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Tue, Jul 15, 2014
from ThinkProgress.org:
Company That Caused Historic West Virginia Chemical Spill Fined $11k
The company responsible for letting 10,000 gallons of a mysterious chemical seep into West Virginia's drinking water supply this past January was fined $11,000 by the U.S. Department of Labor on Monday, just two days before the six-month anniversary of the historic spill.
After inspecting the facilities at Freedom Industries' chemical storage site in Charleston, the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that, at the time of the spill, Freedom Industries' chemical tanks containing crude MCHM had been surrounded by a wall that was not liquid tight. That violation that warranted a $7,000 fine.
OSHA also hit Freedom Industries with an additional $4,000 fine for not having railings on an elevated platform used for loading and storing the chemical in the tanks. Both violations were labeled by OSHA as "serious," warranting monetary penalties....
Wednesday marks the sixth month anniversary of the day when Freedom's tanks spilled 10,000 gallons of crude MCHM -- the licorice-scented chemical mixture used in the coal production process -- into West Virginia's Elk River, tainting the water supply for 300,000 civilians. In the aftermath, nearly 600 people checked themselves into local hospitals with what federal epidemiologists called "mild" illnesses, such as rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. ...
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The industry will be "scared straight" by that fine!
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Fri, Apr 11, 2014
from Midwest Energy News:
Hearings begin today in latest push against Ohio energy laws
Hearings begin today on an Ohio bill that would cancel requirements for additional renewable energy and energy efficiency after 2014.
Senate Bill 310 would freeze Ohio's renewable and alternative energy requirements at 2014 levels. Those levels are about one-tenth of the current law's target of 25 percent by 2025.
Energy efficiency requirements would stay at the 2014 level of 4.2 percent. Current law calls for a 22 percent cumulative reduction in retail electricity sales by 2025. That's about five times as much as the 2014 levels. ...
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Sometimes it seems we are willfully trying to destroy our habitat.
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Fri, Apr 11, 2014
from Midwest Energy News:
Combined heat and power has promise, faces hurdles in Ohio
Ohio businesses can achieve high energy efficiency and save huge amounts of money with combined heat and power (CHP), say industry leaders who attended an Energy Ohio Network program on Wednesday.
However, speakers and program attendees say, Ohio's regulatory and legislative landscape have made it harder for businesses to reap those benefits.... Meanwhile, the Ohio Senate's Public Utilities Committee continued hearings on Senate Bill 310. That bill would cancel any additional energy efficiency targets after 2014. If enacted, the bill would eliminate another potential benefit for CHP. ...
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Sometimes it seems we are willfully trying to destroy our habitat.
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Tue, Nov 5, 2013
from Huffington Post:
Hinton Coal Mine Leak: Alberta Pit Failure Dumps Plume Of Refuse Into Athabasca River
The "major failure" of a pit at an Alberta coal mine has released one billion litres of contaminated water into the Athabasca River.
The breach at the Obed Mountain Coal Mine has resulted in murky water entering two tributaries, which carried the refuse into the Athabasca and is now visible in the river in the form of a muddy plume, states the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER.)...
"It's our understanding that the water has entered two tributaries in the Athabasca River."
The pit, which is located approximately 30 kilometres east of Hinton, failed during Halloween, stated the AER.
These kinds of incidents are rare, Barter told the Edmonton Journal, adding he was surprised it happened.
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A billion litres here, a billion litres there, pretty soon it adds up to real contamination.
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Sun, Oct 27, 2013
from CBC:
New environmental review rules anger oilsands critics
The federal review is intended to look at possible environmental impacts under federal jurisdiction, such as impacts on waterways or greenhouse gas emissions.
One concern that environmentalists have with the new rules is they won't require environmental reviews for a growing type of oilsands development.
In-situ oilsands developments -- projects where the oil is melted directly out of the ground rather than being mined and then processed later -- were not specifically addressed in the previous list of projects requiring federal environmental assessments, said Keith Stewart, climate and energy campaign coordinator and energy policy analyst for the environmental group Greenpeace. And now, they are not included in the new list of projects requiring them.
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"Rules?! In a knife fight?!" (Harvey, in Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid)
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Sun, Oct 20, 2013
from KASA:
Fracking fluid blows out nearby oil well
More than 200 barrels of fracking fluid, oil and water blew out of a traditional oil well on BLM land in the San Juan Basin...
On Sept. 30, one of Encana's fractures reached Parko's neighboring vertical well. The pressure was too much for the older well to handle.
"Our highest pressure is around 150 pounds," said Parko Oil pumper Johnny Aragon. "The pressure we were experiencing was in excess of 2,000 pounds, which is a lot more than what the wells are designed to hold."
Encana's operations were approximately 0.5 miles from the Parko well that had the blowout.
"An Encana well, undergoing stimulation operations, may have communicated with the well of a nearby operator," said Encana spokesperson Doug Hock. "That operator's well became over-pressurized resulting in the release of fluid from both the wellhead and a nearby tank."
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Not to worry. That's just the wells networking.
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Tue, Jul 30, 2013
from RTCC:
Alaska forest fires 'worst for 10,000 years'
There have always been fires in the cold forests of Alaska. Periods of burning are part of the ecological regime, and fires return to black spruce stands of the Yukon Flats at intervals of tens to hundreds of years.
But recent evidence suggests that fire is about to come back with a vengeance - or, in the language of science, "a transition to a unique regime of unprecedented fire activity".
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It seems that many things are "unprecedented" and part of a "unique regime." Goddamn it.
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Sat, Jul 27, 2013
from New York Times:
Power companies wake to 'existential threat'
For years, power companies have watched warily as solar panels have sprouted across the nation's rooftops. Now, in almost panicked tones, they are fighting hard to slow the spread.
Alarmed by what they say has become an existential threat to their business, utility companies are moving to roll back government incentives aimed at promoting solar energy and other renewable sources of power. At stake, the companies say, is nothing less than the future of the American electricity industry. ...
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Beware any entity fighting for its very life.
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Tue, Oct 30, 2012
from Bloomberg:
First U.S. Oil Sands Mine Proceeds Without Pollution Permit
Utah officials have given a Canadian company the greenlight to begin mining oil sands on a remote plateau in Eastern Utah without first obtaining a pollution permit or monitoring groundwater quality, an action that sets the stage for a possible court battle over the fragile region.
The board of the Utah Division of Water Quality sided with Calgary-based U.S. Oil Sands contends that there was little or no water in the area of the company's proposed mine site and affirmed the agency's earlier decision not to require the permits or monitoring....
The board as well as officials of the Water Quality Division wrestled with the question of how much water is to be found in this semi-arid region, which gets an average of 12 inches of precipitation a year....
Dubuc, the lawyer representing Living Rivers, said even small seasonal amounts of water and water on adjoining land need to be protected.
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Sometimes the laws of supply and demand don't raise the value of a scarce commodity!
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Fri, Mar 23, 2012
from CBC:
Don't ease fish protection rules, PM urged by 625 scientists
In a letter sent Thursday to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield, a group of 625 scientists urged the government to abandon changes to the Fisheries Act outlined in an internal government document leaked late last week.
The document suggested the act is to be revised so Ottawa would be responsible for fish, but not their surrounding habitat.
The act currently requires projects such as oil pipeline and road culvert construction to show their plans will preserve fish habitat.
"Removing those provisions … would basically give proponents of projects license to do anything they pleased," said David Schindler, the University of Alberta ecologist who is the lead author of the letter....
Schindler said the signatories of his letter include many national and international prize-winning scientists and the number of them supporting the letter indicates how important habitat protection is.
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What? 625 billion fish want to sign the petition?
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Tue, Feb 14, 2012
from Guardian:
Obama revives green agenda with push to end oil industry tax breaks
Barack Obama knew a budget proposal to end $40bn in tax breaks for the oil and gas industry would get him into an election-year fight with Republicans over his energy agenda.
It's at least the fourth time the president has called for rolling back the subsidies.
And, predictably, Republicans and the oil industry were spoiling for a fight. The main industry lobby, the American Petroleum Institute, attacked the proposal as "punitive and unfair".
Like Obama's earlier proposals to cut subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, this one is highly unlikely to pass through Congress.
What the revival of the proposal demonstrates, however, is that Obama, despite his earlier half-hearted support for action on climate change and other environmental measures, is willing to put up a fight now.
He has just chosen to redefine the battle lines, using the budget to highlight clean energy while trimming support for environmental regulation. ...
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I'm just glad we still have time for 10-dimensional chess.
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Tue, Dec 20, 2011
from Greenwire:
40 percent of state drilling regulators have industry ties
...More than 40 percent of officials regulating oil and gas production in the top drilling states, records show, come from the industry they are charged with policing.
It is a degree of self-regulation enjoyed by few other industries, if any. And it heightens suspicion among critics of the nation's drilling boom that companies are allowed to damage the environment with impunity.
Supporters of the industry, and the regulators themselves, say it simply makes sense to have technical experts deciding technical issues. ...
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That's the fox drilling the henhouse.
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Wed, Nov 23, 2011
from AP, via PhysOrg:
Far more bluefin sold than reported caught: Pew report
More than twice as many tonnes of Atlantic bluefin tuna were sold last year compared with official catch records for this threatened species, according to a report released on Tuesday.
This "bluefin gap" occurred despite enhanced reporting and enforcement measures introduced in 2008 by the 48-member International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which sets annual quotas by country, it said.
Trade figures showed that real catches of bluefin in 2009 and 2010 totaled more than 70,500 tonnes, twice ICCAT's tally for those two years, according to the report compiled by Washington-based Pew Environment Group.
"The current paper-based catch documentation system is plagued with fraud, misinformation and delays in reporting," said Roberto Mielgo, a former industry insider and author of the report. "Much more needs to be done." ...
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It's the miracle of the loaves and the bluefins!
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Want more context?
Try reading our book FREE online:
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
More fun than a barrel of jellyfish!
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Thu, Oct 6, 2011
from PLOS, via EurekAlert:
The establishment of genetically engineered canola populations in the US
Large, persistent populations of genetically engineered canola 1 have been found outside of cultivation in North Dakota. As genetically engineered crops become increasingly prevalent in the United States, concerns remain about potential ecological side effects.
A study published today by the online journal PLoS ONE reports that genetically engineered canola endowed with herbicide resistance have been found growing outside of established cultivation regions along roadsides across North Dakota. These "escaped" plants were found state-wide and accounted for 45 percent of the total roadside plants sampled.
Furthermore, populations were found to persist from year to year and reach thousands of individuals. The authors also found that the escaped plants could hybridize with each other to create novel combinations of transgenic traits.
The authors argue that their result, more than 10 years after the initial release of genetically engineered canola, "raises questions of whether adequate oversight and monitoring protocols are in place in the U.S. to track the environmental impact of biotech products." ...
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It's so wonderful that they engineered in a desire for freedom.
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Tue, Sep 13, 2011
from Georgetown University:
High Levels of Carcinogens in Dry-Cleaning, Study Shows
Georgetown researchers have found that perchloroethylene (PCE), a potentially carcinogenic dry cleaning solvent, is retained in dry-cleaned clothes made of polyester, cotton or wool.
The levels increase with repeat cleanings, according to the researchers, whose work appeared Aug. 30 online in Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry....
"The question is, can the levels of PCE we find be absorbed through the skin or inhaled in quantities large enough to harm people," says Georgetown professor Paul Roepe, who supervised the study. "We don't have the complete answers to those questions, but I think we know enough to suggest that more studies should be done very quickly."...
They found that polyester, cotton and wool (but not silk) are most prone to retaining high levels of PCE.
