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.
UK Measles Outbreaks Flourish After Discredited Autism Research
AP, 05/21/2013"LONDON — More than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of now discredited research that linked the vaccine to autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease."
"Remember When the IRS Targeted Environmental Organizations?"
Earth Island Journal, 05/20/2013"This isn’t the first time the agency has investigated political groups – just the first time it’s become a full-blown controversy."
"DOE Gives Green Light To Controversial Natural Gas Export Project"
Hill/E2 Wire, 05/20/2013"The Energy Department (DOE) on Friday approved a controversial application allowing liquefied natural-gas exports to nations that lack a free-trade agreement with the United States."
"Marine Daughter Seeks Dignity for 'Devil Dog Pups'"
AP, 05/20/2013"JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- As she flipped through the cemetery register, Mary Blakely's eyes filled with tears. On line after line, the entry read simply 'Baby Boy' or 'Baby Girl,' followed by a surname and a burial date."
Chiefs Walk Out on State Dept. Keystone XL Consultation Meeting
Indian Country Today, 05/20/2013"Elders and chiefs of at least 10 sovereign nations walked out of a meeting with U.S. State Department officials in Rapid City, South Dakota, on Thursday May 16 in which the government was attempting to engage in tribal consultation over the Keystone XL pipeline."
"A Black Mound of Canadian Oil Waste Is Rising Over Detroit"
NY Times, 05/20/2013"WINDSOR, Ontario — Assumption Park gives residents of this city lovely views of the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit skyline. Lately they’ve been treated to another sight: a three-story pile of petroleum coke covering an entire city block on the other side of the Detroit River."
"After Deadly Chemical Plant Disasters, There's Little Action"
NPR, 05/20/2013"You might think that everything would have changed for the chemicals industry on April 16, 1947. That was the day of the Texas City Disaster, the worst industrial accident in U.S. history. A ship loaded with ammonium nitrate — the same chemical that appears to have caused the disaster last month in West, Texas — exploded. The ship sparked a chain reaction of blasts at chemical facilities onshore, creating what a newsreel at the time called "a holocaust that baffles description."
"Senate Panel Advances Nominee for E.P.A."
NY Times, 05/17/2013"WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Senate committee on Thursday approved the nomination of Gina McCarthy to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
"U.S.: Disclose Fracking Chemicals on Public Land"
AP, 05/17/2013"The Obama administration said Thursday it will require companies that drill for oil and natural gas on federal lands to publicly disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations. The new "fracking" rule replaces a draft proposed last year that was withdrawn amid industry complaints that federal regulation could hinder an ongoing boom in natural gas production.
"Senate Confirms Physicist Moniz as Energy Chief"
AP, 05/17/2013"The Senate has unanimously confirmed President Obama's nominee to lead the Energy Department."
"Analysis: Obama Climate Agenda Faces Supreme Court Reckoning"
Reuters, 05/17/2013"With a barrage of legal briefs, a coalition of business groups and Republican-leaning states are taking their fight against Obama administration climate change regulations to the U.S. Supreme Court."
"New Protest in Chinese City Over Planned Chemical Plant"
Reuters, 05/17/2013"Hundreds of people took to the streets of the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming on Thursday to protest against the planned production of a chemical at a refinery, the second demonstration this month against the project."
Scientists Are United on Global Warming, Contrary to Public View
Reuters, 05/16/2013"Ninety-seven percent of scientists say global warming is mainly man-made but a wide public belief that experts are divided is making it harder to gain support for policies to curb climate change, an international study showed on Thursday."
"EPA: Retirements, Confirmation Fights Create High-Level Vacancies"
Greenwire, 05/16/2013"If U.S. EPA air chief Gina McCarthy is eventually confirmed as agency administrator, the Office of Air and Radiation will join four other agency offices that have no permanent, Senate-confirmed leaders."
"U.S. Advisory on Mercury in Fish Tied Up at Health Department"
Reuters, 05/16/2013"Updated federal advice on mercury levels in fish appears to have stalled within the U.S. department of health, frustrating scientists and advocacy groups who argue that exposure to mercury may be dangerous at lower levels than previously thought."

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