USDA's atlas provides data, at the county level, on scores of agricultural, demographic, and economic topics. Or on the national map, pick any given category and get an initial feel for national patterns, then click on individual counties for more detail. All data can be downloaded so you can work with it any way you want, and maps can be downloaded for your use.
States and territories have just been allocated about three-quarters of a billion dollars for their use in building facilities, providing services, and conducting planning and research related to fishing, hunting, wildlife conservation, and recreational opportunities. This is a gold mine for local environmental stories.
EPA is conducting a study of fracking, no matter where it is used (e.g., gas shale, oil shale, coalbed methane, tight sands). Public comment is being allowed as the agency's Science Advisory Board meets March 7-8, 2011, to review the draft study plan. Initial study and research results are possible by the end of 2012, and a report may be published some time in 2014.
"Just over a month ago, the Department of Agriculture announced that it will allow American farmers to plant genetically engineered alfalfa, which is widely used as feed for dairy cows and horses. Organic food producers opposed the USDA's decision — some more fiercely than others. That split has provoked angry debates within the organics community, with some activists accusing organic businesses of 'surrendering' to the biotech company Monsanto. And it has reopened some old arguments about what's most important in the label 'organic.'"
"A hydrofluoric acid leak from an oil refinery in Ohio last week sent a worker to the hospital and required the use of a 'water cannon' to disperse the poisonous gas, underscoring the potentially perilous nature of a chemical used at 50 refineries across the country."
"Baltimore, where thousands of buildings contain lead-based paint that can poison young children, has lost federal funding for abatement programs due to mismanagement of its most recent grant, officials said Monday."
"Erin Brockovich, the environmental activist whose crusade against a toxic chemical in California drinking water inspired a blockbuster 2000 movie, is heading to Capitol Hill this week to continue her fight."
"Arnold Schwarzenegger told you he’d be back. Just months removed from a raucous seven years as California governor, the global warming gladiator is about to hopscotch around the planet in his new role as a green technology cheerleader."
"First as ranking minority member and now as chairman of one of the most powerful committees in Congress, San Diego Republican Darrell Issa has built a team that includes staff members with close connections to industries that could benefit from his investigations."
Natural gas drillers hail newly begun reuse and recycling of the millions of gallons of toxic wastewater as a breakthrough that will mitigate harmful effects of their operations. But not all of it is being recycled. Some of it is being spread on roads and contaminating surface water -- rather than groundwater, as before.
