as safe as possible.
'We believe it is past time to consider whether Bayer's continued use and storage of MIC can be justified in light of the health and safety risks it presents to the surrounding community,' said the letter from Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and House Commerce and Energy Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Also signing the letter were Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., and Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
... [H]earing testimony from Bayer CEO William Buckner revealed that the company had hoped citing the secrecy rules would allow Bayer to avoid a public discussion about its stockpile of more than 200,000 pounds of methyl isocyanate, or MIC, the toxic chemical that killed thousands of people in a 1984 leak in Bhopal, India." Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette May 4, 2009.
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| | | Hazardous Waste
National
"Justices Limit Liability Over Toxic Spill Cases"
"The Supreme Court made it harder on Monday for the government to recover the often enormous costs of environmental cleanups from companies with only minor or limited responsibility for toxic spills.
The decision tightened the reach of the Superfund law ... by limiting both the kinds of companies subject to liability and the situations in which partly culpable companies can be made to bear the entire cost of cleanups.
The case arose from environmental contamination from a chemical distribution business in Arvin, Calif. The federal government had sought to hold the Shell Oil Company responsible for selling pesticides to the business, where the chemicals routinely leaked and spilled. The distribution business, Brown & Bryant, later became insolvent and ceased operations.
Shell argued that it could not be held responsible for the spills because it did not qualify under the relevant part of the Superfund law, which applies to companies that 'arranged for disposal' of hazardous substances." Adam Liptak reports for the New York Times May 4, 2009.
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| | | Toxics/Chemicals
International
150 Nations Mull Ban on 9 New Toxic Chemicals
"GENEVA -- Experts and officials from some 150 countries started talks on Monday on banning production of nine chemicals considered potentially dangerous but still used in farming and for other commercial purposes.
If agreement is reached at the week-long meeting, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the nine will join a list of 12 other so-called persistent organic pollutants, or POPS, long targeted for elimination." Robert Evans reports for Reuters May 4, 2009.
- See also: "The Challenges of a POPs-free Future" (Environment News Service)
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| | | Endangered Species/Wildlife
National
"Report Shows U.S. Wildlife Trade Poorly Regulated"
"Wildlife imports into the United States are fragmented and insufficiently coordinated, failing to accurately list more than four in five species entering the country, a team of scientists has found. The effect, the scientists write in a paper in this week's issue of Science, is that a range of diseases is introduced into the United States, potentially decimating species, devastating ecosystems and threatening food supply chains and human health." SPX had the story May 5, 2009.
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| | | Endangered Species/Wildlife
National
"Gray Wolf Withdrawn from US Endangered List"
"Thirty-five years being hunted to near extinction, the gray wolf on Monday was taken off the US list of endangered species, clearing the way for it to be hunted again in most states.
'We have recovered a wolf population,' said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the western state of Montana.
'The populations are viable, they are in great shape, they have extreme genetic diversity and so the Endangered Species Act did its job to bring wolves back,' Bangs said. ... The gray wolf (canis lupus) was placed on the endangered list in 1974 after the animals were almost eliminated in many US states." AFP had the story May 4, 3009.
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| | | Public Lands
Southwest
"Court Blocks Oil and Gas Drilling on New Mexico's Otero Mesa"
"DENVER -- One of the last undisturbed areas of Chihuahuan desert in the United States has been saved from a Bush-era plan to develop it for oil and gas. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision last week invalidating the Bush administration's drilling plan for the 1.2 million acre stretch of New Mexico grassland known as Otero Mesa.
Written in 2005, the Bush plan for Otero Mesa opened to oil and gas drilling more than 90 percent of public lands under the federal Bureau of Land Management's jurisdiction in the area between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the new oil and gas development plan claiming it violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act." Environment News Service had the story May 4, 2009.
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| | | Toxics/Chemicals
National
"Thousands of Kids Exposed to Dangerous Liquid Mercury"
"When children encounter long-forgotten stashes of liquid mercury, schools have to shut down for days or weeks and the toxic trail left in classrooms, buses, homes and communities costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up. Found in many old science labs and used in some cultural ceremonies, mercury triggered more than 37,000 calls to U.S. poison control centers in a five-year period. One specialist found traces in 40% of schools tested." Jessica A. Knoblauch reports for Environmental Health News May 5, 2009.
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| | | Air Quality
Great Plains
"New Governor Approves One Coal-Fired Power Plant for Kansas"
"TOPEKA -- In a stunning reversal from his predecessor, Gov. Mark Parkinson on Monday signed an agreement ending a two-year fight over plans to build coal-fired power plants in western Kansas.
The compromise allows Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build one 895-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Holcomb, instead of two 700-megawatt plants that were repeatedly blocked by Kathleen Sebelius when she was governor.
In exchange for the go-ahead, Sunflower will build more wind turbines and agree to more pollution controls and a greater investment in energy efficiency." David Klepper reports for the Kansas City Star May 4, 2009.
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| | | Pesticides/Agriculture
Northeast
DDT Should Only Be Last Resort for Malaria: Scientists
"DDT should be used only 'with caution' in combating malaria, a panel of scientists reported today. People in Africa and Asia could be at risk of serious health effects from the pesticide sprayed inside their homes and authorized by the World Health Organization and U.S. aid program, they said." Marla Cone reports for Environmental Health News May 4, 2009.
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| | | Energy
National
"Obama Faces Climate Test with EPA Rule on Ethanol"
"President Barack Obama's administration will face a big test on fighting climate change when it seeks to determine if ethanol, the top U.S. alternative motor fuel, cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release a draft rule as early as this week that measures carbon dioxide emissions from biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel after the White House's Office of Management and Budget finished its review last week.
The rule, known as the updated Renewable Fuels Standard, or RFS-2, will measure direct biofuel emissions -- those given off from production of the fuels and their burning in engines." Timothy Gardner reports for Reuters May 4, 2009.
- See also: White House To Form Biofuels Group (Reuters)
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| | | Endangered Species/Wildlife
International
Backyard Scientists Use Web to Catalog Species, Aid Research
John D. Sutter of CNN.com looks at the global citizen science movement in the era of climate change and species loss. One expert says the efforts of backyard biologists will lead to the "democratization of science." Technology -- including an iPhone app that may be able to auto-identify tree leaves -- stands to advance the field considerably. Posted May 4, 2009.
Author contact information:
- See also: CNN SciTech blog: more on citizen science
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| May 4, 2009 |
| | | Lakes/Rivers/Wetlands
National
"EPA Seeks Rules for Utilities' Runoff"
"Faced with new evidence that utilities across the country are dumping toxic sludge into waterways, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to impose new restrictions on the level of contaminants power plants can discharge. Plants in Florida, Pennsylvania and several other states have flushed wastewater with levels of selenium and other toxins that far exceed the EPA's freshwater and saltwater standards aimed at protecting aquatic life, according to data the agency has collected over the past few years. ... [T]he federal government has pressed utilities to install pollution-control 'scrubbing' technology that captures contaminants headed for smokestacks and stores them as coal ash or sludge. The EPA estimates that these two types of coal combustion residue -- often kept in outdoor pools or flushed into nearby rivers and streams -- amount to roughly 130,000 tons per year and will climb to an estimated 175,000 tons by 2015." Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post May 3, 2009.
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| | | Drinking Water
Great Lakes
"3M Water Suit Goes to Trial Trimmed"
"The 3M Co. pollution case -- at least, what's left of it -- staggers into court today. Dozens of lawyers have been working since 2005 for this day, the start of a jury trial expected to last eight weeks. Chemicals found in Washington County drinking water have cost the company more than $56 million in cleanup costs, and the current lawsuit could boost that by millions. But as big as the lawsuit is, it is a puny version of what it could have been." Bob Shaw reports for the St. Paul Pioneer Press May 3, 2009.
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| | | Nuclear Power/Radiation
Northeast
"Inspectors Find Safety Problems at Nuclear Weapons Complex"
"Contractors at one of the nation's major nuclear weapons complexes repeatedly used substandard construction materials and components that, could've caused a major radioactive spill, a recently completed internal government probe has found. One of the materials used at the Savannah River Site on the South Carolina-Georgia border failed to meet federal safety standards and 'could have resulted in a spill of up to 15,000 gallons of high-level radioactive waste,' the Energy Department's inspector general found." James Rosen reports for McClatchy Newspapers May 3, 2009.
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| | | Drinking Water
Mid-Atlantic
"Gas Drillers Battle Pennsylvania Pollution Concerns"
"HICKORY, Pennsylvania -- U.S. energy companies rushing to exploit Pennsylvania's massive natural gas reserves have launched a public relations campaign to calm fears the bonanza is contaminating water with toxic chemicals." Jon Hurdle reports for Reuters May 4, 2009.
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| | | Nuclear Power/Radiation
Northeast
"At the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, a Pipe Leak Raises Concerns"
"The discovery of water flowing across the floor of a building at the Indian Point 2 nuclear plant in Buchanan, N.Y., traced to a leak in a buried pipe, is stirring concern about the plant's underground pipes and those of other aging reactors across the country." Matthew L. Wald reports for the New York Times May 1, 2009.
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| | | Coasts/Beaches
Mid-Atlantic
EPA Kills Lowering of Chesapeake Goals
The Chesapeake Bay's water and ecosystems had been getting worse despite 25 years of cleanup efforts. The state and federal agencies responsible had started a study on whether to lower expectations for the Bay. But J. Charles Fox, a senior EPA advisor in the new Obama administration, led a move to stop the study. David A. Fahrenthold reports for the Washington Post May 4, 2009.
