New Surface Mining Chief Cracks Down on Mountaintop Removal, Valley Fills

Submitted by ecofactory on Thu, 2009-11-19 14:12
in

New Surface Mining Chief Cracks Down on Mountaintop Removal, Valley Fills

WASHINGTON, DC, November 18, 2009 (ENS) - The U.S. Department of the Interior is taking immediate actions to strengthen its oversight of state surface coal mining programs. The agency will issue federal regulations to better protect streams affected by surface coal mining operations, such as mountaintop removal mining, Interior officials announced today.

Valuing Ecosystem Services Makes Economic Sense, Experts Report

Submitted by ecofactory on Tue, 2009-11-17 15:21
in

Valuing Ecosystem Services Makes Economic Sense, Experts Report

BRUSSELS, Belgium, November 17, 2009 (ENS) - Decision makers who factor the planet's multi-trillion dollar ecosystem services into their national and international investment strategies are likely to see far higher rates of return and stronger economic growth in the 21st century, finds a new United Nations-backed report.

California Gets Federal Help to Solve Water Crisis

Submitted by ecofactory on Wed, 2009-11-11 11:22
in

California Gets Federal Help to Solve Water Crisis

FRESNO, California, November 11, 2009 (ENS) - California Governor Schwarzenegger went to the Friant Dam near Fresno Monday to sign the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010. If approved by the voters next November, the measure would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $11.14 billion to finance a safe drinking water and water supply reliability program for California.

Fresno, a city in California's agricultural Central Valley, is suffering from water scarcity, as the governor said just before he signed the bill.

Rapid Pace of Species Extinctions Mounts to a 'Crisis'

Submitted by ecofactory on Tue, 2009-11-03 18:03
in

Rapid Pace of Species Extinctions Mounts to a 'Crisis'

GLAND, Switzerland, November 3, 2009 (ENS) - Nearly one-third of all known species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction, finds the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, in the most recent update of its authoritative Red List of Threatened Species™ issued today.

The updated assessment shows that 17,291 species out of the 47,677 assessed species are threatened with extinction.

Washington State Limits Copper and Zinc in Industrial Discharges

Submitted by ecofactory on Mon, 2009-10-26 13:26
in

Washington State Limits Copper and Zinc in Industrial Discharges

OLYMPIA, Washington, October 26, 2009 (ENS) - The Washington Department of Ecology Wednesday placed new limits on pollution in stormwater runoff from industrial facilities, affecting some 1,200 permitted facilities across the state.

Changes under the state's new industrial stormwater permit reduce how much copper and zinc the industries can have in their stormwater discharges.

Southeast Water Scarcity Blamed on Overpopulation, Not Climate

Submitted by ecofactory on Tue, 2009-10-20 22:33
in

Southeast Water Scarcity Blamed on Overpopulation, Not Climate

NEW YORK, New York, October 20, 2009 (ENS) - The most recent drought in the southeastern United States destroyed billions of dollars worth of crops, drained reservoirs and touched off legal wars among a half-dozen states, but the havoc came not from exceptional dryness but from booming population and bad planning, says a new Columbia University study.

Researchers from Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have showed that the 2005-2007 drought was mild compared to many others and was no worse than one just a decade ago.

Adirondack Council Rates Officials on Treatment of Largest U.S. Park

Submitted by ecofactory on Wed, 2009-10-07 13:38
in

Adirondack Council Rates Officials on Treatment of Largest U.S. Park

ELIZABETHTOWN, New York, October 7, 2009 (ENS) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo earned a perfect rating from the nonprofit Adirondack Council's State of the Park Report today, winning praise for his work striking down weak Bush administration air pollution standards that could have clouded the air over the park.

'Show Me' State Governor Showcases State Parks

Submitted by ecofactory on Tue, 2009-10-06 13:24
in

'Show Me' State Governor Showcases State Parks

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, October 6, 2009 (ENS) - Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has a new project in the works - to restart the state's declining tourism industry by promoting Missouri's state parks. He is eager to reverse the falling numbers of visitors at state parks, down 18.6 percent from 1999 to 2008.

The governor's goal is to boost attendance at Missouri's 83 state parks and historic sites by encouraging families to spend more of their tourism dollars in the 'Show Me' state.

Salazar Signs Decision on Navajo-Gallup Water Supply

Submitted by ecofactory on Mon, 2009-10-05 12:56
in

Salazar Signs Decision on Navajo-Gallup Water Supply

WASHINGTON, DC, October 5, 2009 (ENS) - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Friday joined New Mexico's congressional delegation to advance a vital water supply project that will provide clean, safe and reliable water to a quarter of a million people in the Navajo Nation, the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the city of Gallup, New Mexico.

The action clears the way for resolving the Navajo Nation's long-standing water rights claims in the state, the subject of litigation for 30 years.

U.S. Forest Service Plans for California National Forests Ruled Illegal

Submitted by ecofactory on Mon, 2009-10-05 12:55
in

U.S. Forest Service Plans for California National Forests Ruled Illegal

SAN FRANCISCO, California, October 5, 2009 (ENS) - U.S. Forest Service management plans for four Southern California national forests do not adequately protect those forests' wildest landscapes, a federal district court judge has ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel sided with seven environmental groups, ruling that the Forest Service failed to assess cumulative damage to those national forests that would be caused by road building and other development in most of the forests' roadless areas, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.