Groundwater depletion can lead to significant impacts on uses such as drinking water, irrigation, industries, and aquifer recharge, while excess can contribute to flooding. To see how the groundwater is faring in your area, check out NASA's groundwater maps, updated weekly.
Shortly before EPA's deadline to finalize its new rules on toxic emissions from US power plants, the tri-national Commission for Environmental Cooperation released its report on emissions from 3,144 power plants in Canada, the US, and Mexico.
Though clicking through pages of list items may be some publications' method to pump up the page views in their web analytics, they are a popular trend. SEJ's year-end TipSheet offers its own interesting lists, including the "Top Eight Sites For Environmental List Journalism" and more.
A new United Nations Environment Programme report offers recommendations to help make refrigerants less of a greenhouse gas problem, while still addressing ozone concerns. Get tips here on how your reporting on this issue can range from the local to the global scale.
The agency plans to publish by the end of 2011 the first round of annual data reported, for 2010, on emissions from about 7,000 large stationary sources in 28 industry sectors. This data should provide a useful tool for media coverage on sources, impacts, and mitigation efforts, if any.
The EPA says the proposed rule would prevent about 17,000 premature deaths each year and hundreds of thousands of illnesses, and avoid substantial environmental damage. The agency estimates that for every $1 spent preventing the targeted pollution there would be health benefits ranging from $5 to $13, and additional environmental benefits.
The Institute of Medicine released on Dec. 7, 2011, a report on links between breast cancer and the environment. Along with identifying various risk factors, and the strength of the evidence, the report addresses preventive measures and research gaps.
Designating lands as wilderness or some other highly protected status always is contentious, but the BLM has identified 24 areas in 9 western states the agency says have significant local support for this idea: CA (9 areas), CO (3), ID (1), MT (1), NM (2), NV (2), OR (2), UT (3), and WA (1).
The culprits often are one or more significant lead emitters such as smelters, iron or steel foundries, waste incinerators, utilities, or lead-acid battery manufacturers. Piston-engine planes using leaded aviation gasoline are another source.
Offshore oil and gas drilling from 2012-2017 would be focused in the western and central Gulf of Mexico and off the shores of northern and southern Alaska, if the Dept. of Interior's proposed plan and draft programmatic environmental impact statement, released Nov. 8, 2011, are accepted as is. A 60-day public comment period ends Jan. 9, 2012.