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| | | Oceans
International
"Finding Space for All in Our Crowded Seas"
"The ocean is getting crowded: Fishermen are competing with offshore wind projects, oil rigs along with sand miners, recreational boaters, liquefied gas tankers and fish farmers. So a growing number of groups -- including policymakers, academics, activists and industry officials -- now say it's time to divvy up space in the sea." Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post May 4, 2009.
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| | | Hazardous Waste
Northeast
"Kiddie Kollege Ruling Could Have Broad Impact"
"A New Jersey Superior Court judge's decision last week to void the deed to a contaminated day-care building, freeing the owner from cleanup costs, has sparked a wide range of reactions and debate about its implications. The decision infuriated parents who sued the building owner after their children breathed poisoned air in the now-shuttered Kiddie Kollege. But it was applauded by some lawyers because it took up the cause for investors who buy contaminated industrial sites without fair warning of the pollution. In the nine-page opinion, Judge James E. Rafferty said a Franklin Township real estate broker who acquired a bankrupt thermometer factory and then rented it to the day care was not properly informed of the contamination." Jan Hefler reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer May 4, 2009.
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| | | Toxics/Chemicals
National
"Study Shows Link Between Air Pollution, Contaminated Seafood"
"A federal study released today explains for the first time the link between global mercury emissions and the contamination of tuna and other marine life in the North Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Geological Survey study documents the formation in the North Pacific of methylmercury, a highly toxic form of mercury that rapidly accumulates in the food chain to levels that can cause serious health concerns for people who consume seafood. Scientists have known for some time that mercury deposited from the atmosphere can be transformed into methylmercury, but the study focuses on how that transformation occurs." Noelle Straub reports for Greenwire in the New York Times May 1, 2009.
- See also: Supreme Court Lets Tuna Liability Case Stand (Dow Jones Newswire)
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| | | Drinking Water
Great Lakes
"3M Water Suit Goes to Trial Trimmed"
"The 3M Co. pollution case -- at least, what's left of it -- staggers into court today. Dozens of lawyers have been working since 2005 for this day, the start of a jury trial expected to last eight weeks. Chemicals found in Washington County drinking water have cost the company more than $56 million in cleanup costs, and the current lawsuit could boost that by millions. But as big as the lawsuit is, it is a puny version of what it could have been." Bob Shaw reports for the St. Paul Pioneer Press May 3, 2009.
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| | | Environmental Politics
National
97 U.S. Coal Plants Scuttled, Sierra Club Cheers
"Cancellation of a coal-fired power plant in Michigan announced on Friday brings to 97 the number of plants scuttled since 2001, said the Sierra Club, an environmental group that opposes coal plants because they are major emitters of gasses blamed for global warming. Plans remain active for only 59 of the 220 coal coal-fired plants planned and in various stages of permitting since 2001, said Bruce Nilles, head of the Sierra Club's campaign to eliminate coal-fired power plants in the United States." Bernie Woodall reports for Reuters May 1, 2009.
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| | | Hazardous Waste
Great Lakes
"Dioxin Study Near Mich. Dow Plant Draws Scrutiny"
"DETROIT -- A study that measures human exposure to dioxins in a Lake Huron watershed polluted by a Dow Chemical Co. plant is drawing criticism from Michigan regulators negotiating with the company over a long-delayed cleanup. A statistician hired by the Department of Environmental Quality recently advised regulators not to use the Dow-funded study as a basis for decisions about dealing with the dioxin contamination -- at least until problems he identified were fixed." John Flesher reports for the Associated Press May 3, 2009.
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| | | Oceans
International
Garbage Patch Widens, and Solutions Emerge
David Ferris of Sierra magazine examines the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the ocean's growing soup of plastic in the May issue. This in-depth feature breaks news on especially harmful products, the connection between marine plastics and invasive species, and how California proposes to halt ocean trash.
Author contact information: David Ferris 415-221-9500
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| | | Energy
International
Hailed as a Miracle Biofuel, Jatropha Falls Short of Hype
The scrubby jatropha tree has been touted as a wonder biofuel with unlimited potential. But questions are now emerging as to whether widespread jatropha cultivation is really feasible or whether it will simply displace badly-needed food crops in the developing world, Jon Luoma writes in Yale Environment 360 May 4, 2009.
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| May 1, 2009 |
| | | Air Quality
National
"White House Finishes Review of Ethanol Draft Rule"
"The White House has finished a review of a rule that aims to cut emissions from alternative motor fuels like ethanol, federal environmental regulators said on Thursday.
The Office of Management and Budget has completed the review of the Environmental Protection Agency's rule and 'we will determine what further action to take,' the EPA said in a prepared statement.
The action occurred on Wednesday, a government Web site showed.
The EPA would not reveal details of the rule and would not say when it would be made public.
The agency has proposed refinements of the 2007 U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard which mandated the blending into gasoline of 36 billion gallons per year of fuels like ethanol from corn, biodiesel and second-generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol by 2022."
Timothy Gardner reports for Reuters April 30, 2009.
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| | | Technology/business
National
"Bringing Efficiency to the Infrastructure"
"In the mid-1990s, the Internet took off because its technological time had come. Years of steady progress in developing more powerful and less expensive computers, Web software and faster communications links finally came together.
A similar pattern is emerging today, experts say, for what is being called smart infrastructure -- more efficient and environmentally friendlier systems for managing, among other things, commuter traffic, food distribution, electric grids and waterways. This time, the crucial technological ingredients include low-cost sensors and clever software for analytics and visualization, as well as computing firepower." Steve Lohr reports for the New York Times April 29, 2009.
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| | | Climate Change
International
Insurance Industry Could Play Key Role in Post-Kyoto Deal
"Imperiled people worldwide might be saved financially from rising climate risk by 'a little paragraph' in the global framework on climate change being drafted this December in Copenhagen. The blurb could give insurance a formal role in international efforts to confront increasing threats related to drought, flooding and growing storms. That could spark a sweeping change, participants say, if one of the world's largest industries is mobilized to help protect populations. One suggestion promotes the creation of a global insurance pool meant to protect billions of people." Evan Lehmann reports for ClimateWire in the New York Times April 30, 2009.
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| | | Air Quality
California
"The Worst Air in the US? It's Not in L.A."
"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- At Uricchio's Trattoria, a street caf on 17th St., the smell of sizzling garlic wafts into the air tinged lightly with the aroma of ... exhaust. ... Bakersfield has moved into first place as the city with the most fine particulate pollution, according to report released Wednesday by the American Lung Association, which annually ranks America's cities with the unhealthiest air. Last year, the city was third behind Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. And for the third year in a row, Bakersfield ranks as the nation's second smoggiest city. It comes in just behind Los Angeles in the cities most polluted by ozone, the gas that forms a major component of smog." Daniel B. Wood reports for the Christian Science Monitor April 30, 2009.
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| | | Climate Change
National
"Farm Groups Seek Stake in House Climate Bill "
"As House Democrats work behind closed doors to shore up support on a major energy and climate bill, agriculture groups are pleading for major changes to make it more palatable in farm states. Representatives from two major farm groups told the House Small Business Committee yesterday that the bill should include a bigger role for the Agriculture Department and more offsets for farmers." Allison Winter reports for ClimateWire in the New York Times April 30, 2009.
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| April 30, 2009 |
| | | Toxics/Chemicals
National
Bayer Tank That Blew Up in West Virginia Lacked Permit
"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Bayer CropScience lacked a required permit for the chemical tank that blew up last August and killed two workers, state Department of Environmental Protection officials said Wednesday.
DEP Secretary Randy Huffman said his agency's inspectors have determined the tank should have had a hazardous waste permit under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
'That tank is not exempt from RCRA,' Huffman said. 'Obviously, Bayer disagrees with that. They thought it was exempt.'
Mike Zeto, DEP's chief inspector, wrote to Bayer about the issue on Friday.
'It does not appear that Bayer's RT tank is exempt from regulations under RCRA as a recycling process,' Zeto wrote. 'The tank is a fully regulated tank as defined under RCRA, therefore, future operation of this and similar tank(s) need to be to be properly managed under RCRA.'" Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette April 29, 2009. Bayer had sought to prevent the public from hearing the results of a U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigation into the causes of the incident.
| |
| | | Drinking Water
Great Lakes
EPA Seizes Files from Chicago Suburb in Tainted Well Case
"Federal agents raided government offices in south suburban Crestwood on Wednesday, less than two weeks after a Tribune investigation revealed the village had secretly pumped drinking water from a polluted well for more than two decades.
Acting on a search warrant obtained by U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald's office, investigators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spent most of the day collecting records from Crestwood Village Hall, the public works department and the Police Department. They carted away several boxes of documents and took computers for further review.
The involvement of federal prosecutors signals a significant turn in the case. Most violations of environmental laws are handled in civil court, and criminal pollution investigations typically are directed at corporations and individuals, not municipalities." The raid follows an April 19 Chicago Tribune report that village residents for years drank water contaminated with chemicals linked to cancer, liver damage and other ailments. Michael Hawthorne and Carmen Greco Jr. report for the Chicago Tribune April 30, 2009.
| |
| | | Energy
National
"Utilities and Transmission Managers Try To Head Off Congressional Grid Plans"
"Major utilities and grid operators are planning an expansion of the Eastern interconnection grid to handle a huge increase in renewable power, seeking to head off congressional proposals for federal grid planning.
