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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Food plight
Sen. Gordon Smith's frozen-foods plant violates environmental regs |
Kate Sheppard |
19 Aug 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith (R) is in hot water over a water-quality violation at his family's food-processing plant. Wastewater from Smith Frozen Foods in eastern Oregon overflowed into a creek recently while the plant was processing corn, a violation of state environmental regulations. This is bad timing for Smith, who has been touting his eco-credentials in what's shaping up to be a tight race against Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley this November. Smith is th ... |
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| Topics: elections, Muckraker, news, Oregon, politics, US Senate, water pollution (all these topics) |
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LUST for Glory
Leaking underground storage tanks make fun acronym, pose health threat |
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13 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:35 PM on 13 Aug 2008 Hundreds of underground fuel tanks owned by the federal government could be leaking hazardous materials into drinking water, according to an Associated Press investigation. Of particular concern are steel tanks buried in the Cold War era, which are highly likely to have rusted and be leaking. One million gallons of water can be contaminated by just 1 gallon of fuel, posing heal ... |
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| Topics: energy, news, toxics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Dumb as a Layer of Rocks
NYC officials fear natural-gas drilling would taint water supplies |
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06 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:05 PM on 06 Aug 2008 New York City officials want to ban natural-gas drilling within a mile of six major upstate reservoirs for fear that the city's drinking water could become contaminated. Extracting gas from the Marcellus Shale rock layer, as some state regulators and lawmakers are pushing to do, would require shooting millions of gallons of water and unidentified chemicals underground to ... |
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| Topics: energy, natural gas, New York, New York City, news, oil and gas drilling, water pollution (all these topics) |
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The Grass Is Half Empty
EPA and Florida sucking at Everglades cleanup, says judge |
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29 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:57 PM on 29 Jul 2008 Florida and the U.S. EPA have been skewered by a federal judge for their Everglades cleanup efforts (or rather, lack thereof). In 2003, Florida pushed back a deadline for reducing phosphorus pollution in the River of Grass from 2006 to 2016. By doing so, the state "violated its fundamental commitment and promise to protect the Everglades," U.S. District Judge Alan Gold ru ... |
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| Topics: Florida, habitat protection, litigation, national parks, news, regulation, US EPA, water pollution, wetlands (all these topics) |
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This Makes Us Crabby
Is your favorite beach polluted? |
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29 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:08 PM on 29 Jul 2008 Photo: Tom Twigg American beaches "continue to suffer from serious water pollution that puts swimmers at risk," concludes the Natural Resources Defense Council in an annual report. There were 22,571 pollution-related closures or warning advisories on 3,516 beaches in 2007, says the report, second only to the all-time high 25,643 closures or warnings in 2006. NRDC attributed the decline to less rainf ... |
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| Topics: green living, news, NRDC, placemaking, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Plastic ain't fantastic, reason No. 4,972
Beads in many face scrubs harmful to marine life |
Holly Richmond |
29 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Photo: Perfecto Insecto. Plastic needs a new slogan, LOLcat-style: Im in ur facewash, hurting teh fishes. Slate, YahooGreen, and now EarthFirst are reporting that the tiny exfoliating beads in many facial scrubs are made of polyethylene, and once the beads get washed down the drain and make their way to the ocean, it's time for Nemo and friends to get ill. (Of course, polyethylene's also a suspected carcinogen, and as a plastic, its production is fossil fuel-int ... |
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| Topics: green living, oceans, shopping, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Gas squeeze
Investigative report details threat gas drilling poses to N.Y.'s freshwater resources |
Russ Walker |
24 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Investigative news startup ProPublica this week blew some fresh air into Albany, N.Y., with a report on state regulators' and lawmakers' headlong rush to open up more areas to natural-gas exploration. In partnership with WNYC, ProPublica called into question the state's conclusion that freshwater sources in the state would not be contaminated by the expanded drilling. To the contrary, the news partners 'found that this type of drilling has caused significant environme ... |
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| Topics: energy, New York, oil and gas drilling, water conflicts, water pollution (all these topics) |
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For goodness lakes
Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry says the Great Lakes need help |
Guest author |
23 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is a guest post from Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry, who has been working recently to preserve and restore the Great Lakes. ----- Lt. Gov. John CherryI'm especially pleased to be a guest blogger on Grist today, since earlier today legislation was introduced in the United States Senate and House of Representatives to ratify the Great Lakes Compact. Now that the Compact has been ratified by the eight Great Lakes states, as well as the Canadian provinces ... |
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| Topics: habitat protection, legislation, Michigan, politics, state politics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Phosphorus For Us
Sick of algae-polluted water, Florida groups sue EPA |
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18 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:55 PM on 18 Jul 2008 A flock of Florida green groups has sued the U.S. EPA, seeking state and national water-pollution standards for fertilizer runoff from factory farms. Nitrogen and phosphorus flow from agricultural operations into many Florida waterways (among other places), triggering algae blooms which suck oxygen from the water and kill off marine life. Exposure to the algae, which contaminates many drinkin ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, Florida, litigation, news, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Water We Supposed to Do?