"At the end of the day, nobody - I mean nobody - has previously done this simple thing - gone out there to several different drycleaners and tested different types of cloth for retained PCE," says Roepe, also co-director of Georgetown's Center for Infectious Disease. ...
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That crisp, fresh look is worth it!
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Sun, Sep 11, 2011
from New York Times:
Pipeline Spills Put Safeguards Under Scrutiny
This summer, an Exxon Mobil pipeline carrying oil across Montana burst suddenly, soiling the swollen Yellowstone River with an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude just weeks after a company inspection and federal review had found nothing seriously wrong.
And in the Midwest, a 35-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River near Marshall, Mich., once teeming with swimmers and boaters, remains closed nearly 14 months after an Enbridge Energy pipeline hemorrhaged 843,000 gallons of oil that will cost more than $500 million to clean up.
While investigators have yet to determine the cause of either accident, the spills have drawn attention to oversight of the 167,000-mile system of hazardous liquid pipelines crisscrossing the nation....
Meanwhile, budget limits and attrition have left the agency with 118 inspectors -- 17 shy of what federal law authorizes.
Pipeline operators, critics argue, have too much autonomy over their lines, and too much wiggle room when it comes to carrying out important safeguards, like whether to install costly but crucial automated shut-off valves. ...
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That's one inspector per 100,000+ miles of pipeline. I'm guessing: Time-and-a-half overtime!
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Tue, Jul 5, 2011
from Guardian:
Oil and gas spills in North Sea every week, papers reveal
Serious spills of oil and gas from North Sea platforms are occurring at the rate of one a week, undermining oil companies' claims to be doing everything possible to improve the safety of rigs.
Shell has emerged as one of the top offenders despite promising to clean up its act five years ago after a large accident in which two oil workers died.
Documents obtained by the Guardian record leaks voluntarily declared by the oil companies to the safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive(HSE), in a database set up after the Piper Alpha disaster of 6 July 1988 which killed 167 workers. They reveal for the first time the names of companies that have caused more than 100 potentially lethal and largely unpublicised oil and gas spills in the North Sea in 2009 and 2010.
They also deal a significant blow to the government's credibility in supporting the oil industry's fervent desire to drill in the Arctic. Charles Hendry, the energy minister, has said operations to drill in deep Arctic waters by companies such as Cairn Energy off Greenland are "entirely legitimate" as long as they adhere to Britain's "robust" safety regulation.
Shell has been at the forefront of plans to drill in the Arctic waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. ...
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At least they're consistent.
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Tue, Jul 5, 2011
from UEA, via ScienceDaily:
Evaluation of Climate Policy Is Skyrocketing but in an 'Undeveloped and Unsystematic' Way, Says Study
Published in the international journal Policy Sciences, a meta-analysis by a team of researchers from across Europe offers the very first systematic cataloging of the emerging patterns of policy evaluation undertaken in different parts of the European Union.
In the last decade or so the politics surrounding the development of new policies has attracted unprecedented attention. Many new targets and policies have been adopted. But a lot less is known about what is being done to check that the resulting policies are actually delivering on their promises.
The findings reveal that a culture of evaluation is emerging: the number of evaluations produced has grown spectacularly in recent years. Data collected for six EU states and for the EU as a whole reveal an eightfold increase in the number of reports produced between 2000 and 2005....
"The most striking finding of our analysis is just how undeveloped and unsystematic are most current evaluation practices. Great efforts have been made to inform and understand policy making procedures in Europe, but most policy evaluation remains piecemeal and non-consultative."
As the political pressure on policy makers to describe and explain what is being done to tackle climate change increases, calls will grow for evaluation to be undertaken in a more open and transparent fashion.
"At present, policy systems in Europe seem ill-prepared to rise to that challenge," said Prof Jordan. ...
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I just evaluated it systematically.
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Fri, Jul 1, 2011
from Bloomberg:
Amazon Deforestation Rates Double as Farmers Anticipate Pardons
Deforestation rates in the Amazon, the world's biggest rain forest, more than doubled in May as Brazilian farmers become more confident they'll be granted amnesty for illegal logging.
Almost 268 square kilometers (66,200 acres) of protected rain forest were cut down in May, up from 110 square kilometers a year ago, the National Institute for Space Research said in an e-mailed statement.
Brazil lawmakers are considering a bill that alters its forestry code and would forgive farmers who illegally cleared trees. The possibility that the government may ease these restrictions is encouraging more logging, said Marcio Astrini, coordinator of forest campaigns for Greenpeace International's Brazil unit. That would hamper international efforts to fight global warming by protecting trees that absorb greenhouse gases.
"Brazil's been reducing its deforestation for the last five years and this bill comes along and now it shoots up," Astrini said yesterday by phone. "There is only one reason why deforestation is increasing: it's called the forestry code," which may be changing. ...
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There's more than one way to skin a rainforest.
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Tue, Apr 5, 2011
from ProPublica:
Deteriorating Oil and Gas Wells Threaten Drinking Water, Homes Across the Country
In the last 150 years, prospectors and energy companies have drilled as many as 12 million holes across the United States in search of oil and gas. Many of those holes were plugged after they dried up. But hundreds of thousands were simply abandoned and forgotten, often leaving no records of their existence.
Government reports have warned for decades that abandoned wells can provide pathways for oil, gas or brine-laden water to contaminate groundwater supplies or to travel up to the surface. Abandoned wells have polluted the drinking water source for Fort Knox, Ky. [2], and leaked oil into water wells in Ohio and Michigan. Similar problems have occurred in Texas, New York, Colorado and other states where drilling has occurred....
The task of finding, plugging and monitoring old wells is daunting to cash-strapped state governments. A shallow well in good condition can sometimes be plugged with cement for a few thousand dollars. But costs typically run into the tens of thousands, and a price tag of $100,000 or more isn't unusual....
The vents and alarms are just part of life in Versailles. The mayor, James Fleckenstein, recently bought a house with two vents on the property and an alarm in the kitchen.
