Environment

submitted by Margery Schab

fuelfix.com - by Jennifer A. Dlouhy - November 20, 2013

WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee on Wednesday advanced legislation that aims to speed up the government’s review of pipelines and power lines that cross U.S. borders into Mexico and Canada, over the objections of environmentalists and the Obama administration.

Bill supporters, including Democrat Gene Green of Houston and Michigan Republican Fred Upton, said the measure is necessary to put Congress’ stamp on a presidential permit process for border-crossing energy infrastructure projects that has developed from executive orders issued over decades.

The measure effectively would require federal agencies to approve proposed border-crossing energy projects within 120 days unless they are deemed to be against the national security interest of the United States — a lower bar than the public interest threshold generally in place today.

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November 5,2013, RealNews24  by Brian

Live Free Live Natural. 

July 29, 2013, a sperm whale was stranded on Tershelling, a northern island in the Netherlands. A rescue attempt was attempted, but unfortunately the whale died. A young adult at 13.5 meters was taken for a necropsy at the port of Harlington. The sperm whale had plastic in its stomach, an increasing common phenomenon say researchers at the Biodiversity Centre Naturalis. In  March of this year, a 10 meter long sperm whale washed up on Spain’s South Coast. This whale had swallowed 59 different plastic items totaling over 37 pounds. Most of this plastic consisted of transparent sheeting used to build greenhouses in Almeria and Grenada for the purpose of tomatoes for the European market. The rest was plastic bags, nine meters of rope, two stretches of hosepipe, two small flower pots, and a plastic spray canister. Cause of death was intestinal blockage.