Whaling, toxic waste, and much much more

Happy Earth Day...

ECO-NEWS, WEEK 4

An oil spill followed a probably-deadly rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, and has yet to be contained. (BBC)

The IWC, pushed by Japan, is likely to overturn the international ban on commercial whaling (The Times, UK)

In return, Japan proposed to catch fewer minke whales around Antarctica. Yes, I mentioned this two months ago, but now it's happening. (Japan Times. Check out the comments)

A summary of the "peoples' climate summit" in Bolivia. (United Press International)

In Orrington, on the Penobscot River, the mercury-laden landfills of an old chemical plant are set to be cleaned up -- but how thoroughly? [Most recently, residents voted narrowly for the less extensive cleanup option, but this article has more background]. (Bangor News)

Hawaii's government is working on a bill to ban the sale and possession of shark fins, as a cultural concession to the natives. (Honolulu Advisor)

Introduced lionfish continue spreading in the Caribbean, devastating native fish. (Underwater Times)

Reminder: the aquifer below the Great Plains is getting severely depleted (AOL)

Living on Earth: REDD in Borneo, high-profile environmental justice, and efforts to industrially fish the Mississippi's Asian carp.

New York Times
Several environmental groups jointly petitioned the EPA to list 404 southeastern river species as Endangered.

The UN banned cruise ships from running high-sulfur "heavy fuel" in Antarctic waters, which will hinder the industry when it is enacted in August 2011.

New York City began to clean up (i.e. isolate) a toxic, illegal, 34-year-old landfill on Staten Island.

Earthjustice

For the third time, a court ruling blocked a silver/copper mine in Montana.

NGOs and the EPA struck a(nother?) deal for regulating toxic air emissions from US power plants.

Garbage, freshwater cod, veterans and the Amazon

The Stinson sardine plant closing featured on NPR's Weekend Edition show yesterday, and got a headline on underwatertimes.com. As it should.

ECO-NEWS, WEEK 3

The "Climategate" scientists were cleared of climate-data-manipulation charges. (LA Times)

Plans for a huge hydro dam in Brazil, briefly halted by local and international activists, got the go-ahead from a judge. (NY Times)

Researchers discovered the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch. (Associated Press)

The amount of human-made "space junk" orbiting Earth is rising rapidly (AOL)

British scientists think they found a way to farm saltwater fish (e.g. cod) in fresh water. [Which is so abundant these days.] (London Daily Mail)

A major Maine landfill is being converted to a source of natural-gas energy (Bangor News)

Living on Earth: the changing EPA, eco-activist war veterans, and Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson.

Windmills, eggs, and troubled waters

ECO-NEWS, WEEK 2

A coal freighter struck Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The resulting fuel-oil spill was smaller than feared (NY Times)...

...but is still predicted to notably impact the coral. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Israel banned fishing in its famously-fecund Sea of Galilee to prevent stock collapses. (UK Telegraph)

A broken oil pipeline badly soiled a Louisiana wildlife refuge. (WWL/AP)

A popular new Facebook page opposes shark fin soup -- and was made in Hong Kong. (UK Independent)

Living on Earth: wind-powered prisons, 8,000 antique bird eggs, "cap-and-dividend," and the really evil Don Blankenship.

Bangor News

Hundreds of "ghost" lobster traps were removed from Maine waters (incl. 400 around MDI) in a federally-funded cleanup.

Another large and apparently unpopular wind farm opened in Washington County.

Home-scale windmills got mixed reviews from owners [and scorn from the perpetual commenters].

CITES, Chagos Islands, car-emission standards, carbon trading

ECO-NEWS, WEEK 1

Outcomes of last week's CITES meeting: bluefin tuna trade ban rejected, shark-finning regulations rejected, coral protections rejected, ivory sales rejected. (Discover; multiple articles. There are many others on this subject.)

The federal US government announced nationwide standards for greenhouse-gas emissions from cars...

... though credits for "green" cars could weaken the effect. (Christian Science Monitor)

Canada did the same. (Winnipeg Free Press)

The UK established a huge marine reserve around the Chagos Islands, miffing the islands' previously-evicted human population. (BBC)

The EPA proposed new regulations that could theoretically impede mountaintop-removal coal mining significantly. (Grist)
http://www.grist.org/article/appalachians-hail-epas-great-victory-for-clean-water-act-and-justice/

The US Supreme Court refused to consider reopening a loophole in airborne-toxin emissions standards for major polluters. (Earthjustice)

Living on Earth: Carbon trading and forest preservation in the Congo.