‘Green News Report’ – August 12, 2010

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Russia’s fires reach Chernobyl’s forests; Pakistan flooding now a humanitarian crisis; EPA issues new rules for mercury pollution; Bay Area gets electric car chargers; Grey wolves get a break … PLUS: Greenland’s new ‘ice island’ threatens shipping lanes … All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): UK’s Daily Mail reverses stance on global warming, decides it’s real; NOAA: this May to July has been the hottest three month span on record on East Coast; Analysis: MI oil spills hit support for Canada mega-pipeline; MSHA investigates monitor tampering in mine blast; Jellyfish sting hundreds on Spanish beaches; Hollywood greens up with environmental database; Portugal gives itself a clean-energy makeover; Markey blames Senate for “Sophie’s choice” slashing renewables aid
…PLUS: RIP Ted Stevens, architect of the Alaskan petrostