"Children's asthma-related emergency room visits rise in the San Joaquin Valley at a similar rate as fine particulate levels do -- even on days where air quality is considered in the moderate range.

That's a key finding of a yearlong study by the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State, which examined the short-term impacts of air quality changes in Bakersfield, Fresno and Modesto.

"A breakthrough in oil cleanup technology allows crews to skim spilled oil off the water's surface at a much faster rate. The new device wasn't developed by Exxon, BP or any of the major oil companies — it's the work of Elastec/American Marine, based in Illinois. And the design won the company a rich prize from the X Prize Foundation.

Oil is attracted to plastic. And water is not. That, in essence, is the basis of Elastec's new skimmer.

"Gavin Schmidt, the climate modeler at NASA and Columbia University who has long endured the slings and arrows that come with blogging on climate, has now gained a laurel for his efforts — the inaugural $25,000 Climate Communications Prize of the American Geophysical Union. [The geophysical union release is now posted.]"

Don't feel too sorry for the farmers losing one federal subsidy -- they may simply be gaining another.

"With a decision expected by the end of the year from the Obama administration on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, members of Congress have sent two letters to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raising concerns over the State Department’s handling of a critical environmental review of the project."

"The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a pipeline safety bill late Monday after a senator with strong Tea Party ties did an about-face - lifting a hold that had blocked the legislation for weeks and adding a provision that would close a regulatory loophole that drew widespread attention after the San Bruno disaster."

"The bill boosts the federal government's regulatory enforcement powers, calls for automatic shutoff valves for new pipelines and, thanks to last-minute language, ends an exemption from rigorous safety inspections for older natural-gas pipelines.

"A lethal and highly contagious marine virus has been detected for the first time in wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest, researchers in British Columbia said on Monday, stirring concern that it could spread there, as it has in Chile, Scotland and elsewhere.

Farms hit by the virus, infectious salmon anemia, have lost 70 percent or more of their fish in recent decades. But until now, the virus, which does not affect humans, had never been confirmed on the West Coast of North America.

"The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell PLC to decide whether corporations can be sued in U.S. courts for allegedly aiding human-rights abuses overseas. The case examines whether corporations can be held liable under a 1789 law passed by the first U.S. Congress. The law, the Alien Tort Statute, allows foreign citizens to file U.S. lawsuits based on alleged violations of international law."

"Elouise Cobell, the treasurer of the Blackfeet tribe who tenaciously pursued a lawsuit that accused the federal government of cheating Native Americans out of more than a century's worth of royalties, resulting in a record $3.4-billion settlement, has died. She was 65."

"Far from being 'alarmist,' predictions from climate scientists in many cases are proving to be more conservative than observed climate-induced impacts."

Douglas Fischer reports for The Daily Climatge October 18, 2011. [36]