September 25, 2009

Study finds school drinking water tainted. Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxic chemicals. But the problem has gone largely unmonitored by the federal government. Associated Press
http://www.dailymail.com/News/NationandWorld/200909240765

Male breast cancer patients blame water at Marine base.The sick men are Marines, or sons of Marines. All 20 of them were based at or lived at Camp Lejeune, the U.S. Marine Corps’ training base in North Carolina, between the 1960s and the 1980s. They all have had breast cancer. CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/24/marines.breast.cancer/index.html

Colorado water cleanups hobbled by ‘Good Samaritan’ legal risks. A Clean Water Act lawsuit has been filed successfully only once against a voluntary mine drainage cleanup project, in 1993 in California, but it was enough to scare off so-called Good Samaritan clean-up groups across Colorado. Colorado Independent, Colorado.
http://coloradoindependent.com/38169/colo-water-cleanup-projects-hobbled-by-%E2%80%98good-samaritan%E2%80%99-legal-risks

Stuck in the Delta. California is in the third year of a drought that exacerbates its constant struggle to expand its economy and population. About 75% of the state’s rain falls in the northern part, but about 80% of the agricultural and urban demand for water is in the south. Economist
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14506476

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September 24, 2009

Fish and paint chips Part I: The science of trash. Scientists have known for years that the world’s oceans are full of garbage. Only now are they starting to suspect that it’s making its way onto our dinner plates. DC Bureau
http://www.dcbureau.org/20090923268/Natural-Resources-News-Service/fish-and-paint-chips-part-i-the-science-of-trash.html

Water contamination concerns linger for shale gas. As the practice of harvesting natural gas embedded in shale rock deep below the Earth’s surface has expanded, it has raised concerns about the impact this type of drilling has on the environment — especially on groundwater. National Public Radio
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113142234

Millsboro’s water qualifies for EPA list. Millsboro took a long step toward federal Superfund listing for a badly contaminated public water supply on Wednesday, but prospects for a fast and permanent cleanup remained as murky as ever. Wilmington News Journal, Delaware.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090924/NEWS02/909240363

Polluted Lake Okeechobee getting dirtier.Water managers, environmental agencies and conservation groups have been talking about cleaning up Lake Okeechobee for decades. The water quality has only gotten worse. Much worse. Miami Herald, Florida.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1248570.html

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September 23, 2009

Georgia sewage plants overflow, dump raw sewage into waterways. The record rains of the past few days flooded out sewage treatment plants in Fulton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties, dumping millions of gallons of untreated sewage into local waterways. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia.
http://www.ajc.com/news/sewage-plants-swamped-in-144191.html

Raw sewage spills into High Rock Lake, EPA investigating.The city of Thomasville says it spilled 16 million gallons of raw sewage upstream of High Rock Lake. That’s many times more than the 385,000 gallons it initially reported. Now the EPA wants to know if the city lied about the severity of the spill. Charlotte WFAE Radio, North Carolina.
http://www.wfae.org/wfae/1_87_316.cfm?action=display&id=5453

Natural disasters displacing millions. Floods, storms, drought and other climate-related natural disasters drove 20 million people from their homes last year, nearly four times as many as were displaced by conflicts, a new U.N. report said on Tuesday. Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-42632820090922

Biodiversity a bitter pill in ‘tropical’ Mediterranean Sea.Lured by warming waters and a newly improved route through the Suez Canal, tropical marine species have enacted a slow march into the Mediterranean, displacing native species and disrupting ecosystems. Greenwire
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/09/22/22greenwire-biodiversity-a-bitter-pill-in-tropical-mediter-89434.html

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September 22, 2009

Fluorides, nitrates in water crippling villagers. In Karnataka, much of groundwater is concentrated with fluorides and nitrates, with devastating health impacts. Dental and spine-related ailments are showing up in many cities and villages. New Delhi Times of India, India.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/bangalore/Fluorides-nitrates-in-water-crippling-villagers/articleshow/5039888.cms

Most English and Welsh rivers too dirty for new European standards.Only five of the 6,114 rivers in England and Wales are in pristine condition, and more than three-quarters are expected to fail new European quality standards, says the government’s fullest-ever ecological assessment of water quality. London Guardian, United Kingdom.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/22/pollution-rivers-environment-agency-england

Kenya hit by killer drought. At least 24 elephants have died over the past two months across Samburu alone. That is a worrying trend for the conservationists. Elephants are an indicator species. What happens to them points to trouble right across the spectrum. BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8267165.stm

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September 21, 2009

River heals as lawsuit against Big Poultry looms. Other states considering taking on Big Poultry are closely watching the Oklahoma case, which is expected to last several weeks. Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hORNAb5t-mhkvpLgpHGyg8uX5t_gD9AR75V00

