Conserve your energy. Take a breather from candidate bashing diaries. Let's talk about ISSUES...shall we? Now...ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS TO USE!
Radioactive remains: The forgotten story of the Northwest's only uranium mines. One of the world's largest mining companies is trying to wash its hands of responsibility for a costly cleanup of the Northwest's only uranium mines. Seattle Times
Your sewer on drugs. Sewage is more than just filth. It’s evidence of our worst habits, everything from caffeine to cocaine, all ingested and flushed down the toilet. Now scientists are using wastewater to drug-test entire cities, and the results are sobering. Popular Science.
Side effects. Pharmaceuticals have been finding their way into our environment for a long time, but just what are they doing there? Chemical & Engineering News.
What to do with your unused pharmaceuticals. Scientists estimate that orphaned medications from the deceased population alone account for as many as 19.7 tons of active pharmaceutical ingredients disposed into U.S. sewage systems annually. Chemical & Engineering News.
Forest Service way of fighting wildfires gets its day in court. A dispute between the government and an environmental group goes where no lawsuit has gone before. It centers around the environmental impact of millions of gallons of fire retardant aerial bombers dump on blazes every year. Portland Oregonian
The long road to recovering Mission Valley's water. The sprawling streak of fuel from an industrial site in Mission Valley is one of the region's largest pollution plumes. The conflict over its cleanup shines a spotlight on the impact of water contamination in an arid region. Voice of San Diego
For Katrina evacuees, a chance to be heard. No one knows how many evacuees have registered to vote in Texas or how many will show up at the state's odd mix of primary and caucuses next week, adding an unknown element to the Democratic primary. Washington Post.
Corps digs deep for levee mud. The Army Corps of Engineers has approved 21 new borrow sites, but they are expected to provide only a fraction of the 100 million cubic yards of clay needed to build a better hurricane protection system around SE Louisiana. New Orleans Times-Picayune
2 insurance lawsuits may rock legal world. For thousands of Louisiana hurricane victims, Tuesday is the biggest of judgment days, with millions of dollars and, possibly, the future of the state's insurance landscape at stake. New Orleans Times-Picayune
Mining reform has one foot in the door. For only the second time in 136 years, Congress is nearly unanimous in its call to update the 19th century law that still governs the country's metal ore mining. High Country News.
Emerging diseases pose big threat to livestock agriculture. Deadly emerging diseases are on the rise and putting global agriculture at risk, according to a group of international researchers who have provided the first scientific evidence that the incidence of these diseases has risen steeply across the world. Grand Island Independent
Local beekeepers could boost bee population. About 15 months ago, beekeepers around the country started to notice something strange. Bees were abandoning their hives, buzzing off to die somewhere, and no one could figure out where they went and why they were leaving. But one part of the solution may be pretty simple: get more hobbyists to keep bees in their backyards. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
UN says warming threatens fish stocks. Major world commercial fish stocks could collapse within decades as global warming compounds damage from pollution and overfishing, U.N. officials said Friday. Associated Press.
Eco-friendly French to ship their wine under sail. French vineyard owners are starting to export their wine by sailing boat - a method last used in the 1800s - to reduce their carbon footprint. London Observer
Wild green yonder? A 747 fuelled partly by coconuts. Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson unveiled what he called the start of a new, cleaner, era for the airline industry Sunday: a flight partly fuelled by a clear liquid derived from coconuts and the Amazonian babassu tree. Toronto Globe and Mail
Crop-based biofuels increase CO2. New research shows that biofuel crops grown on land that's converted from natural prairie or forest could make global warming worse. Great Lakes Radio Consortium
Dust in the wind. Increased dust migration and accumulation can be an ominous accompaniment to drier climate conditions and drought, according to a University of Colorado geologist. Boulder Colorado Daily
State might end nuclear plant ban. Three state legislators are trying to overturn a nearly-quarter-century ban on nuclear power in Kentucky, as the nuclear industry vies for a comeback. Louisville Courier-Journal
Energy execs: Sustainability is critical. Many energy executives say sustainability is critical to the success of their operations, but far fewer believe that their companies have embraced the concept, a new survey shows. Associated Press.
Detroit's flex-fuel credit is missing its 'flex'. To appease automakers who demanded flexibility in meeting the new, higher standards between now and 2020 — and in order to salvage that portion of the bill — negotiators agreed to extend, and even temporarily expand, a controversial fuel economy credit for cars and trucks that burn either gasoline or a mixture containing 85 percent ethanol. Congressional Quarterly.
