As August warms waters seasonally in many parts of the U.S., harmful algal blooms are causing health hazards. A prime example is Toledo, where high levels of an algal toxin made city drinking water unusable last year. Algal blooms in the warm, shallow Lake Erie are worsened by agricultural runoff. With climate warming, new algal blooms are showing up in new places, like the Pacific Ocean.
EPA is trying to phase out the soil fumigant methyl bromide, on which the commercial strawberry crop has been dependent. Methyl bromide damages the ozone layer of the atmosphere. But the effort to find an adequate substitute has scientists scrambling.
"The campaign to stop President Barack Obama's sweeping emissions limits on power plants began taking shape Wednesday, as 16 states asked the government to put the rules on hold while a Senate panel moved to block them."
"A Senate committee voted Wednesday to block implementation of the administration’s climate rule for power plants."
"Fire officials say they have made progress against a massive wildfire raging in Northern California, and the blaze is now 30 percent contained."
"A new study highlights a huge data gap: The U.S. has no ongoing monitoring of glyphosate in food or people."
"Think of it as Christmas in August. Gasoline prices are expected to drop sharply this month and might be approaching $2 a gallon in much of the country by the time winter’s chill arrives."
"Three American airlines announced they will no longer ship lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, or buffalo killed by trophy hunters."
"To comply or not to comply. That’s the question now facing Texas officials regarding the Obama administration’s ambitious Clean Power Plan. The sweeping regulatory initiative, unveiled [Monday] in its final form, aims at transforming the nation’s electricity-production system to slash emissions of climate-disrupting air pollution."
"Idaho's so-called 'ag-gag' law, which outlawed undercover investigations of farming operations, is no more. A judge in the federal District Court for Idaho decided Monday that it was unconstitutional, citing First Amendment protections for free speech. But what about the handful of other states with similar laws on the books?"
