People & Population

What Smokey Bear Might Have Learned in Indian Country

"On Memorial Day weekend in 2011, an unattended campfire in Bear Wallow Wilderness sparked a small brush fire that quickly turned into a holocaust, burning through 538,000 acres and destroying 32 homes in the process. It cost taxpayers more than $79 million to suppress. The Wallow fire was the largest fire in Arizona history, with almost 6,000 people evacuated during the weeks it burned. The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, just to the west of where the fire started, was hardly touched."

Source: ClimateWire, 05/20/2014
May 19, 2014 to May 23, 2014

Large Wildland Fires: Social, Political and Ecological Effects

Hundreds of wildfire experts will gather in Missoula, Montana for this innovative interdisciplinary conference, co-sponsored by the Association for Fire Ecology (AFE) and the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF). Fees waived for credentialed reporters. A call-in Q&A news tele-conference on May 20th, 1:30-2:30 pm MDT, will offer a brief summary of the fire conference and an opportunity to connect fire science to fire news.

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Report: Poorest U.S. Minorities at Highest Risk of Chemical Accidents

"Americans at highest risk from accidents at chemical plants are largely from minority communities and are disproportionately poor — and industries and regulators are failing to take measures to make their situation any safer, according to a new study."

Source: Aljazeera America, 05/02/2014

Are Your Schoolkids Threatened by Chemical Plants? An App for That

When the fertilizer depot in West, Texas, blew up, some schools were damaged beyond repair. Fortunately, none of the kids died. But it raised an issue that has been obvious — and too often ignored by news media — for years. A new tool from the Center for Effective Government will help environmental journalists learn which schools in their area are near facilities that handle toxic, hazardous, explosive, or combustible materials.

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Chevron Blocks Access by State Regulators to Gas Well Explosion Site

One worker was killed February 11, 2014, when a Chevron gas well exploded near Bobtown, Pennsylvania, and burned for five days.  But inspectors from the state's Department of Environmental Protection were stopped by Chevron from approaching the site — thus keeping them from seeing possible safety violations. The DEP acquiesced at the time, but later cited Chevron for nine violations at the site.

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