Friday, January 24, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 1/24/14

<> Barack Obama says U.S. generates 'more natural gas than anybody' - PolitiFact.com checks it out. . .

·   An interview with President Obama with the New Yorker's David Remmick - Q.: Mr. President, when the Copenhagen pact was signed, our carbon emissions were about the same as the Chinese. Now the Chinese are double ours -- double. And you've now had meetings with the Chinese leadership, and you know the forces that impinge on them in terms of development and lifting people out of poverty. But, as I think I remember you saying, if India and China develop at our rate we'll be "four feet underwater." THE PRESIDENT: Yes, we've got problems.

<> Secret draft text for the entire TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Environment Chapter and the corresponding Chairs' Report - The Environment Chapter covers what the Parties propose to be their positions on: environmental issues, including climate change, biodiversity and fishing stocks; and trade and investment in 'environmental' goods and services.

<> EPA Reconsiders 2013 RFS Cellulosic Biofuel Obligation – Recognizes Phantom Fuels - American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President Charles T. Drevna issued the following statement on EPA's agreement to reconsider the 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) cellulosic biofuel obligation in response to AFPM's October 2013 petition:

<> Members of Congress Write EPA Administrator in Support of RFS - The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) thanks the Senators

<> 14-003: NRC Revises Review Schedule for Waste Confidence Environmental Study and Final Rule- The new schedule envisions publication of the rule and GEIS on storage of spent nuclear fuel at the nation's commercial nuclear power plants no later than Oct. 3, instead of September 2014.

<> Yes, things are very bad at Fukushima but it's not the Apocalypse - There have been a number of news stories recently about the radiation escaping into the ocean at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that have raised great concern. Some are worried about how escaping radiation may or may not be affecting ocean eco-systems around the world. Since Greenpeace has been working on the Fukushima nuclear crisis since it first began in March 2011, we can offer some thoughts on people's concerns.

<> 2013 Global Temperature Recap - ANIMATION: The globally averaged temperature for 2013 tied as the fourth warmest year since record keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA scientists. It was the 37th consecutive year with a global temperature above the 20th-century average. This animation starts with the 2013 difference from average temperature and continues through monthly temperature anomaliies for. . .

<> A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall - Question: What's the quickest way to convince a community that it needs to invest in resilience to climate change? Answer: Show them exactly what would happen if a monster storm dropped a foot of rain on them. From NOAA's Sea Grant program.

<> H.R. 2824, Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America - As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on November 14, 2013. . .

<> Farm Bill in sight? - The new year started with promises of long overdue Congressional action on the Farm Bill. Some sticking points are still being negotiated, but it now looks likely that the House and Senate versions of the bill will be reconciled in the coming weeks.

<> Secretary Jewell, Director Ashe Announce $16.5 Million in Grants to Conserve Coastal Wetlands - coastal watersheds (includes Great Lakes) in the U.S. are experiencing a net annual loss of about 80,160 acres according to a new study by the Service

<> Major trade powers pledge free trade in green goods - DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The world's biggest trading powers committed on Thursday to achieving global free trade in environmental goods, though they gave no timeline for a deal they said would boost the fight against climate change.

<> Groups Sue Canadian Government Over GE Salmon - Suit charges failure to consider invasiveness threat, puts wild salmon and environment at risk January 20, 2013--Center for Food Safety, Food & Water Watch, and Friends of the Earth-US commend Ecojustice, Ecology Action Centre, and Living Oceans Society for challenging the Canadian federal government's approval of AquaBounty's genetically engineered (GE) salmon.

·   Groups Call on Obama to Require National GE Labeling Laws

The 'No More Tears' Shampoo, Now With No Formaldehyde - The only hint that something is different inside millions of bottles of Johnson's Baby Shampoo arriving on store shelves are two words: "Improved Formula." The shampoo has the same amber hue, the same sudsy lather and -- perhaps most important -- the same familiar smell that, for generations of Americans, still conjures memories of childhood bath time. 

<> Lord Stern: I should have been fiercer in climate change review - Source: Guardian - Global temperatures are set to be 4-5C higher in the next century and governments are fooling themselves if they think this will only have a modest impact on their economies, says Stern. . .

<> Massive Hanford Test Reactor Removed - Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor removed from Hanford's 300 Area - Hanford's River Corridor contractor, Washington Closure Hanford, has met a significant cleanup challenge on the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site by removing a 1,082-ton nuclear test reactor from the 300 Area.

<> Washington Post Drops Climate Hawk Ezra Klein, Adds Climate Confusionist Blog Volokh Conspiracy

<> New Website Helps Identify Bumblebees and Protect Pollinators - A new website launched yesterday allows people to be directly involved in protecting bumblebees throughout North America. BumbleBeeWatch.org