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.
Drought Season Off to Bad Start; Scientists Predict Another Bleak Year
InsideClimate News, 04/02/2013"Current climate-induced drought is slipping into a trend that scientists say resembles some of the worst droughts in U.S. history, like the Dust Bowl."
"Warming May Mean More Toxic Algae Blooms for Lake Erie"
Climate Central, 04/02/2013"Toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie could come more often and be more intense in coming decades thanks in part to torrential rains intensified by global warming, according to a study published in Monday’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
"Ameren Coal Ash Used as Mine Fill Near Ste. Genevieve"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 04/01/2013"STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Ameren Missouri has spent the past four years engaged in a bitter fight with Labadie-area residents over a proposal to pile millions of cubic yards of coal ash on a plot of cropland by the Missouri River."
"As Fracking Proliferates, So Do Wastewater Wells"
Texas Tribune, 03/29/2013"GONZALES, Tex. -- In a dusty lot off the main highway in this South Texas town, Vern Sartin pointed to a collection of hose hookups and large storage tanks used for collecting wastewater from hydraulic fracturing jobs."
"Canada Only UN Member To Pull Out of Droughts and Deserts Convention"
CTV News, 03/29/2013"Canada has become the first country to drop out of the UN convention to combat desertification."
EPA Sets New Requirements for Ballast Water Dumped By Ships
AP, 03/29/2013"TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued new requirements Thursday for cleansing ballast water dumped from ships, which scientists believe has provided a pathway to U.S. waters for invasive species that damage ecosystems and cost the economy billions of dollars."
"Americans Oppose Paying for Storm-Ravaged Beaches"
AP, 03/29/2013"WASHINGTON -- More than 4 out of 5 Americans want to prepare now for rising seas and stronger storms from climate change, a new national survey says. But most are unwilling to keep spending money to restore and protect stricken beaches."
"Coal Tar Industry Fights Bans on Sealants"
Chicago Tribune, 03/29/2013"Lobbying group funds research, argues products are safe despite government studies linking them to pollution."
"Chemical Industry Clout Delays EPA Regulation of Hexavalent Chromium"
PR Watch, 03/29/2013The story of hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen, in drinking water is not over, even though Erin Brockovich's legal victory was vaunted in a film 13 years ago. Groundwater near Hinkley, Calif., is still polluted. The story of how industry clout has kept EPA delaying regulation of chromium in drinking water is a tale of the chemical industry's ability to manipulate regulation by sowing doubt. But recent highly dramatized stories on chrome-6 in drinking water may not have helped much, to the extent that they downplayed natural background levels, the importance of dose, and the statistical problems in identifying cancer clusters. The whole saga raises key issues about public relations, lobbying, regulatory politics, the legal system, environmental journalism, and the protection of public health.
"Sierra Snowpack Falls Short"
Fresno Bee, 03/28/2013"Snow-surveying crews across the Sierra are seeing bad news up close this week. California has about half a snowpack."
"Oklahoma Earthquakes Linked To Injection Wells"
LA Times, 03/28/2013"HOUSTON -- Oklahoma's largest-recorded earthquake was triggered by injection wells used by the oil and gas industry, according to a report released this week."
"Most Streams, Rivers in Poor Health for Water Life: EPA"
Reuters, 03/27/2013"Fifty-five percent of U.S. river and stream lengths were in poor condition for aquatic life, largely under threat from runoff contaminated by fertilizers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday."
"New Mexico Farmers Seek ‘Priority Call’ as Drought Persists"
NY Times, 03/27/2013"CARLSBAD, N.M. -- Just after the local water board announced this month that its farmers would get only one-tenth of their normal water allotment this year, Ronnie Walterscheid, 53, stood up and called on his elected representatives to declare a water war on their upstream neighbors."
"Cities Win Wastewater Rules Lawsuit Against EPA"
AP, 03/27/2013"DES MOINES, Iowa -- A federal appeals court has sided with a group of Iowa cities challenging Environmental Protection Agency wastewater treatment rules that would have forced cities across the country to spend billions of dollars if the court had upheld them."
Pass Christian, Miss., Is Magnet for High Storm Surge:" New Database
New Orleans Times-Picayune, 03/27/2013"Louisiana has seen two of the top 10 highest hurricane storm surge levels along the Gulf of Mexico coast in modern times, but it’s Pass Christian, Miss., that has experienced the top two surge heights -- 28 feet during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and 24.6 feet during Hurricane Camille in 1969 -- according to a new database developed by researchers at Louisiana State University."

Advertisements 


