The changes affect only new drilling areas and may include greater consideration of environmental impacts, more public review, fewer "categorical exclusions" from environmental review, and more.
The nonprofit conservation group SeaWeb will host a news conference in Washington, DC on the state of the world's oceans and the most challenging ocean conservation issues, including the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and what to expect in the way of long-term consequences of this disaster.
"Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine was a 'ticking time bomb' where workers feared for their lives but worried that complaints about growing safety problems would cost them their jobs, members of a congressional committee heard Monday."
"Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay entered a new phase [Tuesday] as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, its co-plaintiffs, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency settled their lawsuit with a binding agreement that will require pollution to be reduced across the nation's largest estuary."
Nitro, West Virginia, is still struggling with the toxic legacy of a long-shuttered Monsanto weedkiller plant that has polluted soil and water with dioxin.
Dept. of Interior/US Fish and Wildlife Service awards $12 million for construction of docks, boat slips, and other recreational boating facilities at 13 locations in 10 states.
Bat losses can have major impacts on ecosystems, as they routinely consume large quantities of insects and themselves provide food and nutrients for other plants and animals. There also are economic impacts as caves close to recreational use, in an effort to combat the spread of the disease.
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