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Archive for September, 2013
As Cleanup Plan Is Set for Gowanus Canal, Violations Continue
Posted by New York Times: Kia Gregory on September 26th, 2013
New York Times: The federal government is about to release its final, $500 million cleanup plan for the Gowanus Canal, one of New York City’s two Superfund sites, a long-awaited moment in the effort to cleanse more than a century of environmental abuse. But even on the eve of its purging, the Gowanus Canal remains very much a garbage dump for the city. Along the banks of the canal one recent morning, just a tin can’s toss from the oily green waters, a giant claw grabbed at a tower of scrap metal, like a crane in...
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Comments Off on As Cleanup Plan Is Set for Gowanus Canal, Violations ContinueFracking Victims Demand EPA Reopen Investigations into Poisoned Drinking Water and Explosive Homes
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 26th, 2013
EcoWatch: Residents personally harmed by gas drilling and fracking held a press conference in front of the White House yesterday and delivered 250,000 petition signatures from concerned citizens across the U.S. to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy at EPA headquarters. The residents--including Ray Kemble from Pennsylvania, Steve Lipsky and Shelly Perdue from Texas and John Fenton from Wyoming--were all part of the EPA fracking investigations in their respective states that the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking Victims Demand EPA Reopen Investigations into Poisoned Drinking Water and Explosive HomesCanada PM Won’t Accept US Rejection of Keystone XL
Posted by Associated Press: Rob Gillies on September 26th, 2013
Associated Press: Canada's prime minister said Thursday he "won't take no for an answer" if the Obama administration rejects the controversial Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the Keystone XL project, a flashpoint in the debate over climate change, during a visit to New York City. The long-delayed project carrying oil from Canada's oil sands needs approval from the U.S. State Department, and Harper's remarks are some of his strongest to date. "My view is that you...
Public backs Keystone pipeline, power-plant emissions curbs, poll says
Posted by Baltimore Sun: David Lauter on September 26th, 2013
Baltimore Sun: In the debate over energy and climate change, the public continues to give support to both sides, according to a a new poll.
By more than a 2-1 margin, respondents in a new Pew Research Center poll said they favor building the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from tar sands deposits under Canada's western prairies through the Midwest to refineries in Texas.
Republicans in Congress have strongly advocated building the pipeline, while President Obama has given mixed signals on the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Public backs Keystone pipeline, power-plant emissions curbs, poll saysUnited Kingdom: Mega-mines will have to comply with tough ‘water trigger’ law: Greg Hunt
Posted by Guardian: Lenore Taylor on September 26th, 2013
Guardian: Huge coalmines proposed by Clive Palmer and a company co-owned by Gina Rinehart are among 47 projects that the new environment minister, Greg Hunt, has determined must comply with tough new federal rules about their impact on water, under laws enacted in the dying days of the former Labor government.
Hunt has decided that 47 of 50 projects waiting for a federal government decision did in fact have to complete extra environmental assessments under the new "water trigger" in the federal law.
He...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Mega-mines will have to comply with tough ‘water trigger’ law: Greg HuntWith Murky Water And Manatee Deaths, Lagoon Languishes
Posted by National Public Radio: Greg Allen on September 26th, 2013
National Public Radio: Something is wrong in Florida's Indian River Lagoon.
Over the past year, record numbers of dolphins, manatees and pelicans have turned up dead in the 150-mile-long estuary that runs along Florida's Atlantic Coast. Bouts of algal blooms have flourished in the waters. All the signs point to an ecosystem that is seriously out of balance. The crisis has mobilized scientists, residents and elected officials in Florida.
An Ailing Lagoon
Florida has gotten a lot of rain this year. While that's...
Boom in Unregulated Gas Pipelines Posing New Risks
Posted by InsideClimate: Naveena Sadasivam on September 26th, 2013
InsideClimate: Thousands of miles of pipelines are being built at natural gas drilling sites throughout the nation without supervision or regulation by state or federal authorities.
These specialized pipelines, known as gathering lines, carry gas from wells to nearby separation facilities for processing. Many of the pipes are as large as regulated pipelines and operate at the same or higher pressures. Some run close to homes and businesses.
Of the nation's 240,000 miles of gathering lines [3], only about...
How climate change could make mercury pollution worse
Posted by LiveScience: Douglas Main on September 26th, 2013
LiveScience: Mercury pollution and climate change are both unintended consequences of burning fossil fuels for centuries. A new study finds another link between the two problems: Climate change has the potential to make mercury pollution worse.
Mercury is a particularly persistent pollutant, and sticks around in surface waters and the air for centuries, said Dave Krabbenhoft, a researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey in Middleton, Wis. As a volatile metal, it vaporizes at relatively low temperatures, and...
In Wake Of Colo. Floods, A Scramble To Clean Up Spilled Oil
Posted by National Public Radio: Grace Hood on September 26th, 2013
National Public Radio: The heavy floodwaters in Colorado this month caused more than 37,000 gallons of oil to spill into or near rivers, and the state's oil and gas industry is rushing to fix equipment damaged during the storm. It comes at a time when there's growing public concern about the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing in the state. In recent years, hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies have enabled more oil and gas production along Colorado's Eastern Plains. The boom has led to thousands...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Wake Of Colo. Floods, A Scramble To Clean Up Spilled OilFracking-Harmed Residents Demand U.S. EPA Renew Investigations
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on September 26th, 2013
Environment News Service: Residents of three states who say they were harmed by gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, held a news conference in front of the White House today to demand that the government reopen investigations into fracking-related drinking water pollution in Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming.
They then delivered 250,000 signatures on a petition stating their demands to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy at EPA headquarters.
The residents were all part of EPA...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking-Harmed Residents Demand U.S. EPA Renew Investigations