"We've been living with this problem forever," Fleckenstein said. "People would have a vent in their yard burning 24 hours a day all year long, a one-inch pipe sticking out of the ground. People would put a coffee can and light it and it would just burn all the time."
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Oh, right! We forgot to factor in time!
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Wed, Mar 23, 2011
from New York Times:
Japan Extended Reactor's Life, Despite Warning
Just a month before a powerful earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant at the center of Japan's nuclear crisis, government regulators approved a 10-year extension for the oldest of the six reactors at the power station despite warnings about its safety. ...
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What a relief! I thought this kind of stupidity only happened in the US.
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Sun, Mar 20, 2011
from San Francisco Chronicle:
A new clue in the case of the toxic strawberries
It was disappointing, if not downright strange, when California's Department of Pesticide Regulation decided in December to approve methyl iodide for use on the state's strawberry crops despite more than 50,000 letters of opposition -- the most DPR has ever gotten on any proposed rule.
Was DPR head, Mary-Ann Warmerdam, in the pocket of the chemical industry? There's no smoking gun, but Warmerdam had been subject to aggressive lobbying by Arysta LifeScience, the largest privately held chemical manufacturer in the world and the maker of the profitable methyl iodide. Earlier this week, Warmerdam resigned her post, announcing she would be taking a job at chemical maker Clorox. (Clorox does not manufacture methyl iodide.)
DPR's approval raised eyebrows because methyl iodide is known to cause cancer, nerve damage and late-term miscarriage....
"Due to the potent toxicity of methyl iodide, its transport in and ultimate fate in the environment, adequate control of human exposure would be difficult, if not impossible."...
California produces almost 90 percent of all strawberries grown in the U.S.
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If I can pronounce a chemical's name, it can't be that bad, right?
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Wed, Mar 9, 2011
from ProPublica:
Former Bush EPA Official Says Fracking Exemption Went Too Far; Congress Should Revisit
When Benjamin Grumbles was assistant administrator for water at the Environmental Protection Agency in the George W. Bush administration, he oversaw the release of a 2004 EPA report that determined that hydraulic fracturing was safe for drinking water. Then he watched as Congress used those findings to bolster the case for passing a law that prohibited the EPA from regulating fracking under the Safe Drinking Water Act....
Whether it's hydraulic fracturing or any other type of practice that can have an impact on the environment, one single report shouldn't be the basis for a perpetual, never-ending policy decision.
It wasn't meant to be a bill of health saying 'well, this practice is fine. Exempt it in all respects from any regulation.' I'm sure that wasn't the intent of the panel of experts, and EPA never viewed it that way. That's one reason why we were urging Congress to say 'look, if you are going to issue an exemption, ensure that it is not perpetual.' ...
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The novelty of selective science to justify lucrative destruction has worn off.
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Fri, Feb 18, 2011
from Huffington Post:
House Votes To Block EPA From Regulating Greenhouse Gases
The Republican-controlled House has voted to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases that scientists say cause global warming.
The 249-177 vote added the regulation ban to a sweeping spending bill that would fund the government through Sept. 30. The restriction is opposed by the Obama administration, which is using its regulatory powers to curb greenhouse gases after global warming legislation collapsed last year. The administration also says the ban would cost thousands of construction jobs.
EPA has already taken steps to regulate global warming pollution from vehicles and the largest factories and industrial plants. It is expected to soon roll out rules that target refineries and power plants.
Texas Republican Ted Poe pressed the anti-EPA measure. His Texas district is home to many oil refineries. ...
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The Republican™ brand just got hotter.
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Thu, Feb 17, 2011
from FreeSpeechAtRisk, via BoingBoing:
Using lawsuits to squelch free speech about environmental destruction
In spring of 2008, multinationals Barrick Gold and Banro Corporation filed lawsuits against authors Alain Deneault, Delphine Abadie, and William Sacher, as well as against their Montreal-based publishing house Ecosociete over the book Noir Canada. Pillage, corruption et criminalité en Afrique (Black Canada. Pillage, corruption and criminality in Africa). The multinationals allege that the book contains false statements about their activities that amount to libel. Despite the well-sourced nature of the material, including reports from the UN, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, they have accused those involved of publishing defamatory statements and are pursuing them for a combined sum of $11 million ($5 million to Banro in an Ontario-based suit, and $6 million to Barrick, filed in Montreal).
Our Academic Petition contains further details on the case, as well as the signatures of academic professors from around the world who are pledging their support for the authors and publishing house.
Then in February of 2010 Barrick Gold issued a threat of legal action against Vancouver-based publishing house Talonbooks, author Alain Deneault, and the book's translators over their notice of intent to publish a book entitled Imperial Canada Inc. Legal Haven of Choice for the World's Mining Industries. With access to nothing beyond a short description of the material available on the Talonbooks website-with no mention of Barrick-the multinational has threatened further legal action if the book is published and has demanded access to the material prior to its publication. ...
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You think you can get away with the truth?
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Mon, Dec 13, 2010
from Fast Company:
Wik-Bee Leaks: EPA Document Shows It Knowingly Allowed Pesticide That Kills Honey Bees
Now a leaked EPA document reveals that the agency allowed the widespread use of a bee-toxic pesticide, despite warnings from EPA scientists.
The document, which was leaked to a Colorado beekeeper, shows that the EPA has ignored warnings about the use of clothianidin, a pesticide produced by Bayer that mainly is used to pre-treat corn seeds. The pesticide scooped up $262 million in sales in 2009 by farmers, who also use the substance on canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers, and wheat, according to Grist.... The document invalidates a prior Bayer study that justified the registration of clothianidin on the basis of its safety to honeybees:
"Clothianidin's major risk concern is to nontarget insects (that is, honey bees). Clothianidin is a neonicotinoid insecticide that is both persistent and systemic. Acute toxicity studies to honey bees show that clothianidin is highly toxic on both a contact and an oral basis. Although EFED does not conduct RQ based risk assessments on non-target insects, information from standard tests and field studies, as well as incident reports involving other neonicotinoids insecticides (e.g., imidacloprid) suggest the potential for long-term toxic risk to honey bees and other beneficial insects."
