"AUGUSTA, Maine -- A steep decline in revenues from pipeline tariffs and a loophole that allowed companies shipping crude by rail to avoid payment have slashed Maine's oil-spill fund to levels experts say could hurt its ability to respond to an accident."
"It's that time of year when native Mainers and summer tourists alike don plastic bibs and get crackin' on succulent Maine lobsters. Last year lobstermen landed about $340 million worth of these coveted crustaceans, generating $1 billion worth of economic activity to the state's economy. But there's a largely hidden threat to all that bounty, according some scientists."
Maine's GOP Governor LePage is punishing a major state newspaper group that exposed his DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho as a shill for her former lobbying clients. He will give them "no comment" from now on.
Part 1: "Whose Interests Is Maine’s DEP Commissioner Serving?"
"For two years, public servant Patricia Aho has overseen Maine's environmental protection. But whom does she really serve? A seven-month investigation by the Telegram points to her former corporate clients. ... Overseen by a former chemical industry lobbyist, Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection resists regulations on substances that may be harmful to children and fetuses."
"New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday announced a $20 billion plan to prepare for rising sea levels and hotter summers expected as a result of climate change in the coming decades."
"The Bloomberg administration on Monday issued new warnings about New York City’s vulnerability to climate change, offering updated data to encourage businesses, residents and perhaps even future mayors to better prepare against hotter weather, fiercer storms and increased rainfall."
The Society of Environmental Journalists has been a big part of Dan Fagin’s life for almost as long as he’s been a reporter. He was on the SEJ board of directors for six years, including two years as SEJ president. Dan is currently a journalism professor at NYU and lately has been appearing on some of our favorite TV and radio shows, making important commentary about the state of journalism while promoting his new book, Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, published in March 2013 by the Bantam Books imprint of Random House.
"With smoke and tar from faulty light fixtures leaking into New York City public school classrooms at alarming rates, the Bloomberg administration said on Tuesday that it would cut in half the time it needed to replace them."
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