Happy MLK Day. What you don't hear the "corporate media" talking about today is the lack of environmental justice based on race. Sure you hear the panic about lead based paint in toys...but rarely a mention of lead paint in low income housing. You hear the tone of fear in talk of pollution/pesticide and their increasing cancer/health risks, but rarely a mention of the races most directly affected. Your Environmental News...to Use...Don't just dream of a cleaner world...go out and make it so.
Did oil canals worsen Katrina's effects? 10,000 miles of oil canals in the Mississippi River delta may be a key to the role that the oil industry played in the $135 billion disaster, the nation's costliest. Associated Press.
Asthma crisis is a call for all minorities. Such a high number of young African-Americans living in neighborhoods along the Dan Ryan Expressway have asthma that Chicago is often called the epicenter of the disease. Chicago Tribune
Asian and black kids misdiagnosed. A new study has found that a test used to identify kids with asthma could misdiagnose children of certain ethnic backgrounds. Great Lakes Radio Consortium
State: Exxon violated its vow. Exxon violated the social compact it had entered into with the state of Alaska when the company's tanker spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound in 1989, the state Legislature and four former governors said in a new brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. Anchorage Daily News
Bay protection eroded, bit by bit. A key Maryland environmental law has been compromised over its 25-year life, along with the Chesapeake coastline that it was intended to save. Baltimore Sun
Teams study pollutants in AZ rivers. Three teams of Arizona scientists are focusing research on endocrine disrupting chemicals in the state water supply that could lead to cancer, infertility, birth defects or other health problems. Phoenix Arizona Republic
West Virginia-American losing an ocean of water. By its own admission, West Virginia-American Water Co. leaks, mismeasures and simply loses a third of the water its customers pay to have treated and pumped. Charleston Gazette
Drying of the West. The American West was won by water management. What happens when there's no water left to manage? National Geographic.
From toilet to tap. Orange County, CA has opened what is likely the largest sewage purification plant for drinking water in the world. The community is on board, and the idea is already being copied elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad. Living On Earth.
As CO2 levels rise, staple grains could lose some nutritional value. Protein levels in staple foods like rice and wheat could decline by as much as 15 percent by the year 2100, due to increases in carbon dioxide, a contributing cause of global warming. Austin American-Statesman
EU targets could force Britain to build thousands of wind turbines. The British coastline is set for a dramatic increase in wind farms and tidal energy plants as the Government strives to meet a European target for renewable energy. London Times
Congregations invited to global warming workshop. Zion Lutheran Church in Iowa City is hosting the "Cool Congregations" workshop Saturday. The workshop is designed to get parishioners to learn how to reduce their carbon footprint. Iowa City Press-Citizen
Florida eyes green energy and greenbacks to fund it. Green energy is an emerging industry in Florida, fueled by rising global warming fears and Gov. Charlie Crist's desire to reduce coal in the state's energy diet. Jacksonville Times-Union
Eco-friendly groups greenlighted for grants. San Diego County is getting a bit more green – and it's not just from the recent rainstorms. San Diego Union-Tribune
Waste not....here. Plans to store radioactive nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, Nevada have been postponed again due to budget cuts and opposition. Living On Earth.
Starfish swarm devouring corals in Indonesia. Predatory starfish are swarming over one of the world's most diverse coral reef ecosystems, researchers announced, threatening the health of reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region. High nutrient levels due to agricultural fertilizer runoff are thought to be most likely responsible for the population boom. National Geographic News.