Saving the wide-open prairie. Florida Power & Light Co. -- with 1,600 wind turbines the largest wind-power generator in Texas -- is considering putting power transmission lines through the heart of the prairie. Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Another research group claims solar breakthrough. A team of Northwestern University researchers have developed a new anode coating that, according to a new paper, improve solar panels, making them convert sunlight into electricity more efficiently. The Daily Green.
Bay Area performing arts groups going green. The Shotgun Players' Ashby Stage is the first theater in the Bay Area - and possibly in the nation - to convert to solar power, but they're not alone among Bay Area performing arts groups trying to reduce dramatically their environmental footprints. San Francisco Chronicle
Regenerating from wasted energy. The Korean government is giving out subsidies to encourage the supply of renewable, eco-friendly energy such as wind power and solar power. Korea Times
Big biz snapping up green companies. There's a growing trend of big multi- nationals buying up small natural products companies. Great Lakes Radio Consortium
Forum teaches residents 'Being Green.' For every one ton of paper recycled, 17 trees are saved. Australia soon plans to ban incandescent light bulbs. Rapid City Journal
Golf courses go green. Gloucester County's Maple Ridge Golf Club closed more than a year ago and has found new life as a haven for hikers and bicyclists. Philadelphia Inquirer
Too many lipsticks contain unsafe lead. Toys made in China aren't the only products laced with dangerous heavy metals: lipsticks manufactured in the US and used daily by millions of American women also contain surprisingly high levels of lead, according to new product tests. Chicago Daily Herald
Coast Guard on alert for toxic ship. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Guam Environmental Protection Agency are on alert for the possible arrival of the contaminated cruise liner, SS Independence, which is reportedly heading to Guam after being refused entry in Hawaii. Marianas Variety
Color Stockton green. Stockton has taken so much flak for a variety of unfavorable rankings, it's tempting to do a little bragging about being listed among the country's most environmentally friendly municipalities. Stockton Record
Reject Tongass logging plan. Stymied in efforts to construct new roads in national forests, the Bush administration is now trying to subject Alaska's Tongass National Forest to death by a thousand cuts. Hartford Courant
We need protection for the waters of the Great Lakes basin now. We need protection for the waters of the Great Lakes basin now. It will be too late when the pipelines are laid into our lakes, sucking our precious waters south. Petoskey News-Review
Michigan is out of money to clean up remaining toxic sites. With a bond program that has provided up to $100 million a year to clean up hundreds of toxic sites across Michigan out of cash, the state's top environmental official says he wants voters this fall to approve a replacement. Detroit Free Press
The case of the missing Minnesota moose. Is it parasites, or climate change, or both, that's killing Minnesota's moose? Minneapolis Star Tribune
What lies beneath. Despite years of warnings, the water that flows from the taps of dozens of homes in Cumberland County NC is dangerous because it comes from wells sunk into groundwater contaminated with arsenic, benzene, nitrates and other contaminants. Fayetteville Observer
Toxic turmoil. Like it or not, people of Opportunity, MT are on receiving end of about 50 railcars a day, each with 100 tons of contaminated sediment from the Milltown Superfund site Missoula Missoulian
The plight of the bumblebee. The gaily coloured harbinger of summer on which we rely for many crops is under threat from global warming as the queens emerge prematurely from hibernation into winter chill. Glasgow Sunday Herald
Where's the Beef...going?
Recall demonstrates why USDA reform is needed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture serves as a last line of defense in ensuring that meat-packing plants follow safe and humane procedures, and prevent tainted meat from ending in stores and school lunches. Fresno Bee
Meatpacker in cow-abuse scandal may shut as Congress turns up heat. A meatpacker exposed by a hidden video camera is about to collapse, and has become a flashpoint in a national debate over meat safety and the quality of food for schoolchildren. Wall Street Journal.
Impact of beef recall widens. The nation's largest meat recall could grow into its largest food recall as companies destroy products with any amount of the 143 million pounds of beef recalled last week. USA Today.
Safety in numbers. The disgusting tale of inadequate U.S. beef inspection has a familiar ring to us in the Carolinas. Charlotte Observer
Slaughterhouse case should spur government investigation. The animal abuse alone is enough to make the casual observer cringe. Nashville Tennessean
Feds need to beef up USDA inspections. Try to convince Americans that there's "no food safety issue" in the recall of 143 million pounds of ground beef. That's what USDA is saying: It's safe; law is forcing us to destroy it. Billings Gazette
Mad cows, bad enforcement. Assurances that the nation's largest beef recall is merely a precaution are small comfort in Washington state. Seattle Times