"Increasing use of air conditioners to stay cool is having the vicious circle effect – especially at night – of worsening the problem of cities getting hotter as the climate changes, say US researchers"
"San Francisco is booming as construction cranes transform the city skyline. One of the most significant changes is happening at the Hunters Point Shipyard. It's a project so big, it seems like a whole new town is being built within the city. Residences, shops, parks, and high-rises are being built and will replace the naval shipyard – once a major source of employment, but dormant for years."
"A massive rainstorm in July 2010 turned city streets into rushing rivers and infamously created a sinkhole so big at N. Oakland and E. North avenues that it swallowed a Cadillac Escalade."
"Most babies born prematurely and one-third of full-term infants are exposed to chemicals found in vinyl 'at a potentially harmful level,' according to new research in Finland."
"Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Sunday banning the manufacture and sale of personal care products containing plastic microbeads."
"RALEIGH, N.C. — Environmental and wildlife officials in North Carolina and Virginia signed an agreement with Duke Energy Monday for the cleanup of toxic coal ash from the Dan River, which flows through the two states."
"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that a federal law seeking to improve accountability for environmental spills and pollution can be circumvented by certain kinds of state laws."
"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a request from BP to block payments to businesses while the oil giant appeals its 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster settlement. For the time being, the decision upholds the ruling by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans that under terms of the settlement, businesses claiming damages from the undersea eruption need not prove direct harm."
The Society of Environmental Journalists has objected to the Environmental Protection Agency's "no attribution" ground rule for a press teleconference that was part of its June 2, 2014, roll-out of its carbon emissions rule for existing power plants. The background briefing — which supplemented Administrator Gina McCarthy's on-record statement — made questions difficult on this complex rule. The text of SEJ's June 6 letter to McCarthy is here. The text of EPA's June 10 response to SEJ's letter is here.
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology has developed a free webinar, 2-3pm, to discuss GMOs and labelling, featuring two of the authors of a controversial new paper who will explain the science, law, and economic facts behind this critical issue. An open Q&A will follow. Pre-registration required.
