Obama Blocks Offshore Drilling Until 2022
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued new rules prohibiting offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean and along the east coast of the United States. They rules will remain in effect until 2022.
Environmental Policy
Voluntary Fracking Reporting? Bloomberg: Chemicals Not Reported, Half of All Wells "Obscured"
In a little-noticed Aug 2012 report, Bloomberg News reported that gas and oil energy companies failed to comply with their own voluntary plan to disclose chemicals in their operations — and, further, failed to report on the very existence of half of their wells. The report analyzed the efficacy of “FracFocus.org” — a voluntary
Letter to Obama: Clean Air Act Must be Defended
The Clean Air Act is getting attacked by leading polluters and some members of Congress. Over a couple dozen scientific, environmental, and progressive organizations told Obama in a letter sent to him on Friday that he needs to make sure to stand up for this critical piece of U.S. legislation. Here’s the letter: Dear Mr.
Methane: The 'Sleeper' Agent of Climate Change
Methane (CH4) is the main constituent of natural gas, and is the result of natural decomposition processes. Although its lifetime in the atmosphere as a free gas is much shorter than CO2, it is 23 times more potent in terms of its heat trapping ability. This past month, there has been a flurry of news,
Mexico City Bans Plastic Bags
Mexico City joins the growing number of cities worldwide who are banning plastic bags. I recently wrote about the largest state in India banning plastic bags, and about bag monsters in California pushing for a California-wide plastic bag ban, and I just mentioned that the richest Hindu temple in the world has completely banned plastic
World's Biodiversity Loss Not Slowing, Major Analysis Finds [Video]
Although there has been some local, positive improvements in stemming or reversing biodiversity loss (primarily in protected areas), globally, the findings in this aggregate analysis show that the rate of increase in biodiversity loss is stable.
Saving BioGems : False Killer Whales Still in Danger in Hawaii
Last season NRDC announced it’s mission to save the Hawaiian island’s Whales, and now that this decision is facing the president we’re asking the Obama Administration to protect Hawaii’s false killer whales under the Endangered Species Act because the loss of even a few whales could endanger the survival of the entire population. These whales
Union of Concerned Scientists and the Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoons
Have you seen the comic art for the 2010 Union of Concerned Scientists Scientific Integrity Cartoons? Shown above is a cartoon about science and the Endangered Species Act. The entire calendar shows how “the absurdity of political interference in science is ripe for lampooning-and serves as a constant reminder of how vigilant we must be
Environment and Technology Issues at 'Geek the Vote'
Geek is becoming a badge of honor, rather than an epithet (but you knew that already, didn’t you). Popular Mechanics magazine has created a Geek the Vote site dedicated to examining some of the science and technology positions of 11 of the current crop of presidential candidates from both parties. While the site isn’t set