The initiative was launched April 8 at a private meeting at the Atlanta airport, attended by officials of the PJM Interconnection, Midwest ISO, ISO New England, New York ISO, the Southeastern Electric Reliability Council, Duke Energy, Entergy Corp., Florida Power & Light, Progress Energy, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Southern Co., Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator, and other companies."
Peter Behr reports for ClimateWire in the New York Times April 29, 2009.
| |
| | | Environmental Politics
National
"Accused BLM Monkey-Wrencher Pleads Not Guilty"
"Tim DeChristopher pleaded 'not guilty' Tuesday to disrupting a Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction in December and pledged to use his prosecution to attack policies he says are allowing climate change to careen out of control.
About 200 supporters rallied for the 27-year-old University of Utah student at the downtown Salt Lake City library and marched with him to the federal courthouse, where he was arraigned and his weeklong trial was scheduled to begin July 6." Judy Fahys and Brandon Loomis report for the Salt Lake Tribune April 29, 2009.
| |
| | | Climate Change
International
"Climate Law Poses Trade Risks; Lawmakers Unsure How To Respond"
"From the East Coast to the West and across the political spectrum, House lawmakers remain divided over how to protect America from losing a competitive edge to China and other nations under climate change legislation.
At issue is how to prevent cement, steel, aluminum and other energy-intensive industries from responding to proposed new laws that could have the effect of slashing emissions by shuttering factories only to reopen them in countries unfettered by costly regulations.
Some lawmakers like the idea of charging a 'border' tax on imports from countries that don't play by the same rules. Others say giving import-challenged U.S. companies a financial break, in the form of either rebates or a percentage of free carbon 'allowances,' is best. All the ideas come with vocal opposition -- some with legal challenges -- and policymakers are far from reaching a consensus on any approach." Lisa Friedman reports for ClimateWire in the New York Times April 29, 2009.
| |
| | | Garbage/Recycling
Northeast
Sludge Happens
Today, more than half the 15 trillion gallons of sewage Americans flush annually is processed into products with names like BioEdge, Nitrohumus, and Vital Cycle and spread on farmland, lawns, and home vegetable gardens. Turning sewage into a potent, inexpensive fertilizer means cleaner rivers and oceans. But as sludge has spread across the country, so have concerns that it may cause as many environmental problems as it solves. Sludge's dirty secret is that it may contain anything that goes down the drain -- from Prozac flushed down toilets to motor oil hosed from factory floors. Might there be a better way to get rid of sludge? Perhaps, thanks to this nifty fact: A single American's daily sludge output can generate enough power to light a 60-watt bulb for more than nine hours a day. Josh Harkinson reports in Mother Jones' May-June 2009 issue.
Author contact information: Josh Harkinson
| |
| | | Climate Change
International
Arctic Nations Order Investigation of Ice-Melting Black Carbon
"Led by the Arctic nations, governments are beginning to take action on a newly recognized climate threat that has been right in front of our eyes for decades: the soot that spews from diesel engines and forms hazy blankets over villages that use wood- and dung-burning cook-stoves and areas where forests have been cleared by burning." Laura Shin reports for SolveClimate April 30, 2009.
Author contact information: Laura Shin
| |
| April 29, 2009 |
| | | Endangered Species/Wildlife
National
"Gov't Revokes Rule Limiting Species Protections"
"Federal agencies again will have to consult with government wildlife experts before taking actions that could have an impact on threatened or endangered species.
The Obama administration said Tuesday it was overturning a rule change made in the final weeks of the Bush presidency.
Officials at the Interior and Commerce departments said they have reimposed the consultation requirement that assured the government's top biologists involved in species protection will have a say in federal action that could harm plants, animals and fish that are at risk of extinction.
Such consultation had been required for more than two decades until the Bush administration made it optional in rules issued last December, just weeks before the change in administrations. Environmentalists argued that the change severely reduced the protection afforded under the federal Endangered Species Act." H. Josef Hebert reports for the Associated Press April 28, 2009.
- See also: Interior Reinstates Species Reviews (Washington Post)
- "U.S. Interior Revokes Bush Endangered Species Rule" (Reuters)
| |
| | | Air Quality
Southwest
"EPA Withdraws Permit for Massive Navajo Coal Plant"
"U.S. environmental regulators said they have withdrawn a permit for a massive coal-fired power plant that had been scheduled to be built on the Navajo Nation to send electricity to populated areas to the West. The Environmental Protection Agency late on Monday withdrew the air permit that was issued last summer for the proposed 1,500 megawatt Desert Rock power plant. Sithe Global Power, LLC had planned to build the plant in northwestern New Mexico and send its power to rapidly-growing cities in Arizona and Nevada." Timothy Gardner reports for Reuters April 28, 2009.
| |
| | | Climate Change
International
"Countries Meet to Negotiate Global Climate Pact"
"Representatives from the world's major emitters of greenhouse gases wrapped up two days of talks in Washington today, saying they had made modest progress toward their goal of reaching a global climate pact in December.
The meeting of 17 nations -- one of three preliminary meetings before world leaders meet in Italy in July -- represented the relaunch of a process that former President George W. Bush initiated to address global warming outside of the formal United Nations climate negotiations. The Obama administration decided to continue the sessions, now called the Major Economies Forum, as a way of building what Obama deputy national security adviser Michael Froman called 'political momentum for the development and deployment' of new, low-carbon technologies, as well as for the U.N talks.
Delegates from an array of nations described the two-day session as a trust-building exercise in which representatives could share blunt perspectives about how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide." Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post April 28, 2009.
- See also: "Clinton Says U.S. Is Ready to Lead on Climate" (New York Times)
- World's Largest Economies Start Climate Push (McClatchy)
- Draft Climate Proposals Reveal Split (Reuters)
| |
| | | Environmental Justice
International
"In Ecuador, High Stakes in Case Against Chevron"
"LAGO AGRIO, Ecuador -- Deep in the northern Ecuadoran rain forest, next to pits filled with noxious sludge, a lawyer on his very first case argued that a U.S. oil company had deliberately fouled a swath of jungle nearly the size of Delaware during two decades of production.
Wearing a straw hat for the recent outdoor hearing, Pablo Fajardo was delivering the final arguments in a lawsuit that began in New York in 1993 against Texaco but is wrapping up here against Chevron, which bought Texaco in 2001. The stakes are high -- and so tinged with nationalism that Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has openly sided with the plaintiffs, 48 individuals representing tens of thousands of people in the region.
If the judge rules against Chevron, the company could face the largest damages award ever handed down in an environmental case, dwarfing the $3.9 billion awarded against ExxonMobil for the 1989 spill in Alaska." Juan Forero reports for the Washington Post April 28, 2009.
| |
| | | Climate Change
International
'Super GHGs' Send Chills Though Climate Debate
"The growing global demand for air-conditioning and refrigeration -- humanity's need to cool things off -- is ironically now emerging as one of the biggest potential contributors to future global warming. The U.S. State Department now appears to be engaging on the HFC issue on the international stage through its involvement with the Montreal Protocol." David Sassoon reports for SolveClimate April 28, 2009.
Author contact information:
| |
| | | Environmental Politics
National
"EPA Nominees Pledge Action on Enforcement, Superfund"
"Three of President Obama's picks to serve in the top echelons of U.S. EPA pledged today to step up enforcement activities, clean up neglected Superfund sites and tackle global environmental problems.
The Obama administration's nominees to head EPA's offices of enforcement and compliance, toxic waste and emergency response, and international affairs faced scrutiny from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where they received support from both sides of the aisle." The nominees included Cynthia Giles to head the enforcement office, Mathy Stanislaus to head the solid waste and emergency response office, and Michelle DePass to headthe international affairs office." Robin Bravender reports for Greenwire in the New York Times April 28, 2009.
- See also: Senators Stall McCarthy's Confirmation to EPA Air Post (Connecticut Post)
- Peter Silva Nominated as EPA Water Office Chief (Water and Wastewater)
| |
| | | Lakes/Rivers/Wetlands
Northeast
"Pill-Disposal Idea Hard for Drug Companies To Swallow"
"Maine could become the first state to require drug companies to collect and dispose of unused medications that might otherwise be misused or flushed into rivers and streams. The idea received strong support from state agencies and both public health and environmental advocates during a legislative hearing this month. But strong opposition from the pharmaceutical industry means it might be headed for postponement, or defeat. The Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee is expected to decide Thursday whether to move the bill forward." John Richardson reports for the Portland Press Herald April 28, 2009.
| |
| | | Nuclear Power/Radiation
International
"Espionage and the 'Nuclear Renaissance'"
"More than two decades ago, the French secret service bombed and sank a Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior, which was being used to protest French nuclear testing in the South Pacific. One person died in the attack.
Mistrust between the French government and the environmental organization has persisted since that incident, and the latest confrontation focuses on Electricite de France, the state-backed company that runs the nearly 60 reactors that supply France with about 80 percent of its electricity.
French judges last month opened an investigation into allegations that the power company's executives may have been involved in espionage -- including breaking into computer systems at Greenpeace offices." James Kanter reports in Green Inc. for the New York Times April 28, 2009.
