Public

"Is the Fatal Amphibian Chytrid Fungus Spread via Pet Frogs?"

Researchers are studying whether the chytrid fungus -- which has decimated frog and salamander populations around the world -- is being spread among wild amphibians by the release of infected animals bought at pet stores. The fungus has devastated some 200 species globally, and may be responsible for the greatest known disease-caused loss of biodiversity in recorded history.

Source: Scientific American, 07/23/2012

"Taxpayers Foot Bill for Cleanup of Polluted Site in South St. Louis"

Politicians touted the use of tax credits to clean up the long-abandoned Carondelet Coke brownfields site site in St. Louis and turn it into an industrial park. But corner-cutting and lax oversight meant companies would benefit and taxpayers would get a raw deal, an investigation shows.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 07/23/2012

"River of Hope in the Bronx"

"Perhaps the most unsung patch of heaven in New York City is a tiny sliver of riverfront parkland tucked between a metal-recycling yard and a giant wholesale produce market, on the far side of a six-lane highway and a pair of active freight train tracks. Hunts Point Riverside Park, a 1.4-acre speck in the South Bronx, opened a few years ago on what had been a filthy, weedy street end."

Source: NY Times, 07/23/2012

Baltimore: "Decaying Water System Needs Makeover"

"Back in the late 1700s, when Baltimoreans got their water from nearby streams, springs and wells, every household was ordered to keep two leather buckets filled to fight fires. That precaution might come in handy again, as the water main break Monday near the Inner Harbor delivered a disruptive reminder to downtown businesses and commuters of just how decrepit the regional system supplying the vital liquid has become."

Source: Baltimore Sun, 07/23/2012

"Senate Passes Lejeune Water-Contamination Bill"

"WASHINGTON -- After an impasse with a South Carolina senator was broken, the Senate passed a historic bill Wednesday by unanimous consent that would help thousands of sick Marine veterans and their families who were exposed to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C."

Source: McClatchy, 07/23/2012

"Japan Fukushima Probe Says Reactors Unready for Natural Disaster"

"A government-appointed inquiry into Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis raised doubts on Monday about whether other atomic plants were prepared for massive disasters despite new safety rules, and delivered a damning assessment of the regulators and the station's operator."

Source: Reuters, 07/23/2012

"E.P.A. to Consider Relaxing an Air Pollution Rule"

"The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Friday afternoon that it would review its new standards for mercury, soot and other emissions for a handful of proposed new coal-burning power plants.

The review will delay the implementation of the regulation for the new plants for at least three months while experts determine whether the emissions limits may safely be relaxed.

Source: Green (NYT), 07/23/2012

Injection Wells: "Polluted Water Fuels a Battle for Answers"

"For the better part of a decade, Rev. David Hudson has been fighting to uncover what’s polluting the water in his home town."

"Hudson moved to DeBerry, Texas, a poor, predominantly black community straddling the Louisiana border in 2002.

DeBerry lies in the heart of the Haynesville Shale natural gas development. When Hudson moved in, the area was littered with injection wells used to deposit waste from oil and gas drilling deep beneath the earth.

Source: ProPublica, 07/23/2012

"Shell's Arctic Oil Spill Containment Vessel Plagued By Delays"

"SEATTLE--The vessel designated to act as a crucial oil spill containment system in Arctic waters has obtained Coast Guard  approval to meet less rigorous weather standards than originally proposed. But, less than two weeks before drilling off Alaska's northern coast is due to begin, a series of troubling construction delays have left the Arctic Challenger without federal certification."

Source: LA Times, 07/20/2012

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