Tours Oil and Gas Production Facilities, Theodore Roosevelt National Park;  As Part of President’s Climate Action Plan, Inspects Innovative Technologies to Capture Methane Emissions DICKINSON, N.D.–(ENEWSPF)–August 7, 2013.  Underscoring the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy and comprehensive Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–August 7, 2013.  California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has detected the highly toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos in nearly 30% of air tests that are being conducted in three high risk communities surrounded by intensive agriculture. This result is part of DPR’s 2012 results from its  air-monitoring network (AMN) sampling near the[Read More…]

Lawsuit challenges federal loan guarantees for industrial swine facility in the Buffalo National River watershed Little Rock, AR–(ENEWSPF)–August 6, 2013.  A coalition of conservation and citizen groups filed suit today challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for their inadequate[Read More…]

Federal agency allowed to ignore NEPA and ESA Juneau, AK –(ENEWSPF)–August 6, 2013. The U.S. District Court in Alaska ruled the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement complied with the law when it approved Shell Oil’s plans for preventing and cleaning up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean’s Chukchi[Read More…]

County Councilman Stands up for St. Louis County Public Health By Calling for More Information on Pollution from Ameren’s Meramec Coal-Fired Power Plant SAINT LOUIS–(ENEWSPF)–August 6, 2013.  Today, St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger submitted a letter to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) calling on the state agency to require[Read More…]

Beluga whale. High resolution (Credit: NOAA) Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–August 6, 2013.  Following a number of public engagement efforts, NOAA Fisheries today announced it is denying the Georgia Aquarium’s request for a permit to import 18 beluga whales from Russia for public display in the United States. NOAA Fisheries based the decision[Read More…]

The end of weak La Niña, unprecedented Arctic warmth influenced 2012 climate conditions The 2012 State of the Climate report is available online. (Credit: NOAA) Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–August 6, 2013.  Worldwide, 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record according to the 2012 State of the Climate report released online[Read More…]

WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–August 6, 2013.  The Energy Department released two new reports today showcasing record growth across the U.S. wind market — increasing America’s share of clean, renewable energy and supporting tens of thousands of jobs nationwide. According to these reports, the United States continues to be one of the world’s largest and[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–August 6, 2013.  On August 1, as President Obama signed an Executive Order, entitled Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security, intended to improve chemical facility safety and security, a coalition of labor and environmental groups delivered a letter to newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy, urging her[Read More…]

Legislation gives rural America a seat at the table when EPA drafts new rules that affect agriculture WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–August 5, 2013.  U.S. Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today announced their bipartisan, bicameral legislation to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to review[Read More…]