Archive for March 25th, 2010

Bathing and showering: Under-appreciated sources of water pollution from medicines

ScienceDaily: That bracing morning shower and soothing bedtime soak in the tub are potentially important but until now unrecognized sources of the hormones, antibiotics, and other pharmaceuticals that pollute the environment, scientists reported at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco on March 24. The first-ever evaluation, they said, could lead to new ways to control environmental pollution from active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), which has been the source of ...

Big Oil seeks shale gas deal in climate bill

Reuters: Three oil majors want U.S. senators crafting the climate bill to keep the federal government from regulating shale gas drilling methods that have made vast domestic reserves accessible but have been criticized for polluting water supplies. Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Joseph Lieberman, an independent, are hoping to release an outline of the climate bill next month. "Some of their staffers had asked the majors their views about what would be ...

China sandstorm fuels record pollution in HK, Taiwan

Agence France-Presse: Air pollution in Hong Kong and Taiwan soared to record levels as officials warned Monday of a public health menace from a toxic stew of particulates, fuelled by a massive sandstorm over Beijing. Readings of Hong Kong's Air Pollution Index were more than double the level at which the general public is advised to stay indoors. "Today's API is at record high levels," a spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Department told AFP. Hong Kong's famed skyline and harbour is ...

Ethiopia’s rush to build mega dams sparks protests

Guardian: At the foot of a towering gorge slicing through southern Ethiopia the Omo river suddenly disappears into a tunnel bored into the rockface. Excavators claw at the soil and stone in the exposed riverbed beyond, where a giant concrete wall will soon appear in the ravine. At 243 metres the Gibe III dam will be the highest on the continent, a controversial centrepiece of Ethiopia's extraordinary multibillion-pound hydroelectric boom. The country that prides itself as "The Water ...

Big Oil seeks natural gas deal in U.S. climate bill

Reuters: Major oil companies were calling on three U.S. senators struggling over a compromise climate bill to provide new breaks for natural gas drilling as the lawmakers said the legislation might not be unveiled until at least the end of April. For the second time in a week the senators crafting the compromise, John Kerry, a Democrat, Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Joe Lieberman, an independent, met with industry groups and oil companies in hopes of advancing ideas on the long-delayed ...

Waste issue hurting U.S. nuclear revival: panel

Reuters: The lack of a permanent home for the nation's radioactive waste is dampening prospects for a resurgence of the U.S. nuclear industry, federal commissioners said at their first public hearing on the subject. The Energy Department set up the panel of former Congressmen, academics, and business leaders after deciding to scrap the long delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada. Commissioners said nuclear waste does not pose an immediate threat to the nation, but a plan on ...

Population growth should be curbed

Agence France-Presse: Humans should have fewer babies to help the global battle against climate change, according to the renowned British primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall. Population growth should be curbed: UK conservationist Goodall, whose 1960s research on chimpanzees changed perceptions of relations between humans and animals, fears the controversial issue has slipped down the agenda in the debate about man's impact on the environment. "It's very frustrating as people don't ...

Doubts Hound World Bank-backed Dam as Its Turbines Start Up

Inter Press Service: It has been just over a week since the turbines came to life at Laos' largest hydropower project, but questions are already dogging this World Bank showpiece that marks the financial institution's return to the business of big dams. A leading environmental group has accused the Bank of failing to meet its obligations to help affected communities in the landlocked South-east Asian nation before the Nam Theun Two (NT2) project started supplying electricity to neighbouring Thailand on ...