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Archive for September 8th, 2015
California Becomes First State Label Monsanto’s Roundup as Carcinogen
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 8th, 2015
EcoWatch: In a first for the country, California`s Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) has issued plans to list glyphosate--the toxic active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide--as known to cause cancer. Big news! California EPA Moves to Label Monsanto`s Roundup 'Carcinogenic` http://t.co/gbIK0XVkhd #BanRoundup pic.twitter.com/6QZqUw9oxm -- Center 4 Food Safety (@TrueFoodNow) September 6, 2015 According to a "notice of intent" issued last week by the Cal/EPA`s California`s Office of Environmental...
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California Senate Passes Nation’s Strictest Ban on Microbeads
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 8th, 2015
EcoWatch: The California State Senate passed AB 888 on Friday, banning personal care products containing plastic microbeads. The bill`s amendments need to be approved by the State Assembly and, if passed, it will head to Gov. Brown`s desk. If the bill is approved and signed by the governor, as expected, it would become the nation`s most stringent microbeads ban yet--preventing 38 tons of plastic pollution from entering California`s waterways every year, according to 5 Gyres Institute.
The bill "prohibits,...
Extreme weather and food shocks
Posted by New York Times: Tim Benton and Rob Bailey on September 8th, 2015
New York Times: Recent events highlight concerns about the risks to global food security posed by changing patterns of extreme weather affecting the world’s “breadbasket” regions such as the American Midwest, South America’s southern cone, the Black Sea and the Yangtze River valley. In 2012, the worst drought to hit the U.S. Midwest in half a century sent international maize and soybean prices to record levels. In 2011, wheat prices nearly doubled after an unprecedented heat wave devastated the Russian harvest....
Drilling boom brings rising number of harmful waste spills
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 8th, 2015
Associated Press: Carl Johnson and son Justin are third- and fourth-generation ranchers who for decades have battled oilfield companies that left a patchwork of barren earth where the men graze cattle in the high plains of New Mexico. Blunt and profane, they stroll across a 1 1/2-acre patch of sandy soil — lifeless, save for a scattering of stunted weeds.
Five years ago, a broken pipe soaked the land with as much as 420,000 gallons of oilfield wastewater — a salty and potentially toxic drilling byproduct that can...
Salinas Valley’s thriving crops mask fears over area lone water source
Posted by LA Times: Rosanna Xia on September 8th, 2015
LA Times: In this farming valley, often known as "America's salad bowl," the climate is cool and consistent, the soil is fertile, and an abundance of water has allowed a diverse set of crops to flourish.
Farmers here produce almost two-thirds of the nation's lettuce and half of its broccoli and celery. One town calls itself the artichoke capital of the world.
It is also a place that has seemed to be immune to the state's pervasive drought.
For Rick Antle, the shortage in his fields this summer is...
EPA to add new rule on power plant discharges
Posted by Charlotte Observer: Bruce Henderson on September 8th, 2015
Charlotte Observer: After decades of inaction, the federal government in September will release its second major rule affecting coal ash from power plants in less than a year.
Last December, the Environmental Protection Agency released the first federal rules on ash disposal. This month, the agency will set the first federal limits on toxic metals – mostly from ash – in wastewater discharges from power plants.
The rule is significant, but its reach will be limited. Most utilities, including Duke Energy, are moving...
This maps shows shows how prepared climate change 30 UK cities are
Posted by CityMetric: None Given on September 8th, 2015
CityMetric: How prepared is your city for climate change? This research, originally published in 2013, may hold some answers.
More than half the world’s population now lives in cities or urban areas – which means our vulnerability to the impacts of climate change is tied up with cities' ability to cope.
Responsible for more than 70 per cent of carbon emissions, it is increasingly understood that cities must lead in tackling these problems and adapt to changes in weather patterns. This has led to a proliferation...
Endangered Species’ Genetic Diversity Explains their Decline
Posted by Nature World: Samantha Mathewson on September 8th, 2015
Nature World: Some species may face extinction when they are not able to adapt as easily to changing environments or defend against new diseases. To better identify or rank threatened and engendered species, researchers from Purdue University suggest using the animals' rate of genetic diversity loss.
"Genetic diversity is a key component to the long-term survival of a population," Janna Willoughby, a then-doctoral student in wildlife genetics, said in a statement. "The approach we developed identifies populations...
Diverted groundwater near mines may cause trees die of thirst, study finds
Posted by Guardian: Gabrielle Chan on September 8th, 2015
Guardian: A new study has found open-cut mines that modify groundwater levels can affect trees and ecosystems several kilometres away from mine sites. The study has implications for the $1.2bn Shenhua Watermark coalmine and the federal government’s proposed “green lawfare” legislation which aims to limit the power of people to challenge projects unless they are directly effected. Sebastian Pfautsch, from the Western Sydney University’s Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, was funded to examine eucalypts...