As BP increased the amount of oil it siphoned to the surface from the leaking Gulf well, it became clear that the total amount leaking was greater than previously admitted.
"BP PLC's 582-page regional spill plan for the Gulf, and its 52-page, site-specific plan for the Deepwater Horizon rig are riddled with omissions and glaring errors, according to an Associated Press analysis that details how BP officials have pretty much been making it up as they go along. The lengthy plans approved by the federal government last year before BP drilled its ill-fated well vastly understate the dangers posed by an uncontrolled leak and vastly overstate the company's preparedness to deal with one."
"A growing number of Americans want the United States to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as the largest oil spill in U.S. history helps boost interest in petroleum alternatives, a poll by two universities found on Tuesday."
"The government and university researchers confirmed Tuesday that plumes of dispersed oil were spreading far below the ocean surface from the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, raising fresh concern about the potential impact of the spill on sea life."
"The White House made clear on Tuesday what had been assumed for months – that it does not like a resolution sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, that would thwart the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases."
Wastewater treatment plants can't mitigate the problem, which is compounded by other sources of water contamination, such as drugs that end up in landfills or flushed down toilets, and metabolites or unutilized drugs that pass through people who take the drugs.
The changes affect only new drilling areas and may include greater consideration of environmental impacts, more public review, fewer "categorical exclusions" from environmental review, and more.
"The Agriculture Department will approve for broad use [Tuesday] a genetically modified soybean engineered to contain healthier oils, the opening salvo in a biotech oil fight between DuPont Co. and its rival, Monsanto Co."
"A vote in the U.S. Senate to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from going it alone in battling carbon dioxide emissions will fail this week without new last-minute support, according to congressional and private-sector sources."
"A nuclear reactor where a hidden leak caused near-catastrophic corrosion in 2002 has experienced a second bout of the same problem."
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