- See also: "A Key Energy Industry Nervously Awaits Its 'Rebirth' " (ClimateWire/New York Times)
| |
| | | Air Quality
National
"Study: Most Americans Live in High Pollution Areas"
"LOS ANGELES -- Sixty percent of Americans live in areas with unhealthy air pollution levels, despite a growing green movement and more stringent laws aimed at improving air quality, according to a new study on air pollution. The study to be released Wednesday by the American Lung Association ranks cities and counties as the most and least polluted. It was based on the most current air quality measurements reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by state and local agencies between 2005 and 2007." Noaki Schwartz reports for the Associated Press April 28, 2009.
| |
| | | Drinking Water
Southeast
"US Does About-Face on Camp Lejeune's Tap Water"
"Nearly 12 years ago, a federal report told Marines and their families that adults faced little or no increased cancer risk from drinking and bathing in chemical-tainted water at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune. That report -- long challenged by skeptical veterans -- no longer stands. Federal health officials said Tuesday they were withdrawing their 1997 assessment of health effects from the water contamination because of omissions and scientific inaccuracy." Rita Beamish reports for the Associated Press April 28, 2009.
| |
| | | Coasts/Beaches
Southeast
"Florida House Approves Oil Drilling Bill, But Senate Won't Hear It"
"TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist and Senate leaders put the brakes on a bill to open the door to near-shore oil drilling off Florida's coast Monday just as it won overwhelmingly approval in a fast-tracked vote in the House.
Moments after the House voted 70-43 -- with only two Democrats in support and only three Republicans against -- Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander told reporters the idea has run out of time this session. Senate President Jeff Atwater underscored that message at the end of the day. ...
Crist said Monday he was concerned about the 'lateness of the hour' and the 'closeness to shore' of the plan to give the governor and Cabinet authority to accept applications for oil and gas drilling between three and 10 miles off Florida's beaches." Mary Ellen Klas reports for the Miami Herald April 28, 2009.
| |
| | | Drinking Water
National
"Officials in Three States Pin Water Woes on Gas Drilling"
The U.S. natural gas industry says new drilling methods at new sites offer an answer to energy and climate problems. Northeastern Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale formations are "increasingly touted as one of the country's most abundant and cleanest alternatives to oil.... bringing much-needed jobs and millions of dollars in royalties to cash-strapped homeowners. But a string of documented cases of gas escaping into drinking water -- not just in Pennsylvania but across North America -- is raising new concerns about the hidden costs of this economic tide and strengthening arguments across the country that drilling can put drinking water at risk." Abrahm Lustgarten exposes some of the dangers for ProPublica April 26, 2009. The story also looks at cases in Ohio and Colorado.
| |
| April 28, 2009 |
| | | Health
International
"Mexico Outbreak Traced to 'Manure Lagoons' at Pig Farm"
"MEXICO CITY -- The first known case of swine flu emerged a fortnight earlier than previously thought in a village where residents have long complained about the smell and flies from a nearby pig farm, it emerged last night.
The Mexican Government said it initially thought that the victim, Edgar Hernandez, 4, was suffering from ordinary influenza but laboratory testing has since shown that he had contracted swine flu. The boy went on to make a full recovery ...
The boy's hometown, La Gloria, is also close to a pig farm that raises almost 1 million animals a year. The facility, Granjas Carroll de Mexico, is partly owned by Smithfield Foods, a Virginia-based US company and the world's largest producer and processor of pork products.
It is now known that there was a widespread outbreak of a powerful respiratory disease in the La Gloria area earlier this month, with some of the town's residents falling ill in February. Health workers soon intervened, sealing off the town and spraying chemicals to kill the flies that were reportedly swarming through people's homes.
A spokeswoman for Smithfield, Keira Ullrich, said that the company had found no clinical signs or symptoms of the presence of swine influenza in its swine herd or its employees working at its joint ventures anywhere in Mexico." Chris Ayres reports for The Times of London April 28, 2009.
- See also: "Family of Early Mexican Victim of Swine Flu Kept in Dark" (Los Angeles Times)
- "WHO Raises Global Alert Level" (AP)
- "5 Things You Need To Know" (TIME)
- "Outbreak Threatens Global Recovery" (Washington Post)
| |
| | | Air Quality
National
"Bush-Era Power Plant Rules Now Under Review"
"U.S. EPA will reconsider three controversial power plant regulations finalized under the Bush administration, the agency announced today.
The agency plans to reconsider Bush-era New Source Review (NSR) regulations regarding how 'fugitive' emissions are used to determine whether industries will be forced to upgrade air pollution controls, a rule addressing how facilities keep records on emissions and a rule governing how industries account for air emissions associated with fine particle pollution when obtaining a permit."
Robin Bravender reports for Greenwire in the New York Times April 27, 2009.
| |
| | | Climate Change
International
"New York City-Sized Ice Collapses off Antarctica"
"TROMSOE, Norway -- An area of an Antarctic ice shelf almost the size of New York City has broken into icebergs this month after the collapse of an ice bridge widely blamed on global warming, a scientist said Tuesday.
'The northern ice front of the Wilkins Ice Shelf has become unstable and the first icebergs have been released,' Angelika Humbert, glaciologist at the University of Muenster in Germany, said of European Space Agency satellite images of the shelf.
Humbert told Reuters about ... 270.3 sq mile of ice ... almost the size of New York City -- has broken off the Wilkins this month and shattered into a mass of icebergs.
She said [it was] the latest of about 10 shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula to retreat in a trend linked by the U.N. Climate Panel to global warming." Alister Doyle reports for Reuters April 28, 2009.
| |
| | | Environmental Politics
National
"CDC Sits on Documents"
"Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have generated about 4,000 pages of documents assessing risks to the agency's reputation posed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's reporting.
But the CDC is keeping those records secret, despite directives from the Obama administration that federal agencies presume government records are open to the public under the federal Freedom of Information Act." Alison Young reports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution April 26, 2009.
| |
| | | Energy
National
"Building Power Lines Creates A Web Of Problems"
"To create a new energy economy using much more solar and wind power, the Obama administration needs to build thousands of miles of new transmission lines. Despite the promise that these are needed to get more green energy from solar and wind generators, the proposal faces a host of obstacles." Christopher Joyce reports for NPR's Morning Edition April 28, 2009, in the 3rd part of a 10-part multimedia series, "Power Hungry: Reinventing The U.S. Electric Grid."
- See also: "Power Hungry" Series Portal
| |
| | | Mining
Canada
"Court Orders Canada to Report Pollution Data for Mines"
"OTTAWA -- The Federal Court of Canada has ruled that the Canadian government must stop withholding data on one of the country's largest sources of pollution -- millions of metric tonnes of toxic mine tailings and waste rock from mining operations.
The ruling came late Thursday in a case brought by two environmental groups -- Great Lakes United and Mining Watch Canada -- represented by Ecojustice, a public interest law firm.
...
The Federal Court sided with the environmental groups and issued an Order demanding that the federal government immediately begin publicly reporting mining pollution data from 2006 onward to the National Pollutant Release Inventory, NPRI." Environment News Service had the story April 27, 2009.
| |
| | | Energy
International
A Potential Breakthrough In Harnessing the Sun's Energy
New solar thermal technology overcomes the major challenge facing solar power -- how to store the sun's heat for use at night or on a rainy day, David Biello writes in Yale Environment 360 April 27, 2009. As researchers tout its promise, solar thermal plants are under construction or planned from Spain to Australia to the U.S. Southwest.
| |
| | | Fisheries
Great Lakes
"At Walleye Fest, Many Unaware of Toxic Dangers"
"FREELAND, Mich. -- Walleye Fest in this Saginaw County village is advertised on the state's Pure Michigan tourism Web site as a three-day event 'celebrating all things walleye.' But any visitors who had planned on checking out the fishing celebration or those who showed up to this past weekend's event sponsored by Dow Chemical probably wouldn't have have known that the Tittabawassee River and the fish coming out of it contain dangerous levels of toxins." Eartha Jane Melzer reports for the Michigan Messenger April 27, 2009.
| |
| | | Other
National
National Trust Lists Most Endangered Historic Sites
"The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which today releases its annual list of the most endangered historic places in the United States, is urging the federal government to do more to encourage homeowners and businesses to recycle existing structures rather than build new ones." Steve Vogel reports for the Washington Post April 28, 2009.
- See also: List
| |
| April 27, 2009 |
| | | Coasts/Beaches
Southeast
"100-Year Flood Protection Not Enough for New Orleans, New Report Says"
"A 100-year level of levee protection from hurricane storm surge is inadequate for a major city like New Orleans, and officials should consider relocating residents out of the most vulnerable areas, says a new report by the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council.
New Orleans residents need to recognize that no matter how high or sturdy they're built, the levees and floodwalls surrounding the city cannot provide absolute protection against overtopping or failure in extreme events, the scientists and engineers concluded." Sheila Grissett and Mark Schleifstein report for the New Orleans Times-Picayune April 24, 2009.
| |
| | | Hazardous Waste
National
"Without Superfund Tax, Stimulus Aids Cleanups"
"VINELAND, N.J. -- The Superfund program to clean up the nation's most contaminated industrial sites was established nearly 30 years ago on the principle that those responsible for toxic pollution should pay for it.
