pollution

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Test Finds Mercury in Every Fish

A quarter contaminated beyond EPA safety limit

(Newser) - Catch a fish in one of America's streams, and there's a good chance it will have at least trace amounts of mercury. The most comprehensive survey to date from the US Geological Survey tested more than 1,000 fish from nearly 300 streams around the nation—and found mercury in...

Paris Anglers Again Catch Salmon in Seine

(Newser) - "A world of slime without human form": that was how Victor Hugo once described the Seine, the murky, polluted river that divides Paris in two. Yet recent efforts to clean up the river, from skimming the surface to pumping it with oxygen, have led to a resurgent fish population...

What Tourists Can Do to Protect Coral Reefs

(Newser) - Snorkelers and scuba divers aren’t the worst threat to the embattled coral reefs of the world—climate change, commercial fishing, and pollution take top honors—but the casual tourist can lessen, and even mitigate, the damage he or she causes, Slate reports. Of course, snorkelers shouldn’t purposefully snap...

Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty
 Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty 
Aug 1, 2009 6:45 AM CDT

Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty

(Newser) - Nepal's once-pristine natural beauty has been ravaged by years of civil war, neglect, and corruption, the Washington Post reports. Dangerous levels of pollution now cloud Kathmandu, forcing many residents to wear masks. Even the top of Mount Everest is marred by litter left behind by generations of climbers, and many...

Traffic Congestion Dips as Economy Falters

US sees two-year congestion decline for first time ever

(Newser) - Drivers are spending less time stuck in rush-hour traffic for a second straight year, the first-ever 2-year decline in congestion. Blame high gas prices and the economic downturn, which have forced many Americans to change how they commute. In individual cities, Los Angeles traffic is getting better but is still...

Greenpeace: Mediterranean a 'Sea of Hell'

(Newser) - The Mediterranean Sea is in crisis because of global warming, according to Greenpeace. The group says its latest research documents the catastrophic effect climate change is having on the environmentally crucial body of water, which it dubs a “sea of hell.” Rising temperatures have sent foreign species like...

China Won't Allow Hummer Sale: Report

Country KOs GM deal with manufacturer over environmental worries

(Newser) - Beijing will halt GM’s sale of the Hummer brand to a Chinese machinery firm over pollution concerns, according to Chinese state radio. The purchase would run counter to the government’s goal of reducing pollution caused by manufacturing, the BBC reports. The Chinese firm shrugged off the report. “...

Calif. Branches Into Forests to Fight Climate Change

(Newser) - The California government is preparing to enter into the "forest bank" business in a bid to save woodlands and battle carbon pollution and climate change, reports the Los Angeles Times. The state is expected to roll out a California "cabon market" that may be expanded elsewhere in the...

EPA Backs Off Promise to Regulate CO2

Apparent flip follows White House warning on economic fallout

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency is backing away from emissions regulation after a White House memo warned of its economic consequences. As administrator Lisa Jackson presented today an agency finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, she told Congress this “does not mean regulation.” Previously, Jackson said such a...

Companies Leak Drugs Into US Drinking Water

(Newser) - Federal regulators have consistently looked away as Big Pharma and other manufacturers poured at least 271 million pounds of drugs into waterways that supply US drinking water, the AP reports. Records kept unintentionally by the FDA and EPA show that 22 compounds, some considered dangerous by scientists, have leaked into...

EPA's CO2 Ruling May Have Huge Impact

(Newser) - The EPA's decision today to declare carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases dangerous pollutants could have enormous consequences for US businesses, writes Andy Stone in Forbes. The big winner: green technology. The ruling could eventually give the EPA unprecedented regulatory control over everything from power plants to oil refineries...

Robot Fish Will Help Battle Pollution
Robot Fish
Will Help
Battle Pollution
Mar 20, 2009 10:51 AM CDT

Robot Fish Will Help Battle Pollution

High-tech 'carp' find chemical contaminants in Spanish harbor

(Newser) - Robots will soon be patrolling the harbor of Gijon, Spain, and if all goes well, the local sea life won't notice a thing, reports the Financial Times. The pollution-detecting bots cost $30,000 each and are modeled after carp, complete with shiny scales and an undulating swimming motion. "We...

Ozone Kills, Slowly: Study
 Ozone Kills, Slowly: Study 
Mar 12, 2009 2:40 PM CDT

Ozone Kills, Slowly: Study

High-level areas like LA face 50% increase in risk of death from respiratory illness

(Newser) - Long-term exposure to ozone can greatly increase the risk of death from respiratory diseases, the Los Angeles Times reports. An 18-year study of half a million people in 96 cities found that an increase of 10 parts per billion in ozone concentrations correlated to a 4% increase in deaths from...

Court Reinstates Bush Clean Air Rule

Federal judges reverse position on clean air rule, giving Obama time to replace it

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has decided that a flawed clean air law is better than no clean air law, the New York Times reports. Reversing an earlier judgment, the court ruled to temporarily reinstate the Clean Air Interstate Rule—which limits emissions from coal-fired power plants in 28 states—while...

EPA Pick Has Toxic Record, Critics Charge

Jackson promised NJ cleanup effort, then didn't follow through

(Newser) - Lisa Jackson, Barack Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, will bring some controversy with her, ProPublica reports. Critics say that after promising to speed efforts to clean up toxic waste sites as New Jersey’s top environmental official, Jackson failed to follow through. A defender says Jackson...

Obama to Pick Corzine Aide as EPA Chief

Many tout Jackson's record; others say pick too industry-friendly

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency is a trained scientist praised as open-minded, though her history of accommodating business gives some environmentalists pause, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Lisa Jackson, who would be the first African American in the job, is currently chief of staff to New...

EPA to Loosen Clean-Air Rules in National Parks

Bush moves to allow coal-fired plants nearer US land preserves

(Newser) - Polluting facilities like coal-fired power plants could soon be allowed to operate closer to national parks, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. Rules being finalized by the EPA—against strong objections from several officials—will weaken Clean Air Act protections by averaging out emission counts over a year,...

Smog Costs California $28B a Year
Smog Costs California
$28B a Year
Nov 13, 2008 2:40 AM CST

Smog Costs California $28B a Year

Toxic air kills more than car crashes in some areas, researchers find

(Newser) - Health problems caused by pollution choke $28 billion out of California's economy every year, according to a new study. Most of the cost is linked to 3,000 smog-related deaths each year, along with days of work missed by workers with respiratory problems aggravated by pollution spewed from tailpipes and...

Oysters May Clean East Coast Waters

Electrified reefs could help restore the population

(Newser) - Oysters can be shocked into repopulating and cleaning up America's waterways, the Christian Science Monitor reports. A project in New York's East River is using metal reefs, powered by solar panels, to build up limestone and help oysters grow. The upside is that they filter water—up to 50 gallons...

Ecuador Chases Citizens Off Galapagos to Save Islands

UN says too many people on islands is destroying animal habitats

(Newser) - Ecuador is forcing those without permission to live in the Galapagos to leave, over fears that a growing human population threatens the species that make the islands unique. Even Ecuadorean citizens need special visas to visit the Galapagos, but thousands of mainland migrants have been staying illegally, drawn by high...

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