The entire 101-page memo is damning (and worth a read). But the opinion of EPA scientists apparently isn't enough for the agency, which is allowing clothianidin to keep its registration. ...
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I wonder which part of the name got changed: "Environmental" to "Economic", or "Protection" to "Pretension"?
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You're still reading! Good for you!
You really should read our short, funny, frightening book FREE online (or buy a print copy):
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
We've been quipping this stuff for more than 30 months! Every day!
Which might explain why we don't get invited to parties anymore.
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Wed, Oct 27, 2010
from CNN:
Everyday chemicals may be harming kids, panel told
Of the 84,000 chemicals on the market today -- many of which are in objects that people come into contact with every day -- only about 1 percent of them have been studied for safety, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Tuesday.
Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, told a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health that such little oversight means that children in the United States are virtual "guinea pigs in an uncontrolled experiment."... Lautenberg has introduced legislation that would require chemical manufacturers to prove the safety of their products before they're released into the market. He said the current law -- the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 -- is too lax, resulting in the banning of five chemicals in the past 34 years. ...
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I'm gonna name my next kid, Petri.
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Mon, Sep 27, 2010
from Food Safety News:
Ag Secretary Vilsack Asked to Clarify Position on Antibiotics Overuse
U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have asked the Obama administration to clarify its position on antibiotic use in food animals.... Responding to a question about legislation Slaughter and Feinstein have proposed, Vilsack reportedly said the use of antibiotics in livestock production cannot be banned, adding "USDA's public position is, and always has been, that antibiotics need to be used judiciously, and we believe they already are."... Those draft FDA recommendations, released for public comment in June, were immediately questioned by industry groups. But some say FDA's proposed guidelines do not go far enough.... According to estimates by the Union of Concerned Scientists, some 50 million pounds -- 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States each year -- are mixed into animal feed or drinking water to promote growth or compensate for crowded conditions. Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that the antibiotics in meat have led to antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and have already made some drugs ineffective.
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Not to worry. We'll just designate antibiotics as a "nutritional supplement." Problem solved.
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Thu, Sep 23, 2010
from NIH, via ScienceDaily:
Higher Than Predicted Human Exposure to the Toxic Chemical Bisphenol A or BPA, New Study Indicates
Researchers have discovered that women, female monkeys and female mice have major similarities when it comes to how bisphenol A (BPA) is metabolized, and they have renewed their call for governmental regulation when it comes to the estrogen-like chemical found in many everyday products.... "This study provides convincing evidence that BPA is dangerous to our health at current levels of human exposure," said Fredrick vom Saal, Curators' professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri. "The new results clearly demonstrate that rodent data on the health effects of BPA are relevant to predictions regarding the health effects of human exposure to BPA. Further evidence of human harm should not be required for regulatory action to reduce human exposure to BPA."
BPA is one of the world's highest production-volume chemicals, with more than 8 billion pounds made per year. It can be found in a wide variety of consumer products, including hard plastic items such as baby bottles and food-storage containers, the plastic lining of food and beverage cans, thermal paper used for receipts, and dental sealants. The findings in the current study suggest that human exposure to BPA is much higher than some prior estimates and is likely to be from many still-unknown sources, indicating the need for governmental agencies to require the chemical industry to identify all products that contain BPA. ...
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Sounds to me like further studies are needed. Wouldn't wanna go off half-cocked, now would we?
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Tue, Sep 7, 2010
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Rising tide of acid mine water threatens Johannesburg
A toxic tide of acid mine water is rising steadily beneath Johannesburg which, if left unchecked, could cause earth tremors, power blackouts and even cancer among residents, experts have warned. The water is currently around 600 metres below the city's surface but is rising at a rate of between 0.4 and 0.9 metres per day, meaning it could overflow onto the streets in just under a year and a half.
Because it would take 13 months to build a pumping station to clear the water, a legacy of 120 years of mining around Johannesburg, the state has just four months to find the millions of pounds needed to fund it.
It is currently locked in negotiations with multinational mining firms who have profited from the area's rich natural resources over who should pay and how much.
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I just don't think we'll be decreasing quarterly earnings to pay for your problem.
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Thu, Aug 5, 2010
from Guardian:
UN incineration plans rejected by world's rubbish-dump workers
The waste-pickers who scour the world's rubbish dumps and daily recycle thousands of tonnes of metal, paper and plastics are up in arms against the UN, which they claim is forcing them out of work and increasing climate change emissions.
Their complaint, heard yesterday in Bonn where UN global climate change talks have resumed, is that the clean development mechanism (CDM), an ambitious climate finance scheme designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, has led to dozens of giant waste-to-energy incinerators being built to burn municipal rubbish, as well as hundreds of new landfill schemes designed to collect methane gas.
"Waste-pickers, who are some of the poorest people on earth, recover recyclable materials. They are invisible entrepreneurs on the frontline of climate change, earning a living from recovery and recycling, reducing demand for natural resources," says Neil Tangri, director of Gaia, an alliance of 500 anti-incinerator groups in 80 countries.
"But they are being undermined by CDM projects, which deny them entry to dumps. This is leading to further stress and hardship for some of the poorest people in the world and is increasing emissions," he said.... Nearly 60 percent of all Delhi's waste, for example, is recycled by an army of tens of thousands of pickers who scavenge for recyclable materials on the city's dumps.... But she said that the CDM would welcome groups of waste-pickers who wanted to apply for UN climate credits. "If they can show, with the correct methodology, that they are saving emissions, they would be eligible, too," she said. ...
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Apply for UN climate credits, you wastepickers climbing through garbage piles.
