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| Above the fold. News aggregated by www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org | Read today's editorials |
| Daily links to top stories in the news about environmental health. 181 'unaccounted for,' at least 3 dead in Boulder County. Federal crews began a historic search and rescue effort Friday as 181 people in Boulder County remain "unaccounted for" following 100-year flooding from several days of torrential rainfall. Boulder Daily Camera, Colorado. California takes aim at hunters' lead bullets. California would become the first state in the nation to ban hunting with lead bullets under a bill approved by the Legislature this week that environmentalists hope will inspire the rest of the country to follow suit. San Francisco Chronicle, California. Health time bomb as patients bring own water to hospitals. In Zimbabwe, erratic water supplies to hospitals countrywide have created a health time bomb, with some patients, including expecting mothers, forced to bring their own water to the institutions. Harare Standard, Zimbabwe. Baltic Sea threatened by wartime chemical weapons. The Baltic Sea faces contamination by thousands of tons of corroding chemical weapons dumped on the ocean bed after the Second World War. Research carried out by marine scientists has found that thousands of shells, many containing mustard gas, have now started to leak. Edinburgh Scotsman, United Kingdom. Value of blood tests near Exide recycling plant questioned. Blood tests of residents near Exide's Vernon battery recycling facility in Los Angeles County won't pinpoint a source of any contamination and come too late, some activists say. Los Angeles Times [Registration Required] Great Lakes program inspires rare bipartisanship. Where the Great Lakes are concerned, party politics really does stop at the water's edge. When a House subcommittee this summer tried to cut 80% of President Barack Obama's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a bipartisan parade started backing a push to get the rest of the money or even increase it. Associated Press Last coal-fired steamship on Great Lakes faces tougher limits on toxic pollution. Faced with a deluge of complaints, federal officials are forcing the last coal-fired steamship on the Great Lakes to dramatically reduce mercury pollution dumped into Lake Michigan. Chicago Tribune, Illinois. EPA can go forward with plan to limit pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. A federal judge on Friday upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s sweeping plan to limit pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, derailing the farm lobby’s attempt to stop one of the largest efforts to clean a waterway in the nation’s history. Washington Post [Registration Required] EPA mounts another effort to fire whistle-blowing chemist. U.S. EPA is attempting to fire a longtime whistle-blower for the second time, characterizing the senior chemist as an intimidating employee who once threatened to kill her supervisor. Greenwire Kincardine nuclear waste site debate heats up. An issue that has dogged Canada’s nuclear industry since its inception – what to do with radioactive waste – gets a long, hard look starting Monday in the scenic lakeside town of Kincardine. It’s a decision with far-reaching consequences. Toronto Star, Ontario. Lucrative crab industry in danger. For decades in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, the crab piled up in fishing boats like gold coins hauled from a rich and fertile sea. But the very ocean that nursed these creatures may prove to be this industry’s undoing. (Part 2 of 3) Seattle Times, Washington. U.S. coal companies scale back export goals. The ailing American coal industry, which has pinned its hopes on exports to counter a declining market at home, is scaling back its ambitions as demand from abroad starts to ebb as well. This year is a “watershed year for global coal markets,” a Goldman Sachs report said. “The window for thermal coal investment is closing.” New York Times [Registration Required] The companies that are doing the most (and least) about the climate. Just a small number of companies are responsible for the majority of the world's carbon emissions. According to CDP, the top 50 biggest listed companies in the world generate 73% of all greenhouse gases--companies like Walmart and Exxon. These 50 big emitters aren't getting any better. Fast Company US cities quench growing thirst with saltwater. As reservoirs disappear and wells run dry, cities around the U.S. are turning to saltwater to meet their water needs. Mike Hightower of Sandia National Labs and Amy Zander of Clarkson University talk about the future of desalination and its impacts on energy and the environment. Is it sustainable enough to succeed? Science Friday, NPR. St. Bernard water system tests positive for rare brain-eating amoeba, CDC confirms. The St. Bernard Parish water system has tested positive for a rare brain-eating amoeba, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed, about a week after St. Bernard Parish government officials assured the public that the parish was taking every precaution possible to flush out its water system. New Orleans Times-Picayune, Louisiana. Jindal won't reappoint 2 levee officials who support lawsuit against oil companies. Gov. Bobby Jindal won’t reappoint two regional levee officials who supported a lawsuit seeking damages from oil and gas companies, even if an independent committee that began meeting Friday re-nominates them, Jindal’s top coastal aide said. New Orleans Times-Picayune, Louisiana. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard pollution set for cleanup. State, federal and Navy officials this week signed off on a plan to dredge offshore areas around the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to remediate the effects of toxic material spilled there decades ago. Portsmouth Herald, New Hampshire. Judge blocks shipment of oil equipment through Idaho forest. A federal judge ordered a halt on Friday to more shipments of immense loads of oil field equipment through a national forest in north-central Idaho, pending a broad review of effects on the route. The review will be conducted by the United States Forest Service in consultation with the Nez Perce Indians. New York Times [Registration Required] EPA scraps chemical safety rules. Certain synthetic chemicals can mimic hormones and disrupt human health and development, but the Obama Administration is now blocking rules that would label such chemicals and require public notification of the results of any research on their health effects. The EPA proposed the rules years ago, but it has now decided to withdraw them. Living On Earth California fracking law has huge holes, critics argue. For the first time, California state law will now directly regulate and track the controversial practice of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, for oil in the state. But environmental critics say the law has huge holes in it. Oil and gas companies representatives aren’t happy with the new bill either. Bay Area NBC, California. The effects of growth: The long view. The evidence suggests that, above a fairly low level of income, economic growth benefits biodiversity. When people get richer, they start behaving better towards other species. And as countries grow they become cleaner, more urban, more peaceful, more efficient and better-informed. Economist More news from today Shortcuts to stories from today about The good news, Avian flu, Climate, Children's health, Air pollution, Cancer, Reproductive disorders, Endocrine disruption, Birth defects, Learning and developmental disabilities, Immune disorders, Environmental justice, Superfund, Water treatment/sewage, Food safety, Integrity of science, Green chemistry. You can also read last weekend's news. Plus: If you were on vacation last week, don't miss last week's top stories... Would you like to display the news stories from EnvironmentalHealthNews.org on your own web site? Check out our RSS feeds. Compiled by Environmental Health Sciences | |
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