New century, new threats. This summer’s dredging of PCBs from the Hudson River reflects a fading echo of the worst abuses from its industrial past. But another kind of pollution, while less obvious, may be even harder to fix. Albany Times Union, New York.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=844211

That sinking feeling: World’s deltas subsiding, says study. Two-thirds of the world’s major deltas, home to nearly half a billion people, are caught in the scissors of sinking land and rising seas, according to a study published Sunday. Agence France-Presse
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g5Rypcx89nBaZm90KTK-6C56pdIw

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September 20, 2009

What’s in your water? Residents turning on the tap can expect their water to meet federal and state regulations, but that might not mean the water is free from contaminants, water experts say. Opinions vary on whether tap water is safe to drink. Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tennessee.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/20/whats-in-your-water/

Who killed our lake? An Australian-owned oil and gas company is being blamed for an ecological catastrophe in Papua New Guinea in which toxic chemicals allegedly flooded a pristine lake, causing dozens of tribespeople to fall ill. Sydney Morning Herald, Australia. [Registration Required]
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/who-killed-our-lake-20090919-fw3y.html

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September 19, 2009

Severe drought affects 1.3 million in Syria. Climate change, an exploitation of water resources, and higher food prices brought about by the global financial crisis have severely sharpened the impact of Syria’s dry spell, now in its fourth year. The numbers of Syrians affected point to a serious humanitarian crisis. Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0918/p06s04-wome.html

The crap shoot. Most people have about 0.14 grams of feces on their bottoms that, when rinsed off, can contaminate recreational water, according to the CDC. This suggests that D.C. pools have potentially hosted as much as 50 pounds of feces this summer. Washington City Paper, Washington, DC.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=37705

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September 18, 2009

Health ills abound as farm runoff fouls wells. Runoff from all but the largest farms is essentially unregulated by many of the federal laws intended to prevent pollution and protect drinking water sources. New York Times [Registration Required]
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/us/18dairy.html

Gov’t stands by as mercury taints water.Abandoned mercury mines throughout central California’s rugged coastal mountains are polluting the state’s major waterways, rendering fish unsafe to eat and risking the health of at least 100,000 impoverished people. Associated Press
http://cbs13.com/wireapnewsca/AP.IMPACT.Review.2.1190767.html

The danger of livestock waste.As Idaho dairies have grown, so has the environmental problem of coping with all the fecal waste. Much of it is spread over fields, where it can seep into local aquifers that supply people’s wells. But the issue is not limited to Idaho. And it appears to have big human health implications. New York Times [Registration Required]
http://video.nytimes.com/video/playlist/us/1194811622217/index.html

Task force calls for National Ocean Council. President Obama’s Ocean Policy Task Force on Thursday released the first draft of a plan to improve the health of the nation’s oceans, coasts and Great Lakes, and coordinate a federal response to pollution, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification, among other problems. Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ijGVJ-MyGrHoeeprhoa7r8AjxhZgD9APBL802

Scores of walrus carcasses spotted on coast.Up to 200 dead walruses have been spotted on the shore of Chukchi Sea on Alaska’s northwest coast. Environmental groups calling for measures to slow greenhouse gas emissions say walruses on shore are evidence that global warming is altering the Arctic. Associated Press
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/wildlife/story/938656.html

Keeping the breadbasket from drying up. Right now, America’s Bread Basket relies on an aquifer that’s nearly drained. And, many say, it will dry up if farmers keep pumping water from it at the current rate. So, the government plans to pay farmers as one way to get them to cut water use. Environment Report, Michigan.
http://www.environmentreport.org/story.php?story_id=4663

Turf battle heats up over limits on water-guzzling landscapes.Later this year, the EPA plans to expand its WaterSense conservation program to include a voluntary label for newly built homes. The program has a landscaping clause that could strictly limit the amount of turfgrass participating builders plant. Wall Street Journal [Subscription Required]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203278404574416990861394378.html

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September 17, 2009

Road salt may be hurting aquatic life. A new study of some 100 streams in parts of 20 northern states found that more than 40 percent of the waterways exceeded the federal chloride standard, imperiling aquatic life. The culprit: road salt. Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota.
http://www.startribune.com/local/59466072.html

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September 16, 2009

US to place limits on power plant water pollution. For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to limit the quantity of toxic metals that coal-fired U.S. power plants release into waterways. Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/15/AR2009091501692.html

Great Lakes cleanup could take 77 years.Cleanup of the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes is moving so slowly it will take 77 more years to finish the job at the existing pace, according to a federal report. Associated Press
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/15/national/main5314033.shtml

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