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Sat, Jun 5, 2010
from PhysOrg:
Canada cuts greenhouse gas emissions target for 2010-2012
The Canadian government quietly cut its greenhouse gas emissions target for 2010-2012 this week, unleashing a firestorm of criticism from the opposition on Friday. The new target was published late Wednesday by the environment ministry in a report titled "A Climate Change Plan for the Purposes of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act."
It outlines CO2 cuts of five million tonnes in 2010, followed by eight million and 10 million tonnes fewer emissions in 2011 and 2012, respectively.... "The numbers say it all: this government's inaction on climate change means actual emissions will grow in absolute terms every year until 2012," lamented opposition Liberal MP David McGuinty, describing the results as "appalling."... Canada aligned itself with the United States in January in setting a 2020 carbon emissions target of 17 percent below 2005 levels. ...
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Just because your big brother does it doesn't make it okay.
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Tue, Jun 1, 2010
from PhysOrg:
Australia takes legal action to stop Japan whaling
Australia has launched legal action at the International Court of Justice to stop Japan's hunting of whales, Japanese officials said Tuesday, calling the move "extremely regrettable".... Australia's action in The Hague follows months of tension between Canberra and Tokyo, which kills the ocean giants under a loophole in a 1986 international moratorium that allows lethal "scientific research".... "We want to see an end to whales being killed in the name of science in the Southern Ocean," said Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett last week, vowing "to bring a permanent end to whaling in the Southern Ocean".
A Japanese foreign ministry official told AFP on Tuesday: "We are studying our strategy regarding the lawsuit. Details are yet to be decided, but we won't disclose our strategy even after we make a decision." ...
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Perhaps if we "scientifically murder" an official, we'll be able to discern their strategy.
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Wed, May 12, 2010
from CBC:
Perfumes' chemical safety unknown: report
Top-selling fragrances contain chemicals that can trigger allergic reactions or disrupt hormones but are not listed on labels, according to a new report calling for changes in federal regulations.
The report, released Wednesday by Environmental Defence in Canada and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in the U.S., assessed 17 fragrances bought in both countries that were tested by an independent laboratory in California. They included Britney Spears' Curious, Calvin Klein Eternity, Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce and Old Spice body spray.
The tests found a dozen or more chemicals not listed on labels, multiple chemicals that can trigger allergic reactions or disrupt hormones, and substances that have not been assessed for safety by the beauty industry's self-policing review panels, the groups said....
An average of 10 sensitizing chemicals that can trigger allergic reactions such as headaches, wheezing, asthma, infant diarrhea and vomiting and reduced pulmonary function, were found in each product.
* An average of four hormone-disrupting chemicals were found in each product. The chemicals may mimic the hormone estrogen.
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Some perfumes just stink.
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Sat, May 8, 2010
from New York Times:
EPA Backed Off 'Hazardous' Label for Coal Ash After White House Review
U.S. EPA's proposed regulation of coal ash as a hazardous waste was changed at the White House to give equal standing to an alternative favored by the coal industry and coal-burning electric utilities. The Obama administration is now considering two competing rules for regulating the ash that contains toxins that include arsenic, lead and mercury. The first would set binding federal disposal requirements for the ash, and the second would label the ash nonhazardous and leave enforcement to the states (E&ENews PM, May 4).
EPA released the two-headed proposal Tuesday for public comments.... What changed in the six months that the proposal was in OMB's hands? Says EPA: Its administrator, Lisa Jackson, changed her mind about the hazardous-waste designation.
"After extensive discussions, the Administrator decided that both the [hazardous and nonhazardous] options merited consideration for addressing the formidable challenge of safely managing coal ash disposal," EPA said in a statement. ...
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I had no idea Obama's middle initial was "W."
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Wed, Apr 7, 2010
from Greenpeace:
Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine
Billionaire oilman David Koch likes to joke that Koch Industries is "the biggest company you've never heard of." But the nearly $50 million that David Koch and his brother Charles have quietly funneled to climate-denial front groups that are working to delay policies and regulations aimed at stopping global warming is no joking matter.
Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch have a vested interest in delaying climate action: they've made billions from their ownership and control of Koch Industries, an oil corporation that is the second largest privately-held company in America (which also happens to have an especially poor environmental record). It's time more people were aware of Charles and David Koch and just what they're up to.
Greenpeace has released the report "Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine" to expose the connections between these climate denial front groups and the secretive billionaires who are funding their efforts. The Koch brothers, their family members, and their employees direct a web of financing that supports conservative special interest groups and think-tanks, with a strong focus on fighting environmental regulation, opposing clean energy legislation, and easing limits on industrial pollution. ...
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This is what plutocracy looks like.
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Sat, Feb 20, 2010
from Dredging Today, via DesdemonaDespair:
A more toxic picture of TVA coal ash spill, cleanup works estimated at $1 billion
The disastrous coal ash spill that occurred a year ago at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston power plant in eastern Tennessee dumped a whopping 2.66 million pounds of 10 toxic pollutants into the nearby Emory and Clinch rivers -- more than all the surface-water discharges from all U.S. power plants in 2007.
That's one of the findings of a new report from the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project based on toxics release inventory data filed by TVA with the Environmental Protection Agency. The 10 pollutants are arsenic, barium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, vanadium and zinc -- chemicals that have been linked to cancer, neurological disorders and other serious health problems.
The report's release came in time for the hearing scheduled for today by the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment on the progress of the ash spill's cleanup.
"We believe the data makes a very strong case for EPA action on coal ash ponds," EIP Director Eric Schaeffer said during a telephone press conference held yesterday to announce the findings. ...
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Psst. TVA -- just call it an "act of God" and you won't have to pay for it.
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Wed, Feb 10, 2010
from New Scientist:
Lost leviathans: Hunting the world's missing whales
They are enigmatic sea monsters -- rare, magnificent beasts patrolling the ocean depths. Yet old chronicles tell of populations of whales hundreds of times greater than today. Such tales have long been dismissed as exaggerations, but could they be true? Have humans killed such a staggering number of whales?
