"The New Orleans company fighting a decade-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday agreed to pay for research on the ecological effects of chronic offshore crude leaks and buy equipment for environmental restoration efforts, as part of a deal settling a long-running lawsuit against the firm."
The story of how a DuPont chemical called C8, or PFOA, harmed the health of people around Parkersburg, WV, is an epic one that resulted in a huge class-action settlement. "DuPont deceived as many people as they could deceive as for as long as they could," one resident said. Under the current regulatory system, the same thing could happen again.
"Long-term exposure to tiny amounts of Roundup—thousands of times lower than what is permitted in U.S. drinking water—may lead to serious problems in the liver and kidneys, according to a new study."
"A $100 million flood protection system will help keep Sandy-like stormwaters from devastating lower Manhattan, the de Blasio administration said Thursday."
"U.S. officials responsible for the Aug. 5 spill of toxic mine waste in southwestern Colorado had no plan in place for dealing with a catastrophic breach of the kind that fouled a long stretch of the state’s Animas River, an internal inquiry has concluded."
"Even as Louisiana embarks on a multi-billion-dollar program to begin rebuilding its coast, evidence continues to mount that new coastal land will have to contend with a more rapid rise in sea level than projected in present state plans."
"Tropical storm Erika lashed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with heavy rain and fierce winds on Friday, moving across the Caribbean and seemingly heading for the Bahamas and Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said."
"A U.S. court on Thursday blocked a federal clean water rule from going into effect in certain states until a legal challenge has been resolved, handing a victory to states and business groups that have strongly opposed the regulation."
President Obama spent time in New Orleans talking with residents about Hurricane Katrina on its tenth anniversary -- the progress in recovery, and the work left to do.
"MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE, Kenya — Death feeds life on the Mara. Each summer, 500,000 wildebeests die along the treacherous migration from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. And with death come the scavengers, none more important than the vulture."
