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Archive for July 9th, 2011
House panel to examine oil pipeline safety
Posted by Reuters: Laura Zuckerman on July 9th, 2011
Reuters: ExxonMobil on Saturday submitted a draft clean-up plan of its Yellowstone River oil spill to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Few details were immediately available of the draft report submitted by Exxon, which according to an EPA order should spell out how the oil giant will monitor the environment, clean up pollutants, restore damaged areas on the Yellowstone and dispose of hazardous wastes.
Exxon turned in the report, which was ordered by the EPA, as a congressional panel said it...
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South’s ‘extreme drought’ could be felt at supermarkets soon
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Suzi Parker on July 9th, 2011
Christian Science Monitor: The extreme drought conditions throughout the South and as far west as California that stoked record-setting wildfires are increasingly taking their toll on cattle ranchers, a development that could lead to sticker shock at grocery stores in the fall.
Skip to next paragraph Related stories How can Congress cut $2.4 trillion? Here are three places to start. Argentina: Farming crisis batters world food provider Corn futures headed lower? Bigger crop forecast. Topics
With grassland pastures dying...
ExxonMobil steps up Yellowstone River cleanup
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 9th, 2011
Reuters: ExxonMobil Corp's unit said it stepped up efforts to absorb the oil spilled from the ruptured pipeline in Montana and put more people at work to clean up the Yellowstone River.
ExxonMobil Pipeline Co said it placed more than 9,000 feet of boom and almost 160,000 absorbent pads to clean up oil adjacent to the river.
The company also added more people to its spill response team.
On July 3, Exxon said it had shut down a crude oil pipeline after as many as 1,000 barrels of crude oil leaked into...
Montana governor threatens lawsuit over oil spill
Posted by Reuters: Laura Zuckerman on July 9th, 2011
Reuters: Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer continued on Friday to press Exxon Mobil over an oil spill into the Yellowstone River and threatened to take the company to court as clean-up continued a week after the leak.
Schweitzer has been increasingly critical of Exxon in the days since one of its pipelines burst on July 1, spilling what the company estimates was up to 42,000 gallons of oil into the river.
"We're going to hold them liable in court," Schweitzer told reporters following a public meeting...
Water flowing over levee threatens Missouri highway
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 9th, 2011
Reuters: Finally, a bright spot in a soggy summer for communities along the unruly and swollen Missouri River.
"I can see where the water is down six to eight inches," Nancy Thomsen, a flower shop owner in downtown Pierre, South Dakota said from her shop on Missouri Avenue. "So that's getting better."
Thomsen was looking at the water level from the back of Pierre Flower Shop, a state capital staple for 60 years.
The river is usually about two blocks from the shop, but a levee protecting downtown...
: On a pilgrimage to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
Posted by LA Times: Dan Blackburn on July 9th, 2011
LA Times: Reporting from the White Mountains, Calif. –;–; The White Mountains that straddle the California-Nevada border are known for their extreme environment. They get less than a foot of rain a year. The wind blows almost constantly, and the temperatures can dip to well below zero.
Hard to imagine, then, that they're home to the oldest living things on the planet -- the ancient warped and twisted bristlecone pine tree, a big draw for photographers, painters and other artists.
Related Photos: Offbeat...