It's the day before Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont go to the polls. We've all seen the Red Telephone commercials. Our Planet has been trying to contact us as to show us how ill it is becoming. No one is picking up THAT phonecall. I want to know why. Now...Environmental News to use.
West Texas radioactive waste site a hot topic. The executive director of the Texas environmental agency is poised to recommend a radioactive waste dump despite a report from agency scientists who said nearby groundwater makes the site unsuitable. Houston Chronicle
Governor shows guts with green initiatives. The governor's State of the State address showed guts when he called for $250 million to stimulate Ohio's involvement in wind and solar, as well as for cleaner uses of coal and other renewable and advanced energy sources. Toledo Blade
TEXAS
Investigation: could corn tortillas be causing cancer? Your tax dollars will study if corn tortillas are responsible for the high liver cancer death rate among people living near the former Kelly Air Force Base-- even though a known cancer-causing chemical is in the groundwater. San Antonio WOAI
LCRA has long said it is obligated to give people water, but is it? For decades, the Lower Colorado River Authority has insisted that it has a legal obligation to sell its water to all comers as long as the supply holds out. But does it? Austin American-Statesman
Feeding frenzy for LCRA water. A year ago, with stock tanks reduced to muddy bogs by drought and wells running dry, many Central Texans were told to cut their water use or risk getting fined. Austin American-Statesman
Restaurant oil as fuel? It could happen. The latest to enter the alternative-fuels industry in the county is a partnership that plans to spend $5 million converting a defunct concrete plant on state Highway 6 into a refinery that turns animal fats and vegetable oils into diesel fuel. Houston KHOU TV
Texas companies quicker to switch to green energy than residents. Thousands of Texans are consciously agreeing, even searching for a way to pay more for electricity. They want wind power. Dallas Morning News
Three different markets for green power. Three different markets for green power have emerged in Dallas area. Dallas Morning News
Acid-recycling plant makes refinery more earth-friendly. Sulfuric acid and green technology may seem like contradictions in terms. But DuPont, the multibillion-dollar chemicals company, has merged the two as part of its effort to expand its business in environmental, or green, technologies. El Paso Times
Presidential candidates cite energy issues at Houston stop. Two of the three remaining contenders in the presidential election made stops in Houston Thursday and plugged into the energy debate. Houston Business Journal
No breathing easy in SE Texas: EPA could change air standards. The Environmental Protection Agency has a great deal for Southeast Texas: Clean air! Two weeks only! Beaumont Enterprise
Southeast Texas meets Clean Air Standard. For the first time in thirty years Southeast Texas has met the Federal Clean Air Standard. Beaumont KFDM
Port unearths mystery in railcar. Port of Galveston officials are working to remove what could be more than 8,000 gallons of potentially toxic pesticide, including a deteriorated form of the infamous DDT, inside a rail tank car workers found buried. Galveston Daily News
Activist laments laws that dull green spark. Lawmakers should "take a chain saw" to the nation's thicket of energy-related laws to unleash innovation that could cut greenhouse gas emissions, a Sierra Club official said Thursday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Houston Chronicle
Biosafety lapses cost Texas A&M $1 million. Texas A&M University in College Station has agreed to pay a $1-million fine for lapses in biosafety procedures resulting in lab workers becoming exposed to several deadly pathogens, including the organisms that cause brucellosis and Q fever. Nature.