So why is the government spending $600 million in stimulus money to work on sites like the defunct arsenic-fouled Vineland Chemical Company plant here in South Jersey?
Environmental Protection Agency officials and environmentalists say the Superfund program has been chronically underfinanced since a tax that supported it expired in 1995.
What is more, the old Vineland plant, like hundreds of other toxic dumps, is a so-called orphan site, meaning that either no responsible party has been found or money from the original polluter has been exhausted. So the taxpayer is on the hook for the remedial work." John M. Broder reports for the New York Times April 25, 2009.
| |
| | | Environmental Politics
National
"Jackson Commits to Transparency in Fishbowl Memo"
"U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson committed to transparency yesterday, promising in a memo to employees that the agency would conduct its business 'in a fishbowl.'
'The American people will not trust us to protect their health or their environment if they do not trust us to be transparent and inclusive in our decision-making,' Jackson wrote. 'To earn this trust, we must conduct business with the public openly and fairly.'
Jackson became the latest of many EPA administrators to issue a 'fishbowl memo,' promising to keep agency activities open to the public. Former Administrator William Ruckelshaus began the tradition when he issued a similar document in 1983 in an attempt to rebuild the agency's image and morale after scandals in the Superfund program." Robin Bravender reports for Greenwire in the New York Times April 24, 2009.
| |
| | | Endangered Species/Wildlife
National
"Interior Sends Revised Endangered Species Rule to OMB"
"The Interior Department is proceeding with a final rule revamping changes that the Bush administration made to Endangered Species Act regulations in its final months.
The department sent a final rule on ESA consultations to the White House Office of Management and Budget yesterday, OMB said. The move suggests Interior will use authority given it by Congress in a recent spending bill to fast-track the regulatory rewrite without going through the normal full review process.
At issue is the Bush administration's revision of a rule that required federal agencies to consult with Fish and Wildlife Service biologists before undertaking actions that might threaten a protected species. The Bush rule made biological consultations optional, allowing agencies to proceed with projects if they maintained there would be little threat to a species." Allison Winter reports for Greenwire in the New York Times April 24, 2009.
| |
| | | Oceans
National
"U.S. Launches National Marine Protected Areas System"
"WASHINGTON, DC -- Ocean protection was central to the federal government's Earth Day 2009 activities, with the establishment of a National System of Marine Protected Areas and a number of marine conservation bills introduced in Congress.
In an effort to conserve critical natural and cultural marine resources, the Departments of Interior and Commerce announced that they are joining with federal, state and territorial agencies to form a National System of Marine Protected Areas.
While Marine Protected Areas have been established throughout the United States for decades, there has not been an overarching mechanism to coordinate effective ecosystem management. About 100 federal, state, territory and tribal agencies manage the nearly 2,000 MPAs across the country, often with no coordinated strategy." Environment News Service had the story April 23, 2009.
| |
| | | Toxics/Chemicals
Alaska and Hawaii
"Under the Volcano"
"When Mount Redoubt began erupting last month, the nearby Drift River oil terminal suddenly emerged from the obscurity of a low-key industrial facility to the potential source of an environmental disaster on the scale of the Exxon Valdez.
And with its place in the spotlight came an obvious question: How could such a hazardous facility have been built there, just 22 miles from Redoubt's cone?" Richard Mauer reports for the Anchorage Daily News April 25, 2009.
| |
| April 24, 2009 |
| | | Environmental Politics
National
"Industry Ignored Its Scientists on Climate"
"For more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming. ... But a document filed in a federal lawsuit demonstrates that even as the coalition worked to sway opinion, its own scientific and technical experts were advising that the science backing the role of greenhouse gases in global warming could not be refuted." Andrew C. Revkin reports for the New York Times April 23, 2009.
- See also: "A Climate of Doubt" (Dot Earth/New York Times)
| |
| | | Climate Change
National
"Utilities Press House Panel for Free Emission Credits"
"Power company executives amplified their call today for free emission credits to comply with a House climate bill, calling their proposal an 'elegant solution' ensuring the public won't face skyrocketing electric bills.
Representatives of the Edison Electric Institute, the American Public Power Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners urged the House Energy and Commerce Committee to set aside 40 percent of the proposed cap-and-trade program's allowances for free distribution to regulated local distribution companies (LDCs) within the electricity sector." Darren Samuelsohn reports for Greenwire in the New York Times April 23, 2009.
| |
| | | Climate Change
National
"California To Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Vehicle Fuels"
"California took aim Thursday at the oil industry and its impact on global warming, adopting the world's first regulation to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the fuel that runs cars and trucks.
The Air Resources Board voted 9 to 1 in favor of the complex new rule, which is expected to slash the state's gasoline consumption by a quarter in the next decade. It seeks to expand the market for electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles and jump-start a host of futuristic biofuels to replace corn-based ethanol, as well as oil.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the 'first-in-the-world low carbon fuel standard,' noting that 16 other states are looking to California as a model and that President Obama has called for a national standard." Margot Roosevelt reports for the Los Angeles Times April 24, 2009.
- See also: U.S., California, Push Ahead on Climate (Reuters)
| |
| | | Air Quality
Southwest
"Shell Will Pay Millions To Settle Air Pollution Suit"
"Shell Oil Co. has agreed to reduce harmful emissions at its Deer Park refinery as part of an agreement with environmentalists who said in an unusual citizens' suit that the company failed to comply with federal laws on controlling pollution.
Under the settlement filed Thursday, the Houston-based arm of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell would upgrade the plant to reduce emissions known as 'upsets,' which occur during equipment malfunctions and other unforeseen events. The company would pay fines if it fails to meet annual caps for emissions.
Shell also agreed to pay nearly $6 million for past violations of the Clean Air Act -- an amount believed to be the largest penalty in Texas history to come from a citizens' suit seeking enforcement of the federal law." Matthew Tresaugue reports for the Houston Chronicle April 23, 2009.
| |
| | | Climate Change
International
"Groups See Added Risks From Change in Climate"
"The effects of climate change, especially rising seas, threaten trillions of dollars' worth of coastal property, and flood-hazard maps, zoning laws, building codes and insurance rates in the United States do not accurately reflect the risk, an unusual coalition of groups reported Thursday.
The coalition -- organized by the Heinz Center, a research organization that focuses on environmental issues, and Ceres, an organization of environmentally conscious investor, insurance and other groups -- said the nation had failed to take 'reasonable steps' to reduce economic losses and protect residents of the coast.
In a report, it urged that government flood-hazard maps be updated and that local land-use policies bar people from building or rebuilding in areas at high risk of flooding." Cornelia Dean reports for the New York Times April 24, 2009.
| |
| | | Nuclear Power/Radiation
Great Plains
"A Setback in the 'Nuclear Renaissance'"
"A Missouri utility said Thursday that it was suspending its efforts to build a new nuclear reactor, making its proposed plant, Callaway 2, the first of the 'nuclear renaissance' reactors to fall by the wayside.
The industry has been looking forward to its first construction start in 30 years. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 17 companies have filed applications to build 26 reactors.
The utility, AmerenUE, planned to build a reactor near Fulton, Mo., but first it was seeking changes in the Missouri law governing how new power plants are financed. In a letter on Thursday it asked the sponsors of a new law now moving through the state legislature to withdraw the measure, because in its current form it would not provide the 'financial and regulatory certainty' the company needed before construction could begin.
AmerenUE wanted to be allowed to charge its customers for financing costs before the plant was finished. A law that did not include that provision 'makes financing a new plant in the current economic environment impossible,' the company said." Matthew L. Wald reports in Green Inc. for the New York Times April 23, 2009.
| |
| | | Pesticides/Agriculture
International
Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?
The biggest threat to global political stability is the potential for food crises in poor countries to cause government collapse. Those crises are brought on by rising demand and ever worsening environmental degradation. In the twentieth century, dramatic rises in grain prices resulted from poor harvests. They were event driven and short-lived. In contrast, the recent escalation in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse the rise in food prices without a reversal in the trends themselves. Lester R. Brown writes in the May 2009 issue of Scientific American.
Author contact information: Lester R. Brown 202 296 9290 x 11
| |
| | | Hazardous Waste
Northeast
"On the Gowanus Canal, Fear of Superfund Stigma"
The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn being cleaned up and redeveloped. The mile-and-a-half-long canal is polluted with "pesticides, heavy metals and carcinogens like PCBs from more than a century's worth of industrial activity. This month, the Environmental Protection Agency said that the contamination posed a public health hazard and proposed to add the Gowanus to the National Priorities List of its Superfund program, an effort to investigate and clean up the country's most hazardous waste sites.
Yet the proposal for a comprehensive cleanup, on which the agency is seeking public comment until June 6, is pitting federal and state officials against the Bloomberg administration and neighbor against neighbor.
City officials and many residents fear that the Superfund label, reserved for the worst contamination in the country and evoking health emergencies like the Love Canal debacle of the 1970s, could deter new development in Gowanus, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook.
City officials said that the listing could jeopardize more than $500 million committed to the waterfront for two private projects involving more than 1,200 housing units." Mireya Navarro reports for the New York Times April 23, 2009.
| |
| | | Public Lands
National
"Western Republicans Mull Options for Concealed Gun Bill"
"A group of Western Republicans are searching high and low for an opportunity to push ahead with legislation to allow citizens to bring concealed weapons into national parks.