Lag in water-pollution enforcement traced to muddled court decision |
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08 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:58 PM on 08 Jul 2008 The U.S. EPA has neglected to pursue hundreds of potential violations of the Clean Water Act because of regulatory uncertainty, according to an internal memo. The lack of clarity stems from a 2006 Supreme Court ruling that left plenty up in the air about the types of waterways and wetlands that fall under EPA jurisdiction. The confusion has had "a significant impact ... |
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| Topics: news, politics, regulation, US EPA, water pollution, wetlands (all these topics) |
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Olympic trials
Olympic sailing venue battles with massive algae bloom |
Sara Barz |
02 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| With a mere 37 days until the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, Qingdao, the port city where Olympic sailing events will be held, has sailed into troubled waters. Since June 12, municipal and Olympic officials have been wrestling with an algae bloom in Fushan Bay that has produced over 20,000 metric tons of weeds and green muck. Approximately 10,000 troops and Qingdao residents and 1,000 boats have been dispatched to dredge the bay. According to a Reuters rep ... |
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| Topics: China, oceans, Olympics, sports, water pollution (all these topics) |
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A Penguin for Your Thoughts
Penguin declines don't bode well for the rest of us |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:49 PM on 01 Jul 2008 Penguin populations are declining, which is bad news not just for the tuxedoed birds but for, well, the world in general. A new scientific review published in the journal BioScience shows that everywhere they live, penguins are suffering from a combination of climate change, ocean pollution, overfishing, tourism, and development. "Many penguins we thought would be safe because t ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, endangered species, news, scientific research, water pollution, wildlife, World Conservation Union (all these topics) |
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Milkin' It
More use of growth hormones would boost sustainability of dairy industry, says study |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:00 PM on 01 Jul 2008 Shooting up cows with artificial growth hormones increases the sustainability of the dairy industry, claims a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Giving rbST to 1 million cows would enable the same amount of milk to be produced using 157,000 fewer cows," says the study, thus easing the impact that giant dairy-cow operatio ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, air pollution, food, health, industrial ag, news, scientific research, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Big bad boom
Radioactive deja vu in the American West |
David Roberts |
20 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is a guest essay from Chip Ward, author and board member of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. It was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom's kind permission. ----- In the American West, we take global warming personally. Like those polar bears desperately hunting for dwindling ice flows, we feel we're on the frontlines of the new weather regime. The West is drying up. For example, canyon-hugging conservationists ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, energy, environmental movement, nuclear power, politics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Missouri mystery
Why are sperm counts so low in the show-me state? |
Tom Philpott |
19 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Surrounded by agriculture powerhouses Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois, Missouri sits at the southern edge of the heartland. Are the region's titanic annual lashings of agrichemicals -- synthetic and mined fertilizers, as well as poisons designed to kill bugs, weeds, and mold -- leaching into drinking water and doing creepy things to the state's citizens? And what about manure from the stunning concentration of concentrated-animal feedlot operations ... |
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| Topics: Agriculture, health, Missouri, toxics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Just Wrapping Up Loose Ends
White House decides to check in on environment |
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17 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:12 PM on 17 Jun 2008 A mere 2,705 days after President George W. Bush was inaugurated, the White House has decided to check in on how the environment is doing. Four federal agencies have been directed to develop environmental indicators that will ostensibly be used to analyze national trends and evaluate policies. The first project, which won't be released until 2009, will track amount and quality of U.S. wat ... |
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| Topics: news, politics, scientific research, water pollution, White House (all these topics) |
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Now Taking Reservations
Feds can dump more waste at Wash. Superfund site, says court |
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22 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:26 PM on 22 May 2008 Washington State doesn't have the right to refuse more dumping of radioactive waste at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, an appeals court ruled Wednesday. In 2004, nearly 70 percent of Washingtonians voted to keep the federal government from disposing of more toxic waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation until the highly polluted Superfund site is cleaned up. The Bus ... |
