"Obama To Sell Energy Plan in Nevada and Colorado"
"President Obama will travel to Nevada and Colorado on Thursday to sell the public on the energy proposals he outlined in this week’s State of the Union address."
Source: E2 Wire, 01/26/2012
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Some Secret CRS Reports You May Want To Read
Here, courtesy of the Federation of American Scientists, are some recent Congressional Research Service backgrounders that may be useful to environment/energy reporters, on chemical facility security, nuclear power plant design and seismic safety considerations, and proposed Keystone XL pipeline legal issues.
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Obama Vows Disclosure of Toxic Fracking Secrets on Federal Land
Most current fracking operations happen on non-federal lands. But on federal lands, things are different — Obama intends to require disclosure of fluids as a condition of new leases for fracking on federal lands. If it takes place, this could push the ingredient lists further into the open.
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E-Mail: White House Ordered Scientists To Lowball BP Spill Rate Estimate
The e-mail pressuring agency scientists was written by USGS Director Marcia McNutt, and was never meant to be made public. Against strong agency resistance, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility forced disclosure of the e-mail with a Freedom-of-Information-Act lawsuit.
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Lejeune Secrecy May Have Caused Dead Marines
CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has been investigating a Navy cover-up of cancer-causing drinking water at its Lejeune, NC, base. Now, Project on Government Oversight has released a January 5, 2012, letter from Marine Major General J.A. Kessler asking ATSDR to redact its report in the name of "force protection."
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Obama Highlights Energy in State of Union
President Obama called for more offshore drilling, disclosure of fracking chemicals, more energy development on public lands, more clean-energy jobs, more infrastructure upgrades, and an "all of the above" national energy strategy in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. And he pledged to do as much of it as possible with executive authority if Congress persists in inaction and "obstruction."
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"Shale Gas a Bridge to More Global Warming"
"UXBRIDGE, Canada -- Hundreds of thousands of shale gas wells are being "fracked" in the United States and Canada, allowing large amounts of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, to escape into the atmosphere, new studies have shown. Shale gas production results in 40 to 60 percent more global warming emissions than conventional gas, said Robert Howarth of Cornell University in New York State."
Source: IPS, 01/25/2012
"A Legal Defense Fund for Climate Scientists"
"For years, climate scientists have been assailed from many sides -- through e-mail hacking, death threats, politician’s demands for documents, Freedom of Information requests (many having the strong smell of a fishing expedition). A Climate Science Legal Defense Fund set up last fall has taken on a formal affiliation with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an established nonprofit group offering aid and advice to government whistleblowers and scientists working on environmental issues."
Source: Dot Earth, 01/25/2012
"Japan Task Force Kept No Records Of Nuclear Crisis Response"
"Japan's energy minister admitted on Tuesday that no records were kept of top level discussions in the critical early days on how to respond to the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years."
Source: Reuters, 01/25/2012
"Strongest Solar Storm Since 2005 Hitting Earth"
"The sun is bombarding Earth with radiation from the biggest solar storm in more than six years with more to come from the fast-moving eruption."
Source: AP, 01/25/2012
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