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Proposed Bill Would Provide Secret Fracking Data To First Responders

Tue, 2014-05-27 19:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Firefighters have worried that in the event of a fracking chemical spill, without information on the chemicals they would not know the best way to respond. Photo courtesy Kaye Bewley, flickr creative commons

Legislators are pushing for a rule that would require fracking operators to provide information about the chemical contents of fracking fluid in the event of a spill.

northcarolinahealthnews.org - by Gabe Rivin - May 16, 2014

North Carolina - First responders are applauding a recent legislative proposal that would allow state officials to retain confidential information about hydraulic-fracturing chemicals, with the intention that the information reach those first responders quickly during an emergency.

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United States
US - East
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Disaster Response
Emergency Management
Energy
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Pollution
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Comprehensive Community Bio-Event Resilience Action Plan for the Puget Sound Region

Mon, 2014-05-26 22:37 — Kathy Gilbeaux

                           

regionalresilience.org

Recognizing that private industry, businesses, and other non-governmental organizations constitute integral and essential components of every region, PNWER (Pacific Northwest Economic Region) acknowledges the need to coordinate for a bio-event across the healthcare sector and other organizations with roles in emergency management. This includes work in partnership with the private sector and other key regional stakeholders. Through this understanding, PNWER has led and participated in a number of pandemic and bio-event resilience initiatives.

CLICK HERE - for additional information

CLICK HERE - CCBER Final Report - 2010 -
Comprehensive Community Bio-Event Resilience Action Plan for the Puget Sound Region (170 page .PDF report)

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US - NorthWest
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Health
Resilience
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House Directs Pentagon To Ignore Climate Change

Sat, 2014-05-24 17:05 — Kathy Gilbeaux

            

huffingtonpost.com - by Kate Sheppard - May 23, 2014

WASHINGTON -- The House passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization bill on Thursday that would bar the Department of Defense from using funds to assess climate change and its implications for national security.

The amendment, from Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), passed in what was nearly a party-line vote. . . The bill aims to block the DOD from taking any significant action related to climate change or its potential consequences.

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CLICK HERE - Amendment from Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) - (1 page .PDF file)

CLICK HERE - Bill Text - H.R. 4435

CLICK HERE - Final Vote Results - H.R. 4435 - May 22, 2014

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United States
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Government
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Tar Sands Linked to Health Problems

Wed, 2014-05-21 22:46 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

priceofoil.org - by Andy Rowell - April 1, 2014

In a landmark report to Alberta’s energy regulator, a panel of experts has concluded that odours from a controversial tar sands processing plant are linked to human health impacts.

The report, which was published [March 31, 2014], examined the emissions from Baytex Energy’s Peace River plant, which has been the subject of a number of health complaints from local residents over the last few years.

The situation has been so bad that seven families have been forced to leave.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Regulator says Peace River area emissions potential cause of health problems
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Regulator+says+Peace+River+area+emissions+potential+cause+health+problems/9682279/story.html

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Global
United States
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Climate Change Deemed Growing Security Threat by Military Researchers

Thu, 2014-05-15 21:09 — Kathy Gilbeaux

CLICK HERE - STUDY - National Security and the Accelerating Risks of Climate Change

nytimes.com - by Coral Davenport - May 13, 2014

WASHINGTON — The accelerating rate of climate change poses a severe risk to national security and acts as a catalyst for global political conflict, a report published Tuesday by a leading government-funded military research organization concluded.

The CNA Corporation Military Advisory Board found that climate change-induced drought in the Middle East and Africa is leading to conflicts over food and water and escalating longstanding regional and ethnic tensions into violent clashes. . .

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United States
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Climate
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Plastic Bag Bans Spreading in the United States

Thu, 2014-05-15 00:17 — Kathy Gilbeaux

                                                               (CLICK FOR A LIVE MAP)

                   

earth-policy.org - Janet Larsen and Savina Venkova - April 22, 2014

Los Angeles rang in the 2014 New Year with a ban on the distribution of plastic bags at the checkout counter of big retailers, making it the largest of the 132 cities and counties around the United States with anti-plastic bag legislation. And a movement that gained momentum in California is going national. More than 20 million Americans live in communities with plastic bag bans or fees.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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United States
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Environment
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Second U.S. Case of Deadly MERS Virus Found in Orlando

Tue, 2014-05-13 17:02 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

MERS, also known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, has made its way to the U.S. The second patient is in Orlando, Florida while the first reported case was in Indiana.

usatoday.com - Karen Weintraub and Doug Stanglin - May 13, 2014

Another patient has turned up at an American hospital with the lethal respiratory virus MERS, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today.

The agency would not identify the man but said he was a 44-year-old health care worker based in Saudi Arabia, which has been the center of the outbreak.

The man flew to the U.S. from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 1, to visit family in Orlando, traveling through London, Boston and Atlanta on the way.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CDC Press Release - CDC announces second imported case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the United States

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United States
US - SouthEast
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Disease
Health
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Webinar - Resilience & Resilience Systems - Considerations for NYC Coastal Communities

Mon, 2014-05-12 22:34 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

ncfpd.umn.edu - April 4, 2014

Webinar - Community Resilience and Impacts of Interdependent Infrastructure Disruptions as Experienced from Hurricane Sandy (One hour long)

Presented By: 
Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.
Chairman, Global Resilience Inititatives
Executive Director, Health Initiatives Foundation, Inc. 

Facilitated By:
John T. Hoffman, Col., USA, Ret.
Senior Research Fellow, National Center for Food Protection and Defense

Under the dynamic conditions of rapid climate change and broader global changes, resilience and sustainability are not being achieved through traditional emergency management and humanitarian approaches alone. While community-based resilience networks are now beginning to emerge in a race to stabilize New York City's coastal communities significantly impacted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, many impacted neighborhoods are still trending toward greater vulnerability plaguing recovery and preparedness for the next wave of potentially larger storms.

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
US - NorthEast
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Food
Recovery
Resilience
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Solutions
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One Million K-12 Students Are Homeless

Sun, 2014-05-11 21:03 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

The number of homeless students in public preschools, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools is at an all-time high.  Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

CLICK HERE - Department of Education
Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program - Data Collection Summary (34 page .PDF report)

truth-out.org - by Crystal Shepeard - November 3, 2013

. . . For many students, when they go to school each morning, they may have no idea where they will be sleeping that night.

The Department of Education released its latest report on homeless students last month and the numbers are startling. More than 1.2 million K–12 students for the 2011-12 school year were homeless.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES IN THE LINKS BELOW:

Student homelessness hits record high

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United States
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Poverty
Vulnerability
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Senators introduce pro-Keystone XL bill to bypass Obama administration

Sun, 2014-05-11 19:36 — Maeryn Obley

Senator Mary Landrieu, of Louisiana. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/APImage: Senator Mary Landrieu, of Louisiana. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

theguardian.co.uk - May 1st, 2014 - Suzanne Goldenberg

Barack Obama faced a new challenge on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on Thursday when Democrats and Republicans in the Senate introduced a bill taking the decision out of his hands.

The bill, introduced by Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu and North Dakota Republican John Hoeven, would bypass Obama, authorising immediate construction of the 1,660-mile pipeline.

The two senators said they were hoping for a vote as early as next week. Landrieu said she hoped to “greenlight construction of the pipeline immediately”.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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