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| Topics: energy, litigation, news, nuclear power, Washington, waste, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Notable quotable
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David Roberts |
08 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| 'Are there negatives associated? Sure. But 50,000 people die per year in our highway system, and you don't think about that when you get into your car. And you shouldn't.' -- Fred Palmer, senior vice president for governmental affairs at Peabody Energy (formerly Peabody Coal), responding to a question about air and water pollution from coal |
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| Topics: air pollution, coal, energy, quotables, water pollution (all these topics) |
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MTBE Cool
Big Oil will shell out for groundwater cleanup |
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08 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:07 AM on 08 May 2008 Some of the nation's largest oil companies will over the next 30 years have to pay to clean up groundwater befouled with gasoline additive MTBE. In settling a suit brought by 153 public water providers in 17 states, a dozen companies -- including BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron -- will also have to pay a total $423 million cash. If approved, the settlement will be "a step in the direction of ma ... |
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| Topics: Big Oil, energy, litigation, news, toxics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Rocket Bottle
EPA not super-interested in keeping rocket fuel out of drinking water |
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06 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:53 PM on 06 May 2008 There is a "distinct possibility" that the U.S. EPA will pass on restricting perchlorate in the nation's water supplies, an agency official said Tuesday. Perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient that has been found at some 400 places in 35 states, can muck up normal thyroid function. But Benjamin Grumbles, the EPA assistant administrator for water, told the Senate Environm ... |
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| Topics: food, news, politics, toxics, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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More on Gade ouster
Bush supporter apparently fired for doing her job |
Kate Sheppard |
02 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| An EPA controversy brewing in the Midwest calls to mind the U.S. attorneys scandal, as Brad Johnson noted yesterday. Top officials in the agency have forced Mary Gade, head of the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago, to step down from her post or be fired by June 1. The ouster comes after Gade pressured Dow Chemical to clean up the dioxin-saturated soil and sediment extending 50 miles downstream from its Michigan headquarters. Gade is also the former director of the ... |
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| Topics: Muckraker, news, politics, shenanigans, toxics, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Mary, Mary, Too Contrary
Bush admin ousts top EPA official over Dow Chemical pollution case |
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01 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:41 PM on 01 May 2008 The Bush administration forced out the U.S. EPA's top Midwest regulator on Thursday, after months of contention over a pollution case involving Dow Chemical, the Chicago Tribune reports. Mary Gade, who was appointed by President Bush in 2006, had been tussling with Dow over plans to get the company to clean up extensive dioxin pollution that it dumped into Michigan waterw ... |
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| Topics: news, shenanigans, toxics, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Cries on the Prize
Chevron throws hissy fit that anti-Chevron activists received award |
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15 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:48 AM on 15 Apr 2008 Chevron is throwing a hissy fit over the Goldman Environmental Prize awarded to two Ecuadorian activists who want the oil company to clean up pollution in the Amazon rain forest. Texaco, which was acquired by Chevron in 2001, dumped 18.5 billion gallons of petrochemical waste in the Amazon between 1972 and 1992. Lawyer Pablo Fajardo and community organizer Luis Yanza won the G ... |
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| Topics: Amazon, Big Oil, Ecuador, energy, grassroots activism, heroes, litigation, news, oil, rainforests, water pollution (all these topics) |
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That '70s show
Thirty years ago, high crop prices caused environmental destruction, too |
Tom Philpott |
14 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last week, I wrote about high crop prices that were inspiring people to make all manner of dubious land-use decisions, like plowing up environmentally sensitive land to plant environmentally destructive corn.Then I came across an interesting bit from Merchants of Grain: The Power and Profits of the Five Giant Companies at the Center of the World's Food Supply, by veteran Washington Post reporter Dan Morgan. I've just started the book, which first came out in 1979. It's ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, books, economy, food, toxics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Ready, aim, gyre
VBS.tv sails out to witness the garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean |
David Roberts |
09 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is the first episode of 12 from VBS.tv on the vast, Texas-sized stew of plastic and garbage floating in the North Pacific Gyre. They sailed out to see it with their own eyes. |
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| Topics: oceans, waste, water pollution (all these topics) |
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