House and Senate bills would codify a Bush-era rule to allow visitors to carry concealed firearms into national parks and wildlife refuges in states with concealed carry laws. A federal judge blocked the rule last month, siding with anti-gun and conservation groups that argued Interior failed to conduct an environmental assessment as required under the National Environmental Policy Act." Eric Bontrager reports for Greenwire April 23, 2009.
| |
| | | Pesticides/Agriculture
National
"Group Says Flea Collars for Pets Endanger Kids"
"OAKLAND -- Some cat and dog flea collars leave chemicals on fur that are hazardous to the pets and their owners, in violation of California's anti-toxics laws, according to a national environmental group's lawsuit Thursday. The Natural Resources Defense Council urged federal regulators to remove the products from the market. Two chemicals in the pet collars left residue sufficient to pose the risk of cancer and neurological damage to children -- as much as 1,000 times higher than levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the group said." Jane Kay reports for the San Francisco Chronicle Friday, April 24, 2009.
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| | | Fisheries
National
"Obama Admin Hands Offshore Aquaculture Oversight to NOAA"
"The Obama administration will develop federal aquaculture regulations, including a system that could permit offshore fish farming in the ocean waters for the first time, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said today.
Locke addressed a Senate hearing as another Cabinet agency, the Interior Department, turned away from a controversial Bush administration proposal that would have expedited a permitting system for offshore aquaculture under the Minerals Management Service. He said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will oversee the preparation of the Obama administration's fish-farming guidelines.
In its final rule for offshore renewable energy projects, released yesterday, Interior said it would not authorize aquaculture projects. The move is a reversal from the Bush administration's proposal, which would have opened the door for the government to fast-track offshore fish farms.
The new rule passes oversight of any deepwater fish farms to Commerce's NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service." Allison Winter reports for Greenwire in the New York Times April 23, 2009.
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| | | Climate Change
Southeast
Kentucky, University, Utilities To Study Cutting Coal Plants' Greenhouse Gases
"The University of Kentucky is teaming with utility companies and state government in a major research initiative to reduce coal-fired power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, a key contributor to global warming. The cost of the research effort -- $24 million over 10 years -- will be shared by UK, the state, four utilities and the electric power industry's research arm. The research, to be formally announced on Monday, will be carried out through UK's Center for Applied Energy Research."
James Bruggers reports for the Louisville Courier-Journal April 24, 2009.
Author contact information: James Bruggers
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| | | Energy
International
British Surfers Against Tidal Power
Michael Scott Moore explores why many environmentalists oppose a 'green' idea for a huge tidal power plant in the U.K. on the River Severn. As do surfers. That's right, Brits surfing the tidal bore of a river -- with video! Published in Miller-McCune April 16, 2009.
Author contact information: Michael Scott Moore
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| April 23, 2009 |
| | | Environmental Politics
National
"Obama Calls for New Era of Energy Exploration"
"NEWTON, Iowa -- President Barack Obama, standing Wednesday in the shell of a once-giant Maytag appliance factory that now houses a wind energy company, declared that a 'new era of energy exploration in America' would be a crucial to leading the nation out of an economic crisis.
With pieces of wind turbine towers as a backdrop, Obama touted the small manufacturing firm as a success and as a step toward reducing the United States' reliance on polluting fuels. But as the president on Earth Day set a goal for wind to generate as much as 20 percent of the U.S. electricity demand by 2030, legislation to make that a reality faced a challenge back in Washington in the Democratic-led Congress." Philip Elliott and Mike Glover report for the Associated Press April 22, 2009.
- See also: Politics Hover in Iowa (Politico)
- Obama Marks Earth Day (Washington Post)
- Obama Pushes Renewables, Climate Bill (Reuters)
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| | | Coasts/Beaches
National
"Interior Issues Offshore Wind Rules"
"The Interior Department issued long-awaited regulations Wednesday governing offshore renewable energy projects that would tap wind, ocean currents and waves to produce electricity.
The framework establishes how leases will be issued and sets in place revenue sharing with nearby coastal states that will receive 27.5 percent of the royalties that will be generated from the electricity production.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in an interview with The Associated Press that applications are expected for dozens of proposed offshore wind projects, many off the north and central Atlantic in the coming months." H. Josef Hebert reports for the Associated Press April 22, 2009.
- See also: White House Sets Wind Rules (Wall Street Journal)
- "Offshore Wind Gets Major Boost" (Green Inc./New York Times)
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| | | Energy
National
"Energy Regulatory Chief Says New Coal, Nuclear Plants May Be Unnecessary"
"No new nuclear or coal plants may ever be needed in the United States, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said today.
'We may not need any, ever,' Jon Wellinghoff told reporters at a U.S. Energy Association forum.
The FERC chairman's comments go beyond those of other Obama administration officials, who have strongly endorsed greater efficiency and renewables deployment but also say nuclear and fossil energies will continue playing a major role.
Wellinghoff's view also goes beyond the consensus outlook in the electric power industry about future sources of electricity. The industry has assumed that more baseload generation would provide part of an increasing demand for power, along with a rapid deployment of renewable generation, smart grid technologies and demand reduction strategies." Noelle Straub and Peter Behr report for Greenwire in the New York Times April 22, 2009.
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| | | Climate Change
National
"Obama Officials Press Congress To Act on Climate"
"WASHINGTON -- Key Obama administration officials on Wednesday called on Congress to pass comprehensive energy and climate change legislation to reduce U.S. oil imports and fight global warming.
'On this Earth Day, we must state in no uncertain terms that we have a responsibility to our children and their children to curb the carbon emissions from fossil fuels that have begun to change our climate,' U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The session is the second of four hearings this week to discuss draft climate legislation unveiled by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman last month. The bill seeks to lower carbon dioxide emissions to 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and more than 80 percent by 2050.
Waxman warned panel members that 'the pace is going to accelerate' during the next four weeks to get an energy and climate change bill cleared by the committee by the end of May, paving the way for a vote before full chamber this summer." Ayesha Rascoe and Tom Doggett report for Reuters April 22, 2009.
- See also: Negotiator Says Climate Bill Vital to Global Deal (Reuters)
- "House Panel Probes Climate Bill's Downsides" (AP)
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| | | Pesticides/Agriculture
National
"'People's Garden' Starts Taking Shape on National Mall"
"Showcasing sustainable farming, the Agriculture Department celebrated Earth Day by starting to turn USDA's 6-acre tract on the National Mall into an organic garden.
USDA plans to turn grass, ornamental trees and flowers into an expansive 'People's Garden' to demonstrate conservation and growing techniques. There will be a 1,300-square-foot vegetable plot, pollinator gardens, mini-wetlands, green roofs and demonstrations of planting techniques that can reduce stormwater runoff.
Saying USDA plans to be a 'center of sustainability,' Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan led children of department employees and other visitors in planting corn, squash and beans for a traditional Sioux 'three sisters' garden. She also urged USDA offices across the country to start their own gardens." Allison Winter reports for Greenwire in the New York Times April 22, 2009.
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| | | Climate Change
International
Spam's Carbon Footprint
"Last week, 'The Carbon Footprint of E-mail Spam Report' made the rounds on the Internet thanks in part to write-ups at various news Web sites.
The study -- conducted by the research firm I.C.F. International, and commissioned by the security company McAfee (which, as it happens, also sells one of the leading anti-virus and anti-spam software suites) -- examined the environmental impact of junk e-mail.
Among the findings:
* An estimated 62 trillion spam e-mail messages were sent worldwide in 2008.
* The annual energy used to transmit, process and filter spam worldwide totals 33 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to the electricity used in 2.4 million homes.
* A single spam message produces the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions associated with driving three feet." Azadeh Ensha reports for Green Inc. in the New York Times April 22, 2009.
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| | | Toxics/Chemicals
Mid-Atlantic
"Bayer Plant Lacked Key Air Monitors, Investigators Found"
"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Chemicfal monitors at key locations were not working or missing altogether the night of the August 2008 explosion that killed two workers at Bayer CropScience's Institute plant, congressional investigators have revealed.
Methyl isocyanate monitors in the pesticide unit that blew up were 'out of service for maintenance' the night of the fatal blast, Bayer officials told a House subcommittee that is probing the incident.
And, Bayer officials said, the company has no air monitors at all on the west end of the plant -- the area closest to the towns of Nitro and St. Albans, and the direction a toxic plume from the August incident appeared to be headed.
Congressional investigators concluded that Bayer misled Kanawha Valley residents and emergency responders about what it knew about possible chemicals being released by the explosion and the fire that raged that night in the Methomyl-Larvin unit." Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette April 22, 2009.
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| | | Drinking Water
Canada
H2O Smart
Population growth and climate change are putting new pressures on Alberta's water supplies, and the province has put a moratorium on new licenses to extract water from its rivers. This is a big challenge for Okotoks, Canada's second-fastest growing municipality. Craig Saunders explores the town's conservation programs and other innovative conservation strategies in the Toronto Globe & Mail April 22, 2009.
Author contact information:
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| | | Air Quality
National
"Dust Storms Escalate, Prompting Environmental Fears"
"Nestled in the San Juan Mountains at 9,300 feet, and surrounded by 13,000-foot peaks, Silverton, Colo., seems an unlikely place for a dust storm, especially with two feet of snow on the ground. So Chris Landry was alarmed on the afternoon of April 3 when he spotted a brown haze on the horizon; an hour later, a howling wind had engulfed the town in a full-fledged dust storm, turning everything from the sky to the snow a rusty red. ...
