The timing of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to propose listing of the greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered species is coinciding with the presidential election and the rapid expansion of the influential oil and gas industry.
"States are taking the lead with studying levels of radon in drinking water and air even as federal regulators lag, as a coincidence of geology and population density leaves some more at risk than others of suffering from the naturally occurring radioactive [contaminant]."
"Canada's government is not ready to handle a major oil spill from a tanker, in part because its emergency response plan is out of date, Parliament's environmental watchdog said in a damning report on Tuesday."
"Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) on Tuesday signaled that he will not mount a challenge to the House GOP Steering Committee’s selection of Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) as chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee next year."
"Residents of the Himalayas and other mountain areas face a 'tough and unpredictable future' as global warming melts glaciers and threatens worse floods and water loss, officials said during U.N. climate talks on Tuesday."
"Federal inspectors charged with ensuring the safety of offshore oil drilling are overwhelmed, insufficiently trained, work without official procedures for some of their most crucial decisions and sometimes have insufficient support from their supervisors for resisting industry influence, according to a report released Tuesday by the Interior Department’s inspector general."
"Florida filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday to block new water pollution controls in the recession-hit state."
"In the face of heavy criticism from industry groups and members of Congress, U.S. EPA is asking to go back to the drawing board with a set of regulations that would limit toxic air pollution from industrial boilers."
"Fifty percent of thermal paper receipts and most dollar bills tested in a new study are tainted with Bisphenol A, according to a report released Wednesday by the Washington Toxics Coalition."
A lab downstream of the Alberta oil sands project has been testing Athabasca River water for decades -- but not testing for chemicals that might come from the oil sands.