New genetic techniques for analysing whale populations, alongside a growing archive of fresh historical analysis, suggest so. Taken together, they indicate that we have got our ideas about marine ecology completely upside down: whales may once have been the dominant species in the world's oceans.
This is not simply an academic question. It matters now more than ever before. Whale numbers have been recovering slowly since the end of large-scale hunting in 1986, but this global moratorium is only temporary. The International Whaling Commission, the club of mostly former whaling nations which maintains the ban, has rules that say it can reconsider hunting a given whale species if its population climbs back to more than 54 per cent of its pre-hunting levels. Right now, according to IWC estimates, Atlantic humpbacks and Pacific minkes may have recovered sufficiently to put them back in whalers' sights. But, crucially, such decisions rest on the veracity of the IWC's estimates of historical whale populations -- 54 per cent of what, exactly? If the old salts' tales of whale abundance are true, it is way too early to be dusting off those harpoons. ...
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Without whale oil, whatever would we do?
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Wed, Jan 20, 2010
from Times Online (UK):
Car giants giving false hope of emission-free future, report says
Car companies are raising false hopes of emission-free motoring in order to continue profiting from large, fuel-hungry vehicles, according to a study.
Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are not expected to be available widely until after 2050 because of the high cost of the platinum in their catalysts. Battery-powered vehicles will also remain a niche product because of their limited battery life. It urges the Government to impose higher taxes on drivers of large, inefficient vehicles and to reinvest the proceeds in better public transport and measures to encourage walking and cycling. The authors accuse car manufacturers of exaggerating the potential for switching to hydrogen or battery-powered vehicles in the next decade. ...
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That's how it's done these days: being just green enough to seem green.
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Tue, Jan 19, 2010
from Detroit Free Press:
Court won't close shipping locks to stop Asian carp
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a one-sentence denial today of Michigan's request for a preliminary injunction to close Chicago-area locks to keep out Asian carp.... The court hasn't decided whether to take that case, which sought to reopen a 1922 case arguing against the diversion of the Chicago River to create a shipping canal linking the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes.
Asian carp DNA has been found within a mile of Lake Michigan at a pumping station north of Chicago. The carp are considered dangerous because of their size and voracious eating habits.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm called the court ruling "extremely disappointing."... "We cannot allow carp into the Great Lakes," Granholm said. "It will destroy our Great Lakes fisheries, our fisheries, the economy. It has to be stopped and it is urgent." ...
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Too bad science is independent of justice, while implementation is dependent on law.
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Wed, Jan 13, 2010
from SciDev.net:
Safety ignored in nanotech rush, warn experts
Developing countries have embarked on a nanotechnology spree in the absence of health and safety guidelines, experts have cautioned.
Countries including China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam are intensively seeking to commercialise nanotechnology.
But unlike the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States -- which have taken public concerns on board and developed preliminary guidance documents on the use of the technology -- developing countries are not engaging in public discourse, said experts at a workshop on nanotechnology governance and regulation held in Delhi, India, last week (8 January).... Advertisements promote shirts made from nanofibres and washing machines that use nanomaterial-coated components to better remove dirt and stains.
"It turns out none of the companies has performed any toxicology tests," said Dhawan, because there is no stipulation that they should do so. ...
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Of course I buy my grey goo from the lowest bidder.
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Sat, Sep 26, 2009
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Rivers made famous in Wind and the Willows and Winnie the Pooh fail ecological test
The famous stretches of river failed to meet new European standards for water quality that judge not only the chemicals in the water but the health of fish stocks and level of wildlife.
Conservationists said the state of rivers made famous in literature reflects the wider problem of pollution and called on the Government to be more ambitious in their clean-up programme. The Environment Agency has disclosed that just 26 per cent of the country's 6,000 rivers are judged to be a "good" ecological status under the EU rules. ...
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What's next, Huckleberry's Mississippi? Oh... right.
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Tue, Sep 1, 2009
from Louisville Courier-Journal:
Ky., Ind. lead nation in coal ash ponds
Indiana and Kentucky are the nation's top two states for coal ash ponds -- and many of the holding basins for the toxic mess were built without the guidance of trained engineers, according to new information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The accounting, which found nearly 600 ash ponds across the U.S. -- 53 in Indiana and 44 in Kentucky -- is based on a survey of the nation's electric utilities that the EPA conducted after a massive December coal ash spill in Tennessee.... The EPA reported numerous ponds that had not been designed by an engineer, including three at Duke Energy's Gibson County, Ind., plant, seven Kentucky Utilities ponds scattered around Kentucky, and LG&E's 10 ponds at its Cane Run and Mill Creek plants in Louisville. Some also weren't overseen by a professional engineer during construction. ...
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I play an engineer on television! I'll help!
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Tue, Jul 14, 2009
from Chicago Tribune:
Chicago water: In public reports, city silent over sex hormones and painkillers found in treated drinking water
Annual water quality reports mailed to Chicagoans this month didn't say a word about sex hormones, painkillers or anti-cholesterol drugs, even though city officials found traces of pharmaceuticals and other unregulated substances in treated Lake Michigan water during the past year.
Like other cities, Chicago must notify the public if its drinking water contains certain regulated contaminants, including lead, pesticides and harmful bacteria.
But pharmaceutical chemicals, which have been detected in drinking water across the country, are not on that list. ...
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Perhaps everyone's too high from drinking the elixir to care!
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Fri, Jun 5, 2009
from Environmental Working Group, via BoingBoing:
Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database
Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group.
Skin Deep pairs ingredients in more than 41,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind. Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn't require companies to test their own products for safety. ...
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"Leaving a beautiful corpse" ain't what it's cracked up to be.
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Sun, Mar 29, 2009
from Scientific American:
Some Food Additives Mimic Human Hormones
A discovery that two commonly used food additives are estrogenic has led scientists to suspect that many ingredients added to the food supply may be capable of altering hormones.