The scene Landry witnessed that day was the most severe example of a phenomenon that has overtaken parts of the West this year, one that could exacerbate a slew of environmental problems there in the years to come. The Colorado Rockies, including the headwaters of the Colorado River and the Rio Grande, have experienced 11 serious dust storms this year, a record for the six years researchers have been tracking them.
More important, an increasing amount of airborne dust is blanketing the region, affecting how fast the snowpack melts, when local plants bloom and what quality of air residents are breathing." Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post April 23, 2009.
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| | | Energy
Northeast
New Jobs Are First Fruits of Cap-and-Trade
Auctions of carbon allowances under RGGI, the cap-and-trade program of 10 Northeastern states, have produced millions for state energy efficiency programs. The first jobs created by that money are starting to put boots on the ground. Doug Struck reports for The Daily Climate April 23, 2009.
Author contact information:
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| | | Toxics/Chemicals
Great Plains
"Lawsuit Claims Missouri Tannery Byproduct Caused Tumors"
"CAMERON, Mo. -- A tannery in northwest Missouri was accused in a lawsuit Wednesday of contaminating farmland with a chemical that caused brain-tumor cases in the town of Cameron.
The lawsuit alleges that Prime Tanning Corp. of St. Joseph used hexavalent cromium to remove hair from hides, and the resulting waste product was given to area farmers as fertilizer.
The lawsuit claims the sludge contained high levels of hexavalent chromium even though the company told the state of Missouri that the sludge did not contain the carcinogen." Margaret Stafford reports for the Associated Press April 22, 2009.
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| April 22, 2009 |
| | | Toxics/Chemicals
Mid-Atlantic
"Bayer Safety Lapses 'Could Have Eclipsed Bhopal'"
"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Significant safety lapses by management of Bayer CropScience's Institute plant caused a fatal August 2008 explosion that could have turned into a disaster worse than Bhopal, according to evidence presented Tuesday to a congressional committee.
Bayer plant officials continued to use long-deficient equipment, leading employees to bypass safety gear in the plant's Methomyl-Larvin unit where the explosion occurred, U.S. Chemical Safety Board officials told a House subcommittee.
The runaway explosion sent a 5,000-pound chemical vessel rocketing into the air and across the plant, where it could have easily smashed into a nearby methyl isocyanate tank, 'the consequences of which could have eclipsed the 1984 disaster in India,' congressional committee staffers concluded in their report." Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette April 21, 2009. "Testimony and committee evidence also outlined how Bayer officials and attorneys tried to use plant security secrecy rules to hide information about the incident, and revealed efforts by Bayer public relations agents to try to discredit local citizens and The Charleston Gazette."
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| | | Toxics/Chemicals
National
"EPA Restores Stricter Reporting of Toxic Pollution"
"The federal government will once again require companies to fully disclose the toxic chemicals they release into the air, onto land and into water.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it was reversing a decision by the Bush administration in 2006 that reduced reporting of toxic pollution for more than 3,500 facilities nationwide.
The Bush rules allowed facilities storing or releasing smaller amounts of toxic chemicals to submit less-detailed information to the government.
More than a dozen states had sued the agency over the change saying it reduced the information available to the public about chemical hazards in communities.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Tuesday that the annual database -- known as the Toxics Release Inventory -- was a crucial tool for safeguarding public health and the environment." Dina Cappiello reports for the Associated Press April 21, 2009.
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| | | Toxics/Chemicals
National
"EPA Proposes Mercury Cutbacks at Cement Plants"
"TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- The Obama administration proposed sharp reductions Tuesday in airborne pollution from America's 99 cement plants, including first-ever limits on mercury from older kilns.
The rules also would lead to steep cuts in emissions of other toxins, including hydrochloric acid, hydrocarbons, soot and sulfur dioxide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA proposed the regulations under court order after environmental groups and nine states sued, accusing the agency of shirking its duty under the Clean Air Act to regulate the cement industry's emissions. ...
Cement plants are America's fourth-largest source of airborne mercury... ." John Flesher reports for the Associated Press April 21, 2009.
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| | | Environmental Politics
National
"President Obama Heads to Iowa for Earth Day"
"President Barack Obama is going on the road to pitch his energy plan -- as well as environmentally friendly jobs production -- in a hard-hit Iowa town, while administration officials make a similar push back in Washington.
The White House's Earth Day message comes as Obama has watched his energy legislation stall in Congress. Obama's Environmental Protection Agency chief and energy and transportation secretaries all were scheduled to testify before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Wednesday with themes similar to Obama, who planned a swift visit to economically struggling Newton, Iowa.
White House aides said the president would highlight his plans to create jobs and protect the environment. He planned to tour -- then tout -- Newton's Trinity Structural Towers wind energy plant as a model for job creation and energy production in a town whose biggest employer was sold and then stopped operations." Philip Elliott reports for the Associated Press April 22, 2009.
- See also: On Earth Day, Obama Pushes Agenda (Chicago Tribune)
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| | | Climate Change
National
"U.S. Congress Begins Drive for Climate Change Bill"
"WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Congress on Tuesday began work on a bill that would fundamentally change the way American factories and power plants use and supply energy as part of the Obama administration's drive to cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions. ...
President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats who control both houses of Congress have made combating climate change a priority, worrying Republicans and some other opponents who fear skyrocketing energy and compliance costs.
Over the next five weeks the committee will debate and fine-tune a Democratic draft bill that would drastically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other industrial emissions that scientists say contribute to climate problems.
At the bill's core is a 'cap and trade' plan to reduce carbon emissions... ." Richard Cowan reports for Reuters April 21, 2009.
- See also: House Panel Launches Climate Hearings (Greenwire/New York Times)
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| | | Lakes/Rivers/Wetlands
National
"Poisoned Waters"
PBS' Frontline airs a 2-hour documentary news piece updating the status of U.S. waterways following the 1972 Clean Water Act. Bottom line: the waterways are not in good shape, and many of the threats had not even been imagined in 1972. The piece was narrated by correspondent and senior producer Hedrick Smith, directed by Rick Young, produced by Marc Shaffer, and edited by Penny Trams. The full show can be viewed online.
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| | | Air Quality
Northeast
"E.P.A. Releases Analysis of Climate Bill"
"Just days after declaring that carbon emissions were a threat to human health, the Environmental Protection Agency has given high marks to a wide-ranging energy and climate bill that was recently put forward by the House Energy Committee.
The Waxman-Markey bill, also known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (PDF), will 'drive the clean energy transformations of the U.S. economy,' and substantially reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, according to the E.P.A.'s review." Jad Mouawad reports for the New York Times April 21, 2009.
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| | | Air Quality
Southwest
"Court Backs EPA in Dispute Over Navajo Nation Power Plant"
"A federal appeals court is backing a U.S. EPA plan to control emissions at a 2,040-megawatt coal-fired power plant in northwest New Mexico, despite the objections of environmental groups and the plant's owner.
A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver last week upheld EPA's plan to limit air emissions from the Four Corners Power Plant on Navajo Nation land." Robin Bravender reports for Greenwire in the New York Times April 21, 2009.
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| | | Environmental Politics
National
"Lawmakers May Limit Paper Mills' Windfall"
"Senior lawmakers in Washington said Friday they would look into repealing or limiting an obscure tax provision that is turning into an unintended, billion-dollar windfall for companies that manufacture paper.
The provision was originally meant to spur the development of alternative fuels, but has instead become an example of the law of unintended consequences. The stocks of paper-making companies have soared in recent weeks because of the money they could receive from what amounts to an accidental Congressional bailout." Jad Mouawad and Clifford Krauss report for the New York Times April 17, 2009.
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| | | Toxics/Chemicals
National
"No Conclusion on What's Altering Fish"
"More than 80 percent of the male smallmouth bass in the Potomac River are growing eggs, but after six years of searching, scientists still have not pinned down the pollutants that are causing the abnormality, according to research unveiled yesterday.
Federal officials released the results of the largest-ever investigation into 'intersex' fish in the Potomac watershed. The bass, first identified in a West Virginia tributary in 2003, have made the Potomac a focus of research into 'endocrine disruptors,' pollutants that interfere with an animal's natural chemical signals. ... Scientists said they believe that the problem is caused by a mixture of pollutants, including some in sewage, animal hormones from farm manure and pesticide runoff." David A. Fahrenthold reports for the Washington Post April 22, 2009.
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| | | Climate Change
Northeast
"Rivers Shrinking" -- Climate Change Suspected
"The flow of water in the world's largest rivers has declined over the past half-century, with significant changes found in about a third of the big rivers. An analysis of 925 major rivers from 1948 to 2004 showed an overall decline in total discharge.
The reduction in inflow to the Pacific Ocean alone was about equal to shutting off the Mississippi River, according to the new study appearing in the May 15 edition of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate.
The only area showing a significant increase in flow was the Arctic, where warming conditions are increasing the snow and ice melt, said researchers led by Aiguo Dai of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo." Randolph E. Schmid reports for the Associated Press April 21, 2009.
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| April 21, 2009 |
| | | Environmental Politics
International
"Summit of Americas Leaders Pledge Environmental Cooperation"
"PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- Government leaders of countries across the Americas reached new spirit of friendliness and cooperation at the Summit of the Americas that concluded here Sunday.
