Friday, July 24, 2015

What's Killing the Babies of Vernal, Utah?

A fracking boomtown, a spike in stillborn deaths and a gusher of unanswered questions

BY  Rolling Stone
Every night, Donna Young goes to bed with her pistol, a .45 Taurus Judge with laser attachment. Last fall, she says, someone stole onto her ranch to poison her livestock, or tried to; happily, her son found the d-CON wrapper and dumped all the feed from the troughs. Strangers phoned the house to wish her dead or run out of town on a rail. Local nurses and doctors went them one better, she says, warning pregnant women that Young's incompetence had killed babies and would surely kill theirs too, if given the chance.
"Before they started spreading their cheer about me, I usually had 18 to 25 clients a year, and a spotless reputation in the state," says Young, the primary midwife to service Vernal, Utah, a boom-and-bust town of 10,000 people in the heart of the fracked-gas gold rush of the Uintah Basin. A hundred and fifty miles of sparse blacktop east of Salt Lake City, Vernal has the feel of a slapdash suburb dropped randomly from outer space. Half of it is new and garishly built, the paint barely dry after a decade-long run of fresh-drilled wells and full employment. "Now, I'm down to four or five ladies, and don't know how I'll be able to feed my animals if things don't turn around quick."
Read the whole story here.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Nexen Energy pipeline spill prompts environmental protection order

Alberta oil pipeline cleanup covers area of 2 CFL football fields

CBC News Posted: Jul 18, 2015 8:48 AM MT Last Updated: Jul 18, 2015 4:53 PM MT
  • A spill was discovered Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at Nexen Energy's oilsands facility near Long Lake, south of Fort McMurray in Alberta.
  • A spill was discovered Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at Nexen Energy's oilsands facility near Long Lake, south of Fort McMurray in Alberta. (Larry MacDougal/CP)
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Alberta's energy regulator has issued an environmental protection order after a massive pipeline spill in the northern part of the province earlier this week. 
The order directs Nexen Energy to contain the spill, which saw five million litres of bitumen, sand and water released at the company's Long Lake oilsands facility near Fort McMurray. 
It also instructs Nexen to alert affected parties and develop a cleanup plan.
Read the entire story here

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Water Works votes to sue 3 Iowa counties over nitrates

That's what we need in Michigan and Ohio not a bravoed new directive to reduce fertilizer input into Lake Erie by 20% over 10 years handing out millions of subsidies to the polluting farmers to do a minuscule fraction of the really necessary steps to safeguard Lake Erie's health!

 Timothy Meinch, tmeinch@dmreg.com

Des Moines Water Works will file a federal suit against three rural counties in northwest Iowa, an action that could trigger far-reaching effects on how states approach water quality regulation.

WaterWorks6.jpg
Bob Wessel of Des Moines speaks about water quality during a meeting at the Des Moines Water Works Tuesday, March 10, 2015.(Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register)

Read the entire story here

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Environmental Groups Renew Call for Line 5 Shutdown

The Oil and Water Don't Mix campaign issued a press release in response to the Michigan Petroleum Pipeline Task Force's official recommendations.
LANSING – In a report released today, Governor Rick Snyder’s Michigan Petroleum Pipeline Task Force went public with recommendations that hold some promise but lack a commitment to an open public process and immediate protective actions, leaving the Great Lakes and Michigan’s economy – withowdm-responds-sm.png one in five jobs tied to abundant, high quality fresh water – vulnerable to a catastrophic oil spill from a pair of aging pipelines that push 23 million gallons of oil a day through the Straits of Mackinac, said leaders of the Oil & Water Don’t Mix campaign
Read the entire press release here

Panel approves underground nuclear waste facility near Lake Huron

By Gina Joseph, The Macomb Daily 
Shortly before midnight, Wednesday, Canada’s Minister of Environment informed many on both sides of the international border what many did not want to hear: A Joint Review Panel has endorsed Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) plan to bury radioactive nuclear waste on the shores of Lake Huron.

An aerial view of the Bruce Power generating station. A Canadian advisory panel has endorsed a fiercely debated plan to bury waste from this plant, and others less than a mile from Lake Huron. (The Macomb Daily/OPG file photo) 

Read the entire story here

This is a serious thread to the health of the Great Lakes. The article Joni posted provides more info on the political and historic aspects of this tragedy. All I can add is that we do NOT need nuclear energy - the same way as we do NOT need fossil fuels. Therefore every nuclear power plant should be shut down immediately and stop producing nuclear waste for whichs disposal there are NO safe options!

