Situation Report

environmentalleader.com - by Erica Morehouse - June 23, 2014

Governor Brown signed a budget last week that lays out for the first time how to invest the millions from California’s landmark cap-and-trade program ($734 million so far). California has shown another way that cap-and-trade is like the Swiss army knife of environmental policies: a versatile tool known for its usefulness and adaptability.

A Multi-faceted Investment Portfolio

California will invest $850 million over the next year to reduce dangerous climate pollution, a portfolio of investments that will benefit almost every part of California’s economy, going to low-carbon and public transportation, weatherization and energy efficient buildings, water efficiency, waste diversion, and natural resources like urban forests.

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submitted by Samuel Bendett

FEMA looks for trailer alternative // Source: fema.gov

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - June 24, 2014

Brownsville, Texas may soon become a model for other hurricane-ravaged cities as community groups institute new emergency housing measures in the wake of inexcusable hold-ups on the part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

As theMonitor reports, groups like the Community Development Corporation (CDCB) in the city are assessing new ways to provide emergency housing for families in the wake of disasters, following FEMA’s slow response in providing reconstruction support to the South Texas coast after $1.35 billion in damage from Hurricane Dolly in 2008.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB7IIN098IM

Pensacola, Florida - June 10, 2014

Objective: By April of 2015, the ALERT pilot study will conduct health evaluations and environmental baseline monitoring, and establish networks of informed health care providers, in two regions of the country at-risk from petrochemical exposure----Gulf Coast communities harmed by the 2010 BP DWH disaster and Keystone XL corridor communities. ALERT will test for evidence of chemical exposure and provide training for treatment for oil-chemical related illness in these exposed communities. An important component of the ALERT project will be focused on educating community leaders and the public on the risks and health effects of petrochemical exposure to work toward solutions for treatment of current illnesses and protect against future exposure events.

submitted by Luis Kun

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - June 17, 2014

Drug-resistant germs kill more than 40 percent of individuals with serious infections, and they tend to have a higher kill-rate among patients with weaker immune systems, including the elderly and young children. In Florida, several hospitals handled antibiotic-resistant germ outbreaks without alerting the public. Since 2008, twelve outbreaks have affected at least 490 people statewide, but the Florida Department of Health (FDH) did little to inform the public.

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