EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
"Ohio Tries to Escape Fate as a Dumping Ground for Fracking Fluid"
Bloomberg, 02/03/2012"The millions of gallons of chemical-laced wastewater that fracking produces must flow somewhere, and Ohio is trying not to be that place."
"Federal Government Opens More Ocean to Wind Projects"
Green (NYT), 02/03/2012"Enthusiasm for offshore wind projects may have cooled among developers in the United States these days, but the Obama administration is still trying to make a ribbon of wind farms off the Atlantic Coast a reality."
"Filmmaker Sounds Alarm Over Ocean of Plastic"
AFP, 02/03/2012"HONG KONG -- On Midway atoll in the North Pacific, dozens of young albatross lie dead on the sand, their stomachs filled with cigarette lighters, toy soldiers and other small plastic objects their parents have mistaken for food."
"Plans To Block Carp Will Re-Reverse Chicago River"
Reuters, 02/01/2012"Keeping the invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes will involve re-reversing the flow of the Chicago River -- an engineering marvel completed a century ago through a complex network of rivers, canals, and locks, a new study said on Tuesday."
"Experts: US Ill-Prepared for Oil Spill Off Cuba"
AP, 02/01/2012"MIAMI -- The U.S. is not ready to handle an oil spill if drilling off the Cuban coast goes awry but can be better prepared with monitoring systems and other basic steps, experts told government officials Monday."
"An Exquisite Mexico Beach, Cursed by Plastic"
LA Times, 01/30/2012"Sea currents act like a conveyor belt, depositing trash on a remote stretch of sand in an ecologically rich region of coral reef and mangrove forests. Locals can only pick up the pieces, bit by bit."
"Wasting the Wastewater"
Green (NYT), 01/26/2012"Each day, American municipalities discharge treated wastewater back into natural sources at a rate that would fill an empty Lake Champlain within six months. Growing pressure on water supplies and calls for updating the ancient subterranean piping infrastructure have brought new scrutiny to this step in the treatment process, which is labeled wasteful and unnecessary by a spectrum of voices."
Film Probes How Toxic Water at Largest US Marine Base Damaged Lives
Wash Post, 01/23/2012"Mike Partain didn’t believe the rumors about a place called Baby Heaven until he visited a Jacksonville, N.C., graveyard and wandered into a section where newborns were laid to rest. Surrounded by hundreds of tiny marble headstones, he started to cry."
"Unlocking the Secrets Behind Hydraulic Fracturing"
Texas Tribune, 01/16/2012"Starting Feb. 1, drilling operators in Texas will have to report many of the chemicals used in the process known as hydraulic fracturing. Environmentalists and landowners are looking forward to learning what acids, hydroxides and other materials have gone into a given well."
"Assessing Blocks of Beachfront in Malibu"
LA Times, 01/16/2012"On a bus tour, California Coastal Commission members strive to find out what's keeping the public from some of the state's most desirable beaches. One thing they didn't see: 20 pathways that were set aside on paper but have yet to be built."
"OCEANS: Obama Admin Lays Out Action Plan for New National Policy"
Greenwire, 01/13/2012"The Obama administration today released a new draft 'action plan' that directs agencies across the federal government to work together on ocean planning and conservation."
"Bold Plan Proposed to Save Coastal Louisiana"
AP, 01/13/2012"A $50 billion, 50-year proposal aspires to stop coastal land loss in Louisiana, build new levee systems to protect cities and even begin to slowly reverse the trend of eroding marsh that has turned the entire southern portion of the state into one of the nation's most vulnerable regions to sea level rise."
"Last Sewer-Outflow Pollution Worth $1B To Stop?"
Seattle Times, 01/04/2012"With billions of dollars at stake, local and state officials around the country are questioning the cost and benefit of continued work to control combined sewer overflow (CSO), including here in Seattle, where more than $1.2 billion in ratepayer dollars are on the table."
"Environmentalists Hope To Turn the Tide Against Use of Sea Walls"
LA Times, 01/03/2012"The longtime practice of dumping huge rocks and chunks of concrete along the coastline to stop erosion is coming under fire from those who favor letting the shoreline retreat naturally. San Francisco's efforts to protect Ocean Beach is the latest battleground."
Louisville Water Co. Reduces Pollutant Chromium 6 in Drinking Water
Louisville Courier-Journal, 01/02/2012"The Louisville Water Co. has sharply lowered the levels of hexavelent chromium, a suspected carcinogen, in drinking water after solving a puzzle about the source of the pollutant."




