Archive for April 3rd, 2010

Oil spill pollutes tributary of China’s Yellow River

Agence France-Presse: A tributary of China's Yellow River has been polluted by an oil spill, state-run media reported Saturday, in the latest environmental accident to threaten the nation's drinking water. About 1,000 tonnes of oil sludge has contaminated farmland and the Luohe River in northern Shaanxi province after a recycling pool at a sewage treatment plant collapsed last Sunday, the China Daily said. More than 2,000 people have been scrambling to clean up the mess and eight containment belts ...

Australia appoints first population minister

Agence France-Presse: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Saturday announced Australia's first population minister, citing concerns about sustainability as the number of people is tipped to balloon within decades. Rudd, who has previously talked of a "Big Australia", said the government needed to plan for an ageing and growing population which a recent report forecast would jump from 22 million to 35.9 million within 40 years. "Many Australians have legitimate concerns about the sustainability of the ...

New York Denies Indian Point Plant a Water Permit

New York Times: In a major victory for environmental advocates, New York State has ruled that outmoded cooling technology at the Indian Point nuclear power plant kills so many Hudson River fish, and consumes and contaminates so much water, that it violates the federal Clean Water Act. The decision is a blow to the plant's owner, the Entergy Corporation, which now faces the prospect of having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build stadium-size cooling towers, or risk that Indian Point's two ...

How to plan better for New England floods

Christian Science Monitor: As flood waters recede in rain-soaked New England, March's record-smashing storms highlight the need for planners in the region to place an increased emphasis on reducing flood risks and boosting their communities' resilience to floods. Focus not only should be placed on nuts-and-bolts, concrete-and-rebar projects such as upgrades to roads, bridges, culverts, and municipal drainage systems. Planners need to update the basic information on rainfall intensity they use to determine the ...