Carbon dioxide gets all the publicity, but many other environmental concerns should give us pause about increasing or maintaining our dependence on combustion as a source of energy transfer.
Seven states led by New York sue EPA over methane from oil and gas drilling
"Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, leading a coalition of seven states, today notified the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of his intent to sue the Agency for violating the Clean Air Act by failing to address methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industry."
Sources to Seafood
"Sources to Seafood looks at the pathways and consequences of mercury pollution across marine systems by drawing on findings from the C-MERC papers, scientific literature and data from a range of marine systems and coastal basins."
EPA to tighten soot rules by 20%
"The Environmental Protection Agency tightened the nation’s soot standards by 20 percent Friday, a move that will force communities across the country to improve air quality by the end of the decade while making it harder for some industries to expand operations without strict pollution controls."
When a person who has been trained to protect this country understands the inherent dangers in increasing the infrastructure that enables our dependence on a dangerous practice, we should all be ready to act in opposition to that infrastructure.
Brigadier General on Keystone XL pipeline:'All Americans should be outraged'
"'I want to stop paying big oil and I want to start seeing a green economy in this nation,' he told host Alicia Menendez. 'And big oil is pushing Keystone, and Keystone is essentially going to maintain the status quo for another 25 years. And during that time I can only imagine the impact it's going to have on our environment and, indeed, our national security.'
Gen. Anderson said that 'all Americans should be outraged about the potential implications for our national security' because the pipeline 'keeps us hopelessly addicted to oil.'"
It is good to see that we are reaching a point in this country where people understand that we really cannot get something for nothing, and if the "economics" of an industry do not support running that industry in a way that protects life, then maybe we should not have that industry.
Tougher fracking regulations backed by 66% poll shows
"A Bloomberg National Poll found that 66 percent of Americans want more government oversight of the process, known as fracking, in which water, chemicals and sand are shot underground to free gas trapped in rock. That’s an increase from 56 percent in a September poll. The poll found 18 percent favored less regulation, down from 29 percent three months ago. 'More people are aware of fracking, and they are a little bit more opposed to it,' Sheril Kirshenbaum, director of the University of Texas Energy Poll, said in an interview. The school’s polls also have asked questions on the topic, and 'it’s becoming more familiar,' she said."
Regulation alone will not be enough. In an era marked by tremendous improvements in communication and information availability, we must all demand to know the details of the impacts of our decisions, so that regulation can truly protect quality of life while allowing our economy to do its job.
Forty years after Clean Water Act, corn belt's rivers and streams are still murky
"The law succeeded in cutting pollution from cities and industries, but 80,000 miles of rivers and streams in the U.S. remain badly polluted by chemical fertilizers and manure. 'Iowa is a case study of the consequences of the most serious flaw in the Clean Water Act, that it does little or nothing to address farm pollution,' said Craig Cox, EWG’s senior vice president of agriculture and natural resources and co-author of the report. 'States across the nation are experiencing the same problems. The Clean Water Act has done a great job of cutting industrial pollution but farm pollution continues unabated.'"
If we are not smart about how we make our choices, we will end up with all sorts of unintended consequences that will hurt our economy, our ecology, and ourselves.
In two weeks, the Mississippi River could shut down
"The worst drought in half a century has brought water levels in the Mississippi close to historic lows and could shut down all shipping in a matter of weeks--unless Barack Obama takes extraordinary measures.
It's the second extreme event on the river in 18 months, after flooding in the spring of 2011 forced thousands to flee their homes.
Without rain, water levels on the Mississippi are projected to reach historic lows this month, the national weather service said in its latest four-week forecast."
Happy Friday!
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