"American cities on the frontline of climate action are quietly but dramatically shifting their approach -- from primarily trying to limit global warming to coping with its impacts. They're building forested buffers to shelter homes from wildfires, considering concrete sea walls to restrain ocean waters and developing software to conserve water during drought."
"As winter sets in across the northern United States, the road salt that keeps people out of ditches is flowing into rivers at levels that could harm fish and other creatures. With billions of pounds of salt spread on U.S. roads every year, researchers say that rivers, streams and lakes in the nation’s wintry cities are getting saltier. And, according to new research, the salt, or sodium chloride, in rivers remains toxic not just in winter, but throughout two-thirds of the year."
"Department of Toxic Substances Control sets urgent deadline for battery recycler, saying rains could wash lead and other metals into Los Angeles River."
"Recent salmonella outbreaks that sickened at least 523 people and sent dozens to the hospital underscore 'serious weaknesses' in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s oversight of poultry plants, according to a study released Thursday by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which also criticized the government’s failure to push more aggressively for recalls of contaminated meat."
"The president has said the right things about climate change – and has taken some positive steps. But we're drilling for more oil and digging up more carbon than ever."
"How hot was November? NOAA says average global temperature, for water and land surfaces combined, was 56.6 degrees F (13.7 Celsius). It was the 37th consecutive November with above-average temperatures."
"WOLF POINT, Mont. -- It's tough to miss the trains hauling crude oil out of the Northern Plains. They are growing more frequent by the day, mile-long processions of black tank cars that rumble through wheat fields and towns, along rivers and national parks."
"US government scientists have for the first time found direct evidence of toxic exposure in the Gulf of Mexico."
Even the WatchDog gets a year-end review. Please let us know how we can help you, what we are doing right, and how we can do better.
A study issued by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) using campaign contribution data found the fracking industry gave increasingly more in districts hosting fracking than in nonfracking districts between 2004 and 2012.
