News & Politics - Weather, Nature and Environmental News #2 ~ I'm Walking on Sunshine - Page 2

Barstool Prophet · 07-01-2011, 11:41 PM

True.

**sunnykerr** · 07-02-2011, 09:59 AM

And the thing, of course, is the the real problem at Fu.kushima wasn't the fire, but the earthquake and the tsunami.

Barstool Prophet · 07-03-2011, 01:11 AM

What scares me is that there are still plants up and running. I hope that the quakes have stopped for awhile.

**sunnykerr** · 07-03-2011, 05:47 PM

You mean in Japan?

Because most plants are, of course, very problematic in what will happen to them once they're shut down. But, in the meantime, they are quite safe.

**sunnykerr** · 07-04-2011, 07:20 PM

Quote:

ExxonMobil pipe leaks oil into Yellowstone River in US

An ExxonMobil pipeline in the US state of Montana has ruptured, leaking hundreds of barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River, officials say.

The company said the pipe had been shut down and the segment where the leak happened had been isolated.

Nearby residents were evacuated, but later allowed to return to their homes.

The accident happened downstream from the famed Yellowstone national park, a major tourist attraction in the US.

'Monster'

Clean-up crews have been deployed to tackle the spill, which was detected early on Saturday.

ExxonMobil spokeswoman Pam Malek told AP news agency an estimated 750 to 1,000 barrels of oil had leaked from the pipe for about a half-hour before it was shut down.

"We recognise the seriousness of this incident and are working hard to address it," the company said in a statement.

"Our principal focus is on protecting the safety and health of the public and our employees," it added.

It is unclear how far the slick will travel, but Duane Winslow, the county's director of disaster and emergency services, said it was dissipating as it moved downstream.

"We're just kind of waiting for it to move on down while Exxon is trying to figure out how to corral this monster," Mr Winslow said.

There are fears that fish will suffer because of the accident.

"If fish get oil on them, if they break the surface and get oil on them, it tends to plug up their gills and it often is fatal," said Bob Gobson, of the Billings Fish, Wildlife and Parks Program.

Exxon promised a full investigation into the spill, which occurred in a 12-inch pipeline, running from Silvertip to Billings, downstream from Yellowstone National Park.

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14005251[/url]

I guess Exxon got jealous that BP stole their thunder last summer as the worst polluter ever? It's not even funny, really.

But it does give you a good idea of just how much oil companies care about the environment. Which is to say not a whole lot.

Barstool Prophet · 07-04-2011, 10:39 PM

This is what makes me angry with the US. Where the frack are the EPA? Why are there heavier sanctions? For once, I would love to see this people burn... Yeah I know, tonight seems to be the night of Emily's moderate opinions..

**sunnykerr** · 07-05-2011, 05:42 PM

You're kidding, right?

The EPA was all but completely defunded under the Bush Administration. Why do you think they're going after people's pension plans and education and what not? The EPA's already, possibly, the least-funded federal agency out there. They're understaffed and underfunded to a ridiculous extent.

Look at the BP explosion. BP had received upwards of 700 reprimands in the span of a few years with regards to its deep-sea drilling operations, which is more than, like, every other company included. And that includes Exxon.

So, yeah, the EPA is completely toothless here.

Besides, haven't you heard? No one cares about the environment, because the economy's in the crapper and it's apparently impossible to take care of both at once. /sarcasm

Barstool Prophet · 07-06-2011, 01:06 AM

I know, the enviroment is not a priority and the Bush adminstration... I am pretty sure that president would have eaten an endagered species for dinner for all his care of the planet.

**sunnykerr** · 07-06-2011, 05:36 PM

Well, short of that, they certainly defunded the heck out of the EPA.

I really haven't heard what the Obama Administration has done to reverse that, so I don't know that they've done anything. Keeping in mind that they've been criticized from day one for spending any sort of money on the American so-called bureaucratic infrastructure...

Barstool Prophet · 07-06-2011, 11:44 PM

Defunding something definately shows where your priorities are.

Barstool Prophet · 07-07-2011, 11:08 PM

http://www.environmentamerica.org/news-releases/clean-air-healthy-families/epa-to-save-as-many-as-34000-lives-with-new-clean-air-protections

Quote:

Clean Air, Healthy Families News

Quote:

EPA to Save As Many As 34,000 Lives With New Clean Air Protections

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a historic clean air standard to cut deadly smog- and soot-forming pollution from power plants in the eastern half of the country. EPA estimates that the rule will save as many as 34,000 lives in 2014.
“Today’s announcement is a victory for communities from Texas to Maine that have lived in the deadly shadow of power plant pollution for far too long,” said Nathan Willcox, Federal Global Warming Program Director for Environment America. “We applaud the Environmental Protection Agency and the Obama administration for standing up for Americans’ health and our environment by issuing this much-needed clean air standard.”
For years, air pollution from power plants has triggered thousands of premature deaths and emergency room visits across the country, as well as millions of missed workdays and missed school days. In addition, air pollution from power plants creates acid rain as well as haze that blankets many national parks and forests, decreasing visibility and threatening the health of nearby communities.
The rule announced today, known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, will require reductions in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx, which are a key ingredient in smog pollution) and sulfur dioxide (SO2, which is a key ingredient in soot pollution) from power plants in 27 states. Power plants are one of the largest sources of NOx emissions, releasing 1.9 million tons of the pollutant into the nation’s air in 2009, according to the recent Environment America report, “Dirty Energy’s Assault on our Health: Ozone Pollution”. EPA estimates that by 2014, this new rule and other state and federal actions will cut power plant SO2 emissions by 73 percent from 2005 levels and cut NOx power plant emissions by 54 percent. In addition to preventing as many as 34,000 premature deaths, the new rule is expected to prevent 1.8 million missed school or work days by 2014.
Polluters and their allies in Congress have already introduced language in the must-pass Interior Appropriations budget bill in the House of Representatives to block EPA from moving forward on the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. The bill passed out of subcommittee this morning and will move on to full committee next week.
“Everyone should be able to breathe clean air, and today’s new standard will help bring us closer to fulfilling that promise. We urge Congress to help protect public health by supporting this much-needed standard, and we hope EPA will continue its critical work to protect our health by setting a strong standard to cut mercury pollution from power plants this November,” concluded Willcox.

