100s of New Federal Datasets Released, Many Environmental
Environmental reporters who use databases to find and build stories have a fresh windfall, including three new datasets from EPA, plus many others relevant to the EJ beat.
Search results
Study Shows Managed Turf Is Net Greenhouse Gas Loser
A study by Univ. of California-Irvine researchers has found that while grass itself acted as a carbon sink, when other factors are taken into account — fuel burned to maintain the lawn, emissions from fertilizer spread to help it grow, etc. — four times as much carbon was emitted than was absorbed.
Feds Ready To Designate Bald Eagles As "Recovered"
After intense recovery efforts resulting in an increase from ~400 nesting pairs in 1963 to the current count of >7,000, the bald eagle may soon be removed from the USFWS list of endangered and threatened species, with monitoring ongoing for at least five more years.
Recovering Eagles Flock to U.S. in Winter
This a good time to report on the fate of the bald eagle; the National Wildlife Federation provides a couple of lists that pinpoint at least one spot in every state except Hawaii where the big birds can typically be found.
Will Appliance Rebates Match Cash for Clunkers?
States and territories are each designing and running their own unique rebate program, with funding from the US DOE for development and implementation.
"Hackers Attacked Europe Carbon Registries: Report"
"FRANKFURT -- Carbon trading registries in half of Europe have been hit by hackers who broke security systems to steal emissions rights certificates from companies last week to sell them on, the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing officials."
Source: Reuters, 02/03/2010
"At REI, Is 'Carbon-Neutral' A Smoke Screen?"
"What do Nike, REI, the Vancouver Olympics, and the Washington state government have in common? They've all promised to eliminate their impact on the climate by going "carbon–neutral." REI aims to have zero output of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide by the year 2020. But since REI set the zero–impact goal, its emissions have been heading rapidly in the opposite direction."
Source: KUOW, 02/03/2010
Gas Drilling in Appalachia: What Do You Do With the Wastewater?
"A drilling technique that is beginning to unlock staggering quantities of natural gas underneath Appalachia also yields a troubling byproduct: powerfully briny wastewater that can kill fish and give tap water a foul taste and odor."
Source: AP, 02/03/2010
"Industry, Enviro Groups Try to Sway EPA on Smog Standard"
"ARLINGTON, Va. -- Industry and environmental groups sparred at a public hearing here today over U.S. EPA's planned reconsideration of the George W. Bush administration's 2008 smog standard."
Source: Greenwire, 02/03/2010
"Biomonitoring Surge Faces Slowdown"
CDC has increased 10-fold the number of contaminants it tracks in people since starting its biomonitoring program in 2001. But the agency is hitting limits that likely will slow future growth, and no one else is picking up the slack, leaving us ignorant for years to come about more than 99% of the possible toxics in our bodies.
Source: EHP, 02/03/2010
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