Monday, November 2, 2009

Nice tries and pretty promises

...and cynicism from me. Plus some baaaad water pollution.

ECO-NEWS, WEEK SEVEN

An energy company reversed its plans for natural-gas drilling in New York City's watershed [but will still drill in my hometown's :( ]. (New York Times)


Kenya's finance department ordered government officials to trade in their gas-guzzling cars for more fuel-efficient ones. [Says NPR on Wednesday: most didn't.] (Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation)


Coverage of last Saturday's Belfast "rally against carbon dioxide particles in the air we breathe." [*bangs head against wall*] (Bangor News)


How New York City, one California farmer, and some [annoyingly cheerful] investors are trying to adapt to climate change. (NPR)


BBC
An oil rig in Australia's Timor Sea has been leaking severely for 10 weeks. Now it's on fire.


Bangladesh's government announced creation of a conservation plan to "save" its Bengal tigers and part of their mangrove-forest habitat.


Living on Earth radio
California may soon have energy-efficiency standards for new TVs.

Invasive golden algae suddenly sterilized a salt-polluted Appalachian stream in September, and could spread to other waters.

Monday, October 26, 2009

350, red tides, rockweed, Marcellus, Michigan

ECO-NEWS, WEEK SIX

Poll: Americans' belief in human-induced climate change is at a three-year low. [I'm not sure which disturbs me more, this news or Senator Boxer's assertion that "science always wins the day."] (Associated Press)

The public comment period began for a very controversial plan to "regulate" [or not regulate, says Earthjustice] natural-gas drilling in upstate New York's Marcellus Shale. (CNN)

A roundup of worldwide events from yesterday's Day of Climate Action. (Grist)

A "red tide" of toxic algae killed fish and inconvenienced people around Texas's South Padre Island. (Brownsville Herald)

This year, two Michigan colleges began buying produce from local farms. (Michigan Land Use Institute; article is from August)

Bangor News
Rockweed harvesting vs. conservation continues to provoke disputes around Cobscook Bay. [Note to author: rockweed isn't a plant]

A national NGO ranked Maine tenth in the nation for energy efficiency, noting major improvements here this year.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Frog love, downed dams, sustainable seafood and more

ECO-NEWS, WEEK FIVE

A new California law requires standard-setting and labeling for "sustainable" seafood. (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Offshore wind power will soon be tested in the Gulf of Maine (Fishermen's Voice)

In urban Australia, human noise is affecting frog courtship and demonstrating that natural selection does indeed work. (NPR)

New York Times
Methane leaks from oil and gas pipes/wells: a notable contributor to climate change and a target in reducing it.

A defender of sustainable "commons" won a Nobel prize in economic sciences. [The prize committee' s linked statement is worth reading if you're interested]


Earthjustice
A major dam was removed from Oregon's Rogue River two weeks ago, following a long legal fight.


Earthjustice sued large manufacturers of cleaning products, trying to make them publicly reveal their products' ingredients.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Change is in the seas

ECO-NEWS, WEEK FOUR

The U.S. Navy plans to conduct sonar training near a Florida calving ground for endangered North Atlantic right whales. (Miami Herald)

The USDA announced plans to fight the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone" by reducing agricultural nutrient runoff in the Midwest [good luck]. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

UN climate talks in Bangkok don't seem to have yielded much. (Grist/Agence France-Presse)

A Native American community was forced to leave their eroding home in coastal Louisiana. (Lafayette Advertiser)

Are overfished sea urchins recovering in Downeast Maine? (Bangor News)

Monday, October 5, 2009

Sharks and the Senate

ECO-NEWS, WEEK 3

Palau's government banned commercial shark fishing there, although enforcement is lousy. (New York Times)

Grist
The U.S. Senate released their first version of the current big climate bill-in-process. Newspapers responded; here's an article directory.

A "weekly roundup" of other climate news. [Thank you, Duke U!]

COA' s food systems conference was awesome. :-)

Monday, September 28, 2009

Beets, grizzlies, Plum Creek, and big polluters

The UN held a vaguely-productive climate summit in New York. (UK Telegraph)

Ditto the G20, discussing energy sources in Pittsburgh (Los Angeles Times)

The US Senate declined to consider a proposal preventing the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions... (Miami Herald)

... which it apparently won't do anyway (Ledger-Enquirer)

Maine regulators approved Plum Creek Timber Comany's big development/"preservation" plan for the Moosehead Lake region, after four years of debates, hearings and assorted commotion [which continues here with loads o' reader comments]

New York Times
Roundup Ready (GM) sugar beets might become illegal to grow in the US, following a federal court ruling.

Another court ruling: a certain bunch of states and land trusts may proceed with plans to sue certain energy companies for producing greenhouse gas emissions.

The EPA will soon[ish] require "industrial sites and suppliers of petroleum" to report their greenhouse gas emissions, though some already do.

Yellowstone's grizzly bears were returned to Threatened status on the Endangered Species List

A major ecologist died, one who helped establish the influential notion that carnivores control herbivore populations.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Eco-news: wolf hunts, mountaintop removal, new pollution regulations, and more

ECO-NEWS, WEEK 1
Eco-news is my community service projects, a weekly collection of links to environmental news and analysis sent to messageboard. Major sources include Grist, the New York Times, Bangor News, and articles e-mailed to me by NGOs such as Earthjustice and the Gulf Restoration Network. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome.

Disclaimers: (appearing only this week)
~Inclusion of an article here does not imply that I support (or oppose). Any action or viewpoint described within. [Bracketed] comments are my own opinions.
~Some sources are (unusually) biased. I aim for thorough, well-rounded coverage of each story, but arm tendinitis has greatly reduced my web-surfing ability. For most stories, a Google News search will yield a range of perspectives, should you be interested in exploring further.
And now, the news . . .

New York adopted a program to help people weatherize their homes for energy efficiency, with semi--bipartisan support. (Solve Climate)

The US government proposed rules to limit vehicles' carbon dioxide emissions (effective 2012) and increase their fuel economy. ( New York Times)

Earthjustice lost their latest legal battle against recently-reinstated gray wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana. (Los Angeles Times)

Grist
The EPA denied all permits under consideration for mountaintop-removal coal mining, until they can be shown to [appear to] obey the Clean Water Act.

They also announced plans to change regulations on toxic water released from coal-fired power plants.

Earthjustice (from summer)
Salmon-restoration advocates and "large agricultural interests" continue their water wars in central California.

After being sued for not doing so, the EPA agreed to set limits on algae-growing nutrient discharges into Florida's waters.