San Francisco, CA–(ENEWSPF)–January 5, 2012. In a move to protect the environmental quality of a lake known for its natural beauty, community members and conservationists today asked a federal court to reject an inadequate Environmental Impact Report and to stop the construction of a 325-unit complex along California’s scenic west shore[Read More…]

UNITED KINGDOM–(ENEWSPF)–5 January 2012. Communities of species previously unknown to science have been discovered on the seafloor near Antarctica, clustered in the hot, dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents. The discoveries, made by teams led by the University of Oxford, University of Southampton, the National Oceanography Centre, and British Antarctic Survey,[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–January 4, 2012. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District has reportedly delayed its planned release of genetically engineered mosquitoes — which would have been the first-ever such release in the U.S. — until late spring at the earliest. The release was planned as a mosquito population control technique but[Read More…]

Lack of air monitors fails to capture full extent of preventable pollution LOS ANGELES–(ENEWSPF)–January 3, 2012.  More than a million people in the Los Angeles region are exposed to undisclosed, unhealthy levels of air pollution every day, according to a lawsuit filed today by Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, the[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–January 4, 2012.  Pesticide use in California rose in 2010 after declining for four consecutive years, according to data released by the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). More than 173 million pounds of pesticides were reported applied statewide, an increase of nearly 15 million pounds – or 9.5 percent[Read More…]

CHICAGO—(ENEWSPF)–January 3, 2012.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced four environmental justice grants totaling $100,000 to non-profit and tribal organizations in the Great Lakes region. These grants for projects in Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin will help to conduct research, provide education and develop solutions to health and environmental issues[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–January 3, 2012.  A coalition of six consumer safety groups filed suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 21, 2011, citing the FDA’s chronic failure to regulate materials derived from nanotechnology (nanomaterials) used in sunscreens, cosmetics and drugs. The lawsuit demands that FDA respond to[Read More…]

Artist concept of GRAIL-B performing its lunar orbit insertion burn. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Pasadena, CA-(ENEWSPF)- The second of NASA’s two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft has successfully completed its planned main engine burn and is now in lunar orbit. Working together, GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B will study the moon[Read More…]

Artist concept of GRAIL mission. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Pasadena, CA-(ENEWSPF)- The first of two NASA spacecraft to study the moon in unprecedented detail has entered lunar orbit. NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)-A spacecraft successfully completed its planned main engine burn at 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST) today.[Read More…]

Not until early morning does the radiant of the Quadrantid meteor shower start to rise high — and don’t expect to see several at once! Sky & Telescope illustration Celestially speaking, 2012 opens with a bang. The Quadrantid meteor shower, one of the best displays of "shooting stars" all year,[Read More…]