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Outcome of EPA vs. Savoy Will Most Probably Not be Published

On my inquiry about the status of the legal proceedings against Savoy to the EPA officer in charge of the Savoy case - I was told: "Most if not all of the discussions between EPA and Savoy will be settlement/enforcement confidential from here moving forward, but I will certainly alert you if EPA posts or releases anything public regarding this matter."
I find it very unsatisfactory that the Adrian people, who were unnecessarily and knowingly poisoned by Savoy for more than a year, should not even get to know if and how much penalty or settlement Savoy has to pay to the EPA? for this wrongdoing. Actually - not that it really would adequately pay for the endangerment of residents living around the processing facility - but shouldn't the eventual penalty or settlement rather go to the local communities? If you think the same, you may want to contact Natalie Topinka at topinka.natalie@epa.gov

Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom Early Season Projection - 09 July 2015, Projection 08


Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Report Environmental Violations

Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility.  Help EPA fight pollution by reporting possible harmful environmental activity. To do so, visit EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/complaints/index.html

Monday, July 6, 2015

U.S. gas heading for Mexico

U.S. gas heading for Mexico 




Staff Writer

A surge in pipeline construction across the Texas-Mexico border is underway, to meet projections that the flow of U.S. natural gas to Mexico will almost double by the end of the decade.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Prince Charles: rewire the global economy to stop climate change

© 2015 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
Heir to the throne calls for end to ‘business as usual’ approach that does nothing to avert catastrophic global warming – and praises Guardian’s climate campaign


 Prince Charles has called for profound changes to how businesses are run and economies are managed. Photograph: William Deshazer/EPA


Prince Charles has said that “profound changes” to the global economic system are needed in order to avert environmental catastrophe, in an uncompromising speech delivered in front of an audience of senior business leaders and politicians.
The heir to the throne – often criticised for his meddling in political affairs – argued that ending the taxpayer subsidies enjoyed by coal, oil and gas companiescould reduce the carbon emissions driving climate change by an estimated 13%.
Although the prince’s passion for environmental causes is well known, the speech delivered on Thursday evening in St James’s Palace, London was particularly pointed in its criticism of companies that protected vested interests and came with a report that proposed raising taxes on them.
Speaking at a event for the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), of which he is a patron, the prince complained that “the irresistible power of ‘business as usual’ has so far defeated every attempt to ‘rewire’ our economic system in ways that will deliver what we so urgently need”.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

G7 leaders agree to phase out fossil fuel use by end of century

© 2015 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.

German chancellor Angela Merkel announces commitment to ‘decarbonise global economy’ and end extreme poverty and hunger



The G7 leading industrial nations have agreed to cut greenhouse gases by phasing out the use of fossil fuels by the end of the century, the German chancellor,Angela Merkel, has announced, in a move hailed as historic by some environmental campaigners.
continue reading at: http://gu.com/p/49tgx/sbl

The full text of the declaration (18 pages) can be downloaded here.

100% is Now

http://100.org?akid=8.2995.az0clm

Hello Friend,

Since our launch, the Solutions Project has been spreading the word that our country can get 100% of its energy from clean, renewable sources. We have the technology, we just need to build the political will.
Now we’re taking things one step further with the launch of our 100% campaign -- which is dedicated to making the 100% clean energy future a reality for everyone.
The campaign kicked off two weeks ago in the heart of New York City’s East Village. With community partners, inspired performers, and solar-powered pizza, we showed what’s possible when clean energy and human energy come together.
Oh, and we got to hear some inspiring words from Mark Ruffalo, Leonardo DiCaprio, and grammy winner Malik Yusef too!  
Check out this video featuring our launch event and partners around the state, then please share it with your friends and family to let them know: #100IsNow.




Our event in New York City was just the beginning. The 100% Campaign is gearing up for a big summer highlighting the work of community leaders, helping you go 100% in your home or business, and giving you ways to make clean energy more accessible and affordable for 100% of us.
Check out the launch video (and share it with your networks) to build momentum for what’s coming next!

http://act.100.org/go/2?t=3&akid=8.2995.az0clm

Yours,
Sarah