Give candidates cues on clean energy, Texas. When the 44th president of the United States enters office on Jan. 20, 2009, he or she will face an unprecedented energy and global warming crisis. Waco Tribune-Herald
Pollution boost for plug-in cars. Barack Obama has called for every government car to be a plug-in hybrid. Hillary Clinton proposes funding research to make plug-in hybrid cars commercially available while offering consumers tax credits for buying a plug-in hybrid. Waco Tribune-Herald
Heavy metals in your mascara? It's something you probably never thought about, but many cosmetic products do contain small amounts of chemicals that, over time, could cause health problems. Dallas KTVT TV
Nuclear is not the right alternative energy source. Luminant Energy, formerly TXU, is proposing to build two Mitsubishi nuclear power reactors at its Comanche Peak site, where two reactors are already in place. Dallas Morning News
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
Dallas a model for 'walkable' urban centers, land-use expert says. Dallas is a model city for future walkable urban centers, land use strategist Christopher B. Leinberger said Friday at the annual meeting of the DowntownDallas business group. Dallas Morning News
OHIO
Cutting-edge refinery is on track. Construction of a $5.5 billion refinery that would turn coal and wood chips into fuel for the military could begin along the Ohio River this summer, project supporters said yesterday. Columbus Dispatch
Ohio, Mich. running out of ways to store their radioactive waste. Michigan and Ohio are among 36 states that will have a greater buildup of radioactive waste after July 1 if a South Carolina landfill follows through with its plans to start turning them away. Toledo Blade
Geauga County Historical Society's natural gas drilling proves controversial. Boring into the property carries the tantalizing potential of revenue for the cash-strapped society. The new well could deposit $100,000 to $200,000 in the agency's budget over the next decade, but there's a cost to that windfall. Cleveland Plain Dealer
Ohio ranked fifth-worst state in plant emissions in Carbon Monitoring for Action report. A policy group on Wednesday released what it called the first-ever global database of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants -- a report that lists Ohio as the fifth worst state in the United States. Cleveland Plain Dealer
EPA: Ruling will hinder coal plans. A national environmental group predicted utilities will have a tougher time building coal plants in thirteen states after a federal appeals court earlier this month threw out a federal pollution-trading system that allowed excess mercury emissions at some plants. Des Moines Register
Baard officials welcomed by packed house. The high school gymnasium was turned into a makeshift banquet hall last night as 400 plus packed the house to welcome the masterminds behind the proposed coal to liquid plant in Ohio. East Liverpool Review
Get rules in place for wind turbines. The future is now. Municipalities had better get ready for alternative energy - wind, solar, clean coal and others - because it's blowing this way. Cleveland News-Herald
Earthworms found to contain chemicals from households and animal manure. Earthworms studied in agricultural fields have been found to contain organic chemicals from household products and manure, indicating that such substances are entering the food chain. Wilmington News Journal
VERMONT
Google aided consultants with Omya study. If it wasn’t for the popular Internet search engine, consultants may never have learned about the potential health risk of aminoethylethanolamine, or AEEA. Rutland Herald
Has a new Omya replaced the old? Vermonters for a Clean Environment was not only pleased to participate in the "Section 5" study that evaluated the environmental and public health impacts of Omya's site in Florence, they made the study happen. Rutland Herald
Valley towns tackle global warming. From abolishing nuclear weapons to impeaching the president of the United States, Vermonters have long used their town meetings to weigh in on matters of national scope. On Tuesday, 3 towns tackle global warming. Barre-Montpelier Times Argus
Vermonters have history of voting green. John McCain, the Republican presumptive nominee, and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who are still slugging it out for the Democratic Presidential nomination, are all likely to present a more environmentally attentive approach than the Bush administration. Rutland Herald
The integrity of science. Remarkable developments in 2007 furthered our understanding of climate change. Barre-Montpelier Times Argus
Commercial composting? Composting operations would no longer be subject to review under Act 250, the state's land use regulation, if a bill expected to come before the House this week becomes law. Barre-Montpelier Times Argus
A Lake Champlain report card. On its first attempt to improve the lake, the state slashed pollution from sewage treatment plants by 200 tons over 30 years Burlington Free Press
Warm Winters Upset Rhythms of Maple Sugars Warmer-than-usual winters are throwing things out of kilter, causing confusion among maple syrup producers, called sugar makers, and stoking fears for the survival of New England’s maple forests. New York Times
In maple sugar country, creeping fears about climate change. A study by the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center has found that the sugaring season is three days shorter than it was in the 1940s. That doesn't sound like much, but for a product with a 30-day season, it's a 10 percent reduction. And the season is starting about a week early in many places. - Boston.com
Clinton kid stumps at UVM. Burlington received rare attention Friday as Democratic contender Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea visited the state to campaign for her mother. - Vermont Cynic