You are here

Environment

‘Unacceptable’: Lawmakers Question Decision Not To Monitor Harvey Pollution With NASA Jet

           

After Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast in August 2017, the storm stalled over Houston and dumped as much as 60 inches of rain on some parts of the region.  Katie Hayes Luke for NPR

Lawmakers called the decision “deeply troubling.”

houstonpublicmedia.org - by Davis Land - March 7, 2019

Lawmakers on the U.S. House science committee have questions for federal and Texas officials about a decision not to fly a NASA jet that would have provided more comprehensive data on air pollution after Hurricane Harvey.

Committee members Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) have requested documents relating to the decision from the Environmental Protection Agency, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and NASA.

The request comes after an L.A. Times article revealed NASA officials offered up a high-tech air-sampling jet to help with pollution monitoring after Hurricane Harvey. The EPA and TCEQ reportedly pushed back on the offer, saying data from the state-of-the-art airplane would not be helpful. Their response informed NASA officials’ decision not to fly.

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Heatwaves Sweeping Oceans ‘Like Wildfires’, Scientists Reveal

           

Ocean heatwaves destroy kelp forests, which provide food and shelter for many other species. Photograph: Thomas Schmitt/Getty Images

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Marine heatwaves threaten global biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services

Extreme temperatures destroy kelp, seagrass and corals – with alarming impacts for humanity

theguardian.com - by Damian Carrington - March 4, 2019

The number of heatwaves affecting the planet’s oceans has increased sharply, scientists have revealed, killing swathes of sea-life like “wildfires that take out huge areas of forest”.

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

'Poisoning Our Water': Coal Ash Contaminating Groundwater Nationwide, Groups Say

           

Waste ash from hundreds of coal-fired power plants has contaminated groundwater in 39 states with toxic substances such as arsenic, lithium and mercury, according to a report by two environmental groups. SOURCE: CNN

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Coal’s Poisonous Legacy - Groundwater Contaminated by Coal Ash Across the U.S. (80 page .PDF report)

cnn.com - by Gregory Wallace - March 4, 2019

Waste ash from hundreds of coal-fired power plants has contaminated groundwater in 39 states with toxic substances like arsenic, lithium and mercury, according to a report by two environmental groups that was based on data the plants reported to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The report, released Monday by the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice, highlights more than a dozen instances in which those substances have reached drinking water supplies. The full extent of the effect on drinking water supplies is not known because private sources of drinking water are not tested, the report said.

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Most U.S. Companies Say They are Planning to Transition to a Circular Economy

But the definition of circular economy remains unhelpfully broad.

fastcompany.com - by Adele Peters - February 5, 2019

When Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport remodeled a terminal, it didn’t buy light bulbs; instead, the company signed a contract for “light as a service” from Signify, the company formerly known as Philips Lighting. Signify owns the physical lights, giving it the incentive to make products that last as long as possible and that can be easily repaired and recycled if anything breaks.

The service is one example of a shift to a circular economy model. Rather than just mining materials and manufacturing products that ultimately end up in landfills, companies are increasingly trying to figure out how to use resources in closed loops.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Risks of 'Domino Effect' of Tipping Points Greater Than Thought, Study Says

           

When arctic ice melts, less sunlight is reflected, which raises global temperatures and increases the risk of forest fires. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Science - Cascading regime shifts within and across scales

Scientists warn policymakers not to ignore links, and stress that ‘every action counts’

theguardian.com - by Jonathan Watts - December 20, 2018

Policymakers have severely underestimated the risks of ecological tipping points, according to a study that shows 45% of all potential environmental collapses are interrelated and could amplify one another.

The authors said their paper, published in the journal Science, highlights how overstressed and overlapping natural systems are combining to throw up a growing number of unwelcome surprises . . .

 . . . Until recently, the study of tipping points was controversial, but it is increasingly accepted as an explanation for climate changes that are happening with more speed and ferocity than earlier computer models predicted.

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Report: Texas Coal Power Plants Leaching Toxic Pollutants Into Groundwater

           

An Environmental Integrity Project examination of power company data made available for the first time in 2018 found that all (16 of 16) of the coal-fired power plants in Texas for which records are available are leaking unsafe levels of contaminants into groundwater.

Analyzing groundwater monitoring data that power companies are now required to report to the federal government, the Environmental Integrity Project found that groundwater under 16 Texas coal plants had unsafe levels of contaminants including arsenic. The pollution is linked to disposal pits for spent coal.

CLICK HERE - Groundwater Contamination from Texas Coal Ash Dumps

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Groundwater Contamination from Texas Coal Ash Dumps (70 page .PDF report)

texastribune.org - by Kiah Collier - January 17, 2019

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Researchers Warn a Common Air Pollutant is a Driver of Dementia, Even at Levels Below Current EPA Standards

           

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Hazed and Confused: The Effect of Air Pollution on Dementia

washingtonpost.com - by Christopher Ingraham - September 5, 2018

Low air quality, even at pollution levels well below current Environmental Protection Agency thresholds, is associated with increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in later life, according to a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Researchers Kelly C. Bishop, Nicolai V. Kuminoff and Jonathan D. Ketcham of Arizona State University cross-referenced more than a decade of Medicare records for 6.9 million older adults with EPA air-quality data to track how exposure to air pollution correlated with rates of dementia.

They found that levels of fine particulate pollution known as PM2.5 were closely associated with higher rates of dementia.

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Climate Change Will Bring Multiple Disasters at Once, Study Warns

           

cbsnews.com - by Jeff Berardelli - November 20, 2018

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Broad threat to humanity from cumulative climate hazards intensified by greenhouse gas emissions

In the not-too-distant future, disasters won't come one at a time. Instead, according to new research, we can expect a cascade of catastrophes, some gradual, others abrupt, all compounding as climate change takes a greater toll . . .

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

This oil spill is poised to become one of the biggest environmental disasters in the US

           

An aerial image of an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, taken on April 28, 2018.  (Handout photo by Oscar Garcia-Pineda, Water Mapping, LLC)

circa.com - by Julia Boccagno and The Associated Press - October 24, 2018

Millions of gallons of oil have been spewing into the Gulf of Mexico for more than 14 years, forming what is poised to become one of the worst environmental disasters in the United States, according the Gulf Restoration Network, which has been tracking the chronic leak.

"There has been an uptrend of the areas of the slick during the last two years," wrote Oscar Pineda-Garcia, who runs a company that maps oil spills and is an adjunct professor at Florida State University.

Environmental leaders suggest that the Taylor Energy Co. oil spill has dumped anywhere between 10,000 to 30,000 gallons of oil a day since 2004, when its platform collapsed during Hurricane Ivan.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW . . .

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Red Tide Confirmed in Miami-Dade, and Some Beaches Have Been Closed

           

Red Tide has caused scores of dead sea-life to wash up on beaches in Southwest Florida. Footage shows scenes from Boca Grande beach on July 28 - by Jeremy Judkins via Storyful

miamiherald.com - BY DAVID J. NEAL, DOUGLAS HANKS AND JENNY STALETOVICH - October 4, 2018

A red tide that has sloshed up and down the Gulf Coast for nearly a year, leaving a wake of dead sea life, murky water and stinky beaches, has now landed on the state’s most crowded shores with the toxic algae confirmed Thursday in Miami-Dade County.

While far more milder than what’s appeared on the west coast — algae levels that cause blooms have not climbed above moderate so far — the spread raises concerns about a deepening crisis in a state already battling a summerlong blue green algae in Lake Okeechobee.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - Florida confirms toxic red tide spreading along Atlantic coast

 

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Pages

Subscribe to Environment
howdy folks