This is a great thing, if there is follow through. All states and countries moreover should reduce their pollution output.

Barstool Prophet · 07-13-2011, 04:56 PM

LINK

Quote:

Polar bears to be listed as species at risk

CBC News

Posted: Jul 12, 2011 9:33 PM ET

Last Updated: Jul 12, 2011 9:33 PM ET

Read 51 comments51 Back to accessibility links

A polar bear faces the camera near Churchill, Man., in 2007. Canada has 13 polar bear subpopulations in Canada's territories and in parts of Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Canada is set to include the polar bear on its list of species at risk, but not as a threatened or endangered species.

The federal government gave notice this month that it intends to list the Arctic animal as a species of special concern — one level below threatened and two levels below endangered — under the Species at Risk Act.
The move would require a plan to be devised within three years to prevent the species from becoming endangered or threatened.
Environment Minister Peter Kent's office did not a return a call for comment. The proposal to list polar bears under the act was announced on July 2, and interested parties have 30 days to weigh in.
Ottawa's move comes almost three years after the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), an arm's-length scientific advisory body, recommended the special-concern listing for the polar bear.
The United States listed the polar bear as a threatened species in 2008, citing shrinking sea ice due to climate change.
Canada's Species at Risk Act came into force in 2003 to provide legal protection for wildlife in danger of becoming extinct.
Some subpopulations at risk: committee

COSEWIC, which has been assessing the polar bear's status since the 1980s, has long recommended the polar bear's inclusion on the species at risk list, most recently in 2008.
The committee has said four of Canada's 13 polar bear subpopulations are at risk of becoming threatened over the next few decades, due to shrinking sea ice in some areas and overhunting in others.
There are approximately 15,000 polar bears in Canada, accounting for 60 per cent of the world's polar bear population, according to federal estimates.
Management of polar bears in Canada is the responsibility of provincial and territorial governments, with scientific expertise from Environment Canada.
Last year, the Nunavut government argued against listing the polar bear as a species of special concern, saying there is no clear evidence to support that designation.
Nunavut bear sightings increase

Inuit in Nunavut have reported more polar bear sightings in recent years, with some bears entering communities and threatening public safety.
"We live in polar bear country," Nunavut Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk said in May 2010.
"We understand the polar bears, and we do actually think our polar bear population is very, very healthy, with the exception of a couple of populations that we are taking action on."
Putting the bear on the species at risk list isn't necessary, said Drikus Gissing, director of wildlife management for the Nunavut government.
"If the federal government wants to list species because they are concerned about climate change, they need to come and list every single species in the Arctic," Gissing told The Canadian Press.
"If climate change continues it will impact every single species."
Some northern communities oppose listing

In an analysis on the impact of the regulatory change published in the Canada Gazette, the federal government acknowledges that people in some northern communities strongly oppose the inclusion of polar bears under the Species at Risk Act.
While many Nunavut Inuit feel that climate change is affecting polar bear populations, they believe that wildlife populations often fluctuate and move around.
But Gissing said the designation isn't a huge concern, since it won't take away traditional hunting rights for aboriginal people, nor will it change how Nunavut already manages bear populations.
But the risk of a federal management plan is that it could mandate a one-size-fits-all strategy for the very different bear subpopulations, pointed out Peter Ewins, the senior Arctic species officer with World Wildlife Federation Canada.
Although Ewins said he's not opposed to the polar bear being listed under federal law, but that any management plan was likely to fail.
"The No. 1 problem that dwarfs everything else is fossil fuel induced global warming," he said.
"So a management plan that's focused on Inuit and the Arctic and habitats and things in the Arctic isn't going to do diddly-squat. If we all stopped driving cars tomorrow, that would probably start to help."
Following COSEWIC's recommendation in 2008, the federal government held public consultations on the proposed polar bear listing for more than two years.
Officials visited hundreds of aboriginal and northern communities, most of which were opposed to the change. But over 3,000 letters were also received from people living outside the Arctic Circle and the majority of them were in favour of the listing.
The government has noted that the Inuvialuit in Canada's western Arctic have expressed support for listing the polar bear as a species of special concern.

This is what happens when you screw with nature, something ends up dieing.

**sunnykerr** · 07-13-2011, 07:29 PM

To tell you the truth, I'm a little shocked that it's only happening now. It's been coming on for years, if not decades, hasn't it?

Barstool Prophet · 07-13-2011, 07:29 PM

Yeah, but it still irritates me.

**sunnykerr** · 07-14-2011, 05:33 AM

Oh, I know.

I don't think anyone would think the bears have it coming to them, I guess.


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