"As hope dimmed for the lives of 11 crew members missing since a drilling rig exploded in flames in the Gulf of Mexico, authorities turned their focus to controlling an oil spill that could threaten the fragile ecosystem of the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts." Latest news accounts vary on how much oil, if any, may still be seeping to
the surface from the deepwater well.
"As Southern Company and its partners, armed with federal loan guarantees of $8.3 billion, move toward construction of two new reactors at a site near Augusta, Ga., opponents are taking aim at the design details." A new engineering study funded by several anti-nuclear groups says corrosion in the reactor's containment could vent radioactivity to the atmosphere in the event of an accident. Westinghouse, the reactor's maker disputed the study.
"A secretive group linked to a leading European chemical company has joined the campaign to defeat Barack Obama's green agenda, taking the fight beyond the traditional players -- the big oil and coal firms – the Guardian has learned."
"The White House is reviewing an Environmental Protection Agency rule on which factories and power plants will be subject to greenhouse gas regulations, according to the Office of Management and Budget website."
"Worried whale researchers in Washington state are wondering where a grey whale had been feeding before it died in West Seattle last week. The 11-metre whale, which came ashore alive, swallowed an unusual amount of garbage, including sweatpants, a towel, a golf ball, rubber gloves, drink containers and numerous plastic bags."
"Indigenous activists threatened a clash with Brazil's government as they dispatched boats carrying 150 men on Wednesday to occupy the planned site of a controversial hydro-electric dam in the Amazon, a chief said."
"Rates of lung cancer among women and colorectal cancer among men are significantly elevated throughout Pompton Lakes, but two other cancers linked to a neighborhood contaminated by a DuPont munitions plant are not elevated borough-wide, health officials said Wednesday."
"West Virginians who live near streams polluted by coal mining are more likely to die of cancer, according to a first-of-its kind study published by researchers at West Virginia University and Virginia Tech."
"Three weeks after the Upper Big Branch explosion left 29 mine workers dead in Raleigh County, federal regulators fanned out in 10 states to examine 57 mines for safety flaws in a massive effort to avoid a repeat of the worst mining tragedy in four decades."
"Pollution before the first Earth Day was not only visible, it was in your face: Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River caught fire. ... The challenges to the planet today are largely invisible -- and therefore tougher to tackle."
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