Symbolized by the friendly handshake between U.S. President Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that smoothed a prickly relationship between the two countries, the leaders signed a declaration that includes many environmentally-friendly provisions.
President Obama said at the concluding news conference Sunday, 'Our energy challenge offers us a chance to unleash our joint economic potential, enhance our security and protect our planet.'
Obama proposed a new Energy-Climate Partnership of the Americas." Environment News Service had the story April 20, 2009.
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| | | Technology/business
Great Lakes
"Factory for Residential Wind Power Systems Opens in Michigan"
"MANISTEE, Michigan -- In Manistee today, the wind technology company Mariah Power opened its first high-volume manufacturing site in partnership with MasTech Manufacturing material handling specialists.
The partnership between Nevada-based Mariah Power and Michigan-based MasTech puts an underused auto plant in the northern Michigan city to work as a factory for the Windspire, a small-scale vertical axis wind power system for homes and businesses.
The quiet, easily installed wind-power appliance stands 30 feet tall and operates without the propellers seen on larger wind turbines. It can reduce energy costs by producing enough electricity to power 25 percent of the average home.
Mariah Power is investing $2 million to buy steel and hire up to 140 workers over the next three years. MasTech is investing $1.5 million in new equipment for the Windspire plant." Environment News Service had the story April 20, 2009.
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| | | Environmental Politics
National
"The Green Generation Prepares for 40th Annual Earth Day"
"WASHINGTON, DC -- Sunday's 2009 Earth Day celebration on the National Mall launched The Green Generation campaign -- a nationwide effort to encourage renewable energy, green jobs and a new green economy. With music by the Flaming Lips, moe., Los Lobos and others, the free event was the flagship in a coordinated country-wide Earth Day Weekend of environmental volunteer actions and music in DC, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
Attended by over 200,000 last year, the Green Apple-Earth Day Festival has grown from eight cities to 10 cities in 2009 and emphasizes environmental volunteerism in solidarity with the new administration's "call to service."
Across the U.S. on Earth Day Weekend, Green Apple volunteer projects in parks, beaches, schools and forests, focused on climate change solutions like tree planting, energy efficiency retrofits, water protection, urban gardens and forest restoration." Environment News Service had the story April 20, 2009.
- See also: Earth Day on Mall with Lips, Jackson (video from Washington Post)
- Antics (Washington Post)
- "Earth Day for Greenhorns" (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- "Grist Says: 'Screw Earth Day! One Day Is For Amateurs'"
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| | | Coasts/Beaches
Alaska and Hawaii
"Shell Still Plans Chukchi Drilling Despite Ruling"
"ANCHORAGE -- Royal Dutch Shell still plans to start exploration drilling next year in Alaska's potentially oil-rich Chukchi Sea in spite of a new legal setback, a company manager in Alaska said on Monday. Pete Slaiby, Shell's general manager for Alaska, said the company remains committed to drilling in Arctic waters off Alaska and to build that into a major new production base for oil and gas, even after a decision from an appeals court in Washington, D.C. on Friday that found the federal offshore leasing plan to be illegal." Yereth Rosen reports for Reuters April 20, 2009.
- See also: "U.S. Court Strikes Down Bush Oil Leasing Plan" (Reuters)
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| | | Coasts/Beaches
Southeast
"Katrina Negligence Case Goes to Trial'
"ATLANTA -- A federal judge in New Orleans today will hear what lawyers call 'the last case standing' against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its alleged failure to protect New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters nearly four years ago.
The civil negligence suit was originally filed in April 2006 by five New Orleans-area residents.
They are limited to relatively small damages from the government if they win.
But a victory could result in settlements for tens of thousands of New Orleans residents who have filed claims for personal injury, property damage and wrongful death since the epic flood on Aug. 29, 2005." Richard Fausset reports for the Los Angeles Times April 20, 2009.
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| | | Environmental Justice
Alaska and Hawaii
"Indigenous Groups Discuss Climate Concerns at UN Conference in Anchorage"
"Decked out in flowing African garb, Mary Smat marveled Monday over how she ended up on the other side of the world from her home in Kenya, attending an international climate change meeting in Anchorage.
Smat, a Masai woman, is anxious about her work in Anchorage over the next week: helping craft a joint statement about climate change to be signed by indigenous groups from around the globe, she said." Elizabeth Bluemink reports for the Anchorage Daily News April 21, 2009.
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| | | Drinking Water
Mountain West
"Colorado Court: Coal Bed Methane Producers Need Water Permits"
"DENVER -- The Colorado Supreme Court today ruled that coal bed methane producers must adhere to the same water rules and regulations as other state water users.
In 2005, two ranch families who own water rights in Archuleta and La Plata counties sued the State Engineer, arguing that he was acting illegally by failing to require BP America Production Company to get permits and water court approvals to pump tributary groundwater as part of the company's coal bed methane production.
Judge Gregory Lyman, the water judge in Durango, agreed and the State Engineer and BP appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court." Environment News Service had the story April 20, 2009.
- See also: "Study Finds Problems with Water Used To Drill Natural Gas Wells" (Arkansas News)
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| | | Air Quality
Northeast
"Third-World Stove Soot Is Target in Climate Fight"
"KOHLUA, India -- 'It's hard to believe that this is what's melting the glaciers,' said Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, one of the world's leading climate scientists, as he weaved through a warren of mud brick huts, each containing a mud cookstove pouring soot into the atmosphere.
As women in ragged saris of a thousand hues bake bread and stew lentils in the early evening over fires fueled by twigs and dung, children cough from the dense smoke that fills their homes. Black grime coats the undersides of thatched roofs. At dawn, a brown cloud stretches over the landscape like a diaphanous dirty blanket.
In Kohlua, in central India, with no cars and little electricity, emissions of carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas linked to global warming, are near zero. But soot -- also known as black carbon -- from tens of thousands of villages like this one in developing countries is emerging as a major and previously unappreciated source of global climate change." Elisabeth Rosenthal reports for the New York Times April 15, 2009.
- See also: "Stoves Designed for Health and Climate" (Dot Earth)
- "On Thin Ice" (PBS' Now)
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| | | Environmental Politics
National
"Sprinting for Green Stimulus Dollars"
"The chase for stimulus dollars now includes a sprint up Capitol Hill, quite literally.
The stimulus package has $2.5 billion for batteries and hybrids, and one of the many companies seeking a slice, AFS Trinity, arrived in Washington on Sunday with two Saturn Vue S.U.V.'s -- 'crossover' vehicles that General Motors sells as hybrids, but which AFS Trinity has extensively modified as plug-in hybrids.
The company is inviting members of Congress and their employees to drive them, and a favorite stretch is a steep hill up Constitution Avenue on the north side of the Capitol building." Matthew L. Wald reports for the New York Times April 20, 2009.
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| April 20, 2009 |
| | | Drinking Water
National
"AP IMPACT: Tons of Released Drugs Taint US Water"
"U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water -- contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked, according to an Associated Press investigation.
Hundreds of active pharmaceutical ingredients are used in a variety of manufacturing, including drugmaking: For example, lithium is used to make ceramics and treat bipolar disorder; nitroglycerin is a heart drug and also used in explosives; copper shows up in everything from pipes to contraceptives.
Federal and industry officials say they don't know the extent to which pharmaceuticals are released by U.S. manufacturers because no one tracks them -- as drugs. But a close analysis of 20 years of federal records found that, in fact, the government unintentionally keeps data on a few, allowing a glimpse of the pharmaceuticals coming from factories." Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard report for the Associated Press April 19, 2009.
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| | | Other
International
"Mountaintop Mining Activist Wins Global Award"
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- In Maria Gunnoe's 11-year war over the strip mining she says has ruined her homestead, there have been casualties: Family dogs have been poisoned and shot and her truck's fuel tank has been stuffed with sand.
Yet she keeps fighting to stop mountaintop removal mining. And for confronting the coal industry in Appalachia, she is the 2009 North American winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Given to six people annually -- one on each inhabited continent -- the Goldman is the largest award of its kind with a $150,000 cash prize. The winners will be recognized Monday in San Francisco." Vicki Smith reports for the Associated Press April 19, 2009.
- See also: "Goldman Prize Boosts Bay Area Environmental Groups" (Contra Costa Times)
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| | | Climate Change
Northeast
"California Takes on King Corn"
"California regulators, trying to assess the true environmental cost of corn ethanol, are poised to declare that the biofuel cannot help the state reduce global warming. As they see it, corn is no better -- and might be worse -- than petroleum when total greenhouse gas emissions are considered. Such a declaration, to be considered later this week by the California Air Resources Board, would be a considerable blow to the corn-ethanol industry in the United States." Matthew Cimitile reports for The Daily Climate April 20, 2009.
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| | | Air Quality
Northeast
"Poison in the Well"
"Like every town across the nation, south suburban Crestwood tucks a notice into utility bills each summer reassuring residents their drinking water is safe. Village leaders also trumpet the claim in their monthly newsletter, while boasting they offer the cheapest water rates in Cook County.
But those pronouncements hide a troubling reality: For more than two decades, the 11,000 or so residents in this working-class community unknowingly drank tap water contaminated with toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems, a Tribune investigation found." Michael Hawthorne reports for the Chicago Tribune April 19, 2009.
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