U.S. Rep. Olver's green housing bill passed. The House of Representatives passed the HOPE VI Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2007 last week. U.S. Rep. John Olver, D-Amherst, initially introduced the green measure as a stand-alone bill in May. North Adams Advocate
Rural voters want clean water. A new survey finds a majority of rural voters believe the federal government has not done enough to protect water quality. Great Lakes Radio Consortium
Satellites could help Great Lakes. Scientists say satellite images could do more to help spot major problems in the Great Lakes, if there were more federal money for those kinds of programs. Great Lakes Radio Consortium
Area's water source is vulnerable. Former Mishawaka Mayor Robert C. Beutter once wrote that all the private septic systems and wells in northeastern St. Joseph County may someday "begin co-mingling their contents underground into one large, gelatinous glob." South Bend Tribune
Unsafe trucks stream out of L.A.'s ports. There has been an extraordinary rise in port traffic in the last decade, but keeping many of those trucks on the road is a shadowy economy of risk-taking. Los Angeles Times
Stirling Energy takes on the solar power challenge. Stirling's plans call for construction to begin in 2009 for two $1 billion farms on federal land in California's Mojave Desert northeast of Los Angeles and in the Imperial Valley east of San Diego. USA Today
Businesses want a say in global-warming bill. U.S. businesses are betting that the federal government soon will put mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, and they're making sure they have a say in shaping a vast new regulatory system. McClatchy Newspapers.
Shipping's impact on the air. Leaked details of a report by the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners revealed an uncomfortable truth about the shipping industry -- its greenhouse gas emissions could be double the amount everyone previously believed. CNN.
Port moves slowly on cruise sludge. The average cruise ship setting sail to AK from Seattle produces 28,000 gallons of sewage sludge during its weeklong voyage, port staff estimate. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ballast rules may not halt Lakes invaders. Researchers studying how oceangoing ships have carried invasive species into the Great Lakes are now turning their attention to animals catching a ride on ships' hulls. Detroit News
Water calculator. The average American guzzles 1,189 gallons of water a day. Want to see how you match up? A new website let's you calculate your daily water footprint--asking you pointed questions about your habits. Living On Earth.
Hawaii's Kapolei to get at least 1 solar farm. What would be the state's largest stand-alone solar energy production farm is to be built by a subsidiary of Hoku Scientific Inc. on 12 acres of James Campbell Co. land next to Campbell Industrial Park. Honolulu Advertiser
Can Burt's Bees survive a bleaching? Other ethically conscious takeover targets have found it tough, if not impossible, to be at the leading edge of social initiatives once they've been eaten up by the multinationals. Toronto Star
Hidden risk: Firefighters' cancer rates higher than average. I am painfully aware of the risks firefighters face on a daily basis in the performance of their duties, as I did the job as a City of Binghamton firefighter for 24 years. I am further aware that firefighters face additional risks of contracting cancer when compared to the general population. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
Crucial California delta faces a salty future. The Sacramento Delta is crucial to the health of the state, and climate change is threatening the delta's very existence. Morning Edition
Drain on the Mediterranean: Rising water usage. Across the Mediterranean, water is being pumped out of the earth at an unsustainable pace, driving more than 100,000 square miles of coastal regions – roughly the same area as the United Kingdom – toward desertification. Christian Science Monitor.
Cancer drugs found in tap water. Britain's tap water should be monitored for powerful medicines after traces of cancer and psychiatric drugs were detected in samples, a report has warned. London Daily Telegraph
How plastic we've become. Today, the planet is awash in products spawned by the plastics industry. Residues of plastics have become ubiquitous in the environment—and in our bodies. Science News.
Fierce erosion sweeps wastes into AK waters. In some of Alaska's most isolated spots, toxic waste and old community dumps are eroding into the ocean or rivers. The increased rate of erosion is linked to the dramatic loss of sea ice driven by global warming. Anchorage Daily News
World Bank pledges to save trees... then helps cut down Amazon forest. The World Bank is a key backer behind an explosion of cattle ranching in the Amazon, which new research identifies as the greatest threat to the rainforest's survival, and a cause of massive greenhouse gas emissions. London Independent
GOP enviros for McCain. The conservation movement started with Republican president Teddy Roosevelt. But these days it's the Democrats who have the environmental vote. That conventional wisdom might not be as accurate this year. Great Lakes Radio Consortium