More than 3,000 preservatives, flavorings, colors and other ingredients are added to food in the United States, and none of them are required to undergo testing for estrogenic activity, according to the Food and Drug Administration.... The first food additive, propyl gallate, is a preservative used to prevent fats and oils from spoiling that can be found in a range of foods including baked goods, shortening, dried meats, candy, fresh pork sausage, mayonnaise and dried milk.
The second additive, 4-hexyl resorcinol, is used to prevent shrimp, lobsters, and other shellfish from discoloring.
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Are you so sure that those preservatives aren't preserving us? Hunh?
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Sat, Jan 24, 2009
from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
EPA a failure on chemicals, audit finds
The Environmental Protection Agency's ability to assess toxic chemicals is as broken as the nation's financial markets and needs a total overhaul, a congressional audit has found.
The Government Accountability Office has released a report saying the EPA lacks even basic information to say whether chemicals pose substantial health risks to the public. It says actions are needed to streamline and increase the transparency of the EPA's registry of chemicals. And it calls for measures to enhance the agency's ability to obtain health and safety information from the chemical industry...."This just shows that the EPA is not any better able to protect Americans from risky chemicals than FEMA was to save New Orleans or the SEC was to cope with the financial collapse," said John Peterson Myers, a scientist and author who has been writing about chemical risks to human health for more than three decades.
For the EPA to be compared to the collapsed financial markets dramatically underscores the need for a complete overhaul of the regulation of toxic chemicals, said Richard Wiles, executive director of Environmental Working Group, a health watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C.
"The EPA joins the hall of shame of failed government programs," Wiles said.
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Yeah, I know things are bad, but don't be hatin'!
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Tue, Jan 20, 2009
from Business Mirror:
Dumping of banned toys from US feared
A waste and pollution watchdog on Monday called on the government, particularly the Bureau of Customs, to prevent the entry of banned toys from the United States which may be dumped into the country.
At the same time, the group urged lawmakers to enact a law, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to come up with ways to guarantee consumer safety in the country, particularly against toxic contamination in various local and imported products.
EcoWaste Coalition made the call saying the impending implementation of far-reaching safety regulations for toys and other children’s products in the US might result in the massive recall of proscribed items that could find their way to the Philippines, which has less stringent requirements. ...
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I've heard of the Island of Misfit Toys, but the Country of Banned Toys is something different!
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Wed, Jan 14, 2009
from ProPublica:
Jackson to Be Asked About Regulating Perchlorate in Drinking Water
In the latest volley of a years-long battle involving the Environmental Protection Agency, the military and the White House, the EPA announced last week that it will delay its decision [1] on whether to set a drinking water standard for perchlorate, a chemical in rocket fuel that has been found at harmful levels in drinking water across the country. The announcement that the EPA won't act until it receives advice from the National Academy of Sciences puts the contentious decision onto the already-heavy regulatory agenda awaiting Lisa Jackson, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to head the EPA. ...
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I still fail to see what's wrong with a little rocket fuel in my drink!
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Wed, Dec 10, 2008
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Fisherman land 30 per cent increase in North Sea cod quotas
Scottish fishermen have won a 30 per cent increase in the amount of cod they are allowed to land next year in return for signing up to tough new regulations.... Previously any fish under a certain size had to be discarded in a bid to preserve stocks, but under the new deal it will be prohibited to throw back any fish that is "marketable".
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, warned the new regulations could be burdensome, depending on the small print. ...
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Talk to the Nova Scotians and Newfoundlanders about their former cod, you freakin' idiots -- and here's some small print for you: YOU'RE FISHING UNSUSTAINABLY!
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Sat, Dec 6, 2008
from San Jose Mercury News:
Bug off! Green pest control methods
The seemingly endless bottles of pesticides that line the shelves of our nearest hardware store all contain warnings that the chemical compounds found within may be hazardous to our health. They advise us to avoid contact with eyes and skin and to keep out of reach of children and pets. These "precautions" do not exactly inspire confidence, but they are also studiously vague about the potential consequences of exposure.
With this problem in mind, the Pesticide Action Network has created an online database rating 368,974 of the most common and uncommon pesticides, herbicides and fungicides according to the toxicity of their ingredients www.pesticideinfo.org.
Searching the database for information about the toxic effects of many of the well-known brands is easy. For instance, according to the PAN database, Propoxur, one of the active ingredients in Raid, is known to be acutely toxic, neurotoxic and carcinogenic, as well as a groundwater contaminant. In other words, depending on the level of exposure, it can cause symptoms ranging from tremors, nausea and weakness to cancer, paralysis and death. That's not something I would like to unleash in my home. ...
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Is knowledge power?
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Fri, Aug 29, 2008
from Wenachee World:
Investigators identify toxic goo, still looking for who dumped it
Nearly all of the 2,353 barrels contained industrial paint solvents and sludge, though more than half of the containers had deteriorated and spilled most or all of their contents. Some held medical waste and two barrels tested positive for low levels of radioactive materials.... Aquifers under the dump tested positive for high levels of organic compounds, metals, petroleum products, solvents, pesticides and other chemicals.... Officials believed the contamination was coming from the 55-gallon barrels, which were brought to the unlined landfill by a transport company in August 1975 and buried. But no records of what the barrels contained could be found.
The [transport] company paid $2 per barrel — about $4,700 in all — to bury the toxins. ...
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Zombie toxic barrels:
they just won't stay buried!
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Tue, Aug 19, 2008
from Washington Post:
Anti-Regulation Aide to Cheney Is Up for Energy Post
"A senior aide to Vice President Cheney is the leading contender to become a top official at the Energy Department, according to several current and former administration officials, a promotion that would put one of the administration's most ardent opponents of environmental regulation in charge of forming department policies on climate change." ...
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Hey. Why don't we let the market decide how it wants to destroy the planet?
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