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"OPEC Opts to Increase Its Level of Output" [1]

"The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on Wednesday to increase its production target for the first time in three years, a move that appeared to signal that Saudi Arabia and Iran had put aside their recent differences on oil policy, at least temporarily.

Source: NY Times [2], 12/15/2011

"Legal Settlement To Force Completion of Deep Tunnel" [3]

"Federal and state authorities today unveiled a legal settlement intended to finally complete the Deep Tunnel, the Chicago region’s massive flood- and pollution-control project."

Source: Chicago Tribune [4], 12/15/2011

Wisconsin: "Mine Plan Prompts Backlash" [5]

"WEST ALLIS, Wis.--Plans to develop an open-pit iron mine in northwestern Wisconsin are the latest flash point in a growing national debate that weighs the prospect of new jobs against concern about environmental damage."

Source: Wall St. Journal [6], 12/15/2011

"Gulf Oil Spill Restoration: First Round of Projects Total $57 Million" [7]

"Officials released a first round of oil spill restoration projects Wednesday that included proposals to create or enhance oyster habitat, salt marshes, sand dunes, and nearshore reefs in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida."

"Drawing from a $1 billion pool established by BP as a down payment on fines related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, representatives from the Gulf States agreed on $57 million worth of restoration projects.

Those proposals will be up for public comment at a series of meetings in January and February."

Source: Mobile Press-Register [8], 12/15/2011

"Is It Safe To Drill? Learn What New Oil-Spill Report Says" [9]

"BP and the oil industry drilling in the Gulf of Mexico lacked the proper safety attitude to handle the large risks of deepwater drilling, leading to the many bad decisions behind the nation's worst offshore spill, a panel of expert engineers said today.

More specifically, the industry needs to radically redesign the blowout preventers that are meant to be a last line of defense against runaway wells or else risk a repeat of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the National Academy of Engineering concluded.

Source: AP [10], 12/15/2011

Federal Law Fails To Protect Health and Safety Whistleblowers [11]

One example is Walt Tamosaitis, who works for an Energy Department subcontractor. He told a Senate panel on December 6, 2011, that when he raised technical issues about whether nuclear waste cleanup was being done right at the Hanford Site in Washington, he was taken off the project and exiled to the basement.

Sunlight Foundation FOIA Seeks To Learn Who Visited Abramoff in Prison [12]

Jack Abramoff, a former lobbyist convicted of mail fraud, is now on a book tour. At least one member of Congress visited him in prison. The federal Bureau of Prisons so far has not released any other names in response to Sunlight's FOIA request.

States Partly Fill Federal Vacuum on Fracking Fluid Disclosure Law [13]

Colorado, which adopted its disclosure rules December 13, 2011, joins Texas, Pennsylvania, and several other states in requiring some disclosure by drillers of the chemicals they pump into shale formations under high pressures to release natural gas. Scores of chemicals, some very toxic, may be involved.

Oregon Court Rules That Not All Bloggers Are Journalists [14]

The Portland judge ruled that blogger Crystal Cox, who published allegations against businessman Kevin Padrick and was subsequently sued by Padrick for defamation, was not a journalist as she lacked any conventional journalistic credentials or affiliations, and therefore was not entitled to the protections of the state's shield law.

"Disasters Doom Texas Oyster Crop" [15]

"A monstrous bloom of toxic algae looming across the Texas coast has shut down oyster season. Fueled by Texas' ongoing drought, the algae — known as Karenia brevis— thrives in warm, salty water and has spread through the bays and islands along Texas' 350-mile coast, says Meridith Byrd, a marine biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The algae could cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in humans and is harmful to fish but not fatal to people, she says."

Source: USA TODAY [16], 12/14/2011

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