Archive for March 10th, 2016

Flint-Like Lead Hazards May Be Lurking In Private Water Wells

Huffington Post: In this town of 2,800 just south of the Canadian border, residents have long worried about the water flowing from their taps. The water in one household is so corrosive it gutted three dishwashers and two washing machines. Another couple's water is so salty the homeowners tape the taps when guests visit. Even the community's welcome center warns travelers, "Do Not Drink The Water.' So, when the water crisis in Flint, Michigan happened, Stephanie Weiss and husband Andy Greene feared that, as...

Vegetarian food companies finally get their own lobbyist in D.C

Grist: When the giant companies that dominate U.S. meat, dairy, and egg production want something in Washington, they lean on armies of lobbyists, which are financed by flush trade groups like the North American Meat Institute, the National Pork Producers Coalition, the National Chicken Council, and the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association. But who speaks up for seitan chops on the Hill? Until recently, essentially no one, says longtime food industry critic and researcher Michele Simon. And so she has...

Pennsylvania families win $4.24M verdict against gas driller

Associated Press: A federal jury awarded two couples nearly $4.25 million on Thursday after finding one of the largest natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania polluted their well water. The verdict came at the end of a bitter and long-running federal lawsuit pitting homeowners in the village of Dimock against Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. Dimock was the scene of the most highly publicized case of methane contamination to emerge from the early days of Pennsylvania’s natural-gas drilling boom. State regulators...

In Flint Crisis, New Model For Environmental Journalism

Yale Environment 360: Last summer, investigative journalist Curt Guyette found himself knocking on doors of families in Flint, Michigan, carrying not only a pen and notebook, but water-testing kits. Residents realized there was something wrong with their drinking water after the city’s state-appointed emergency manager had switched its source to the Flint River in the spring of 2014 to save money. Michigan officials insisted the water was safe. Guyette, the first investigative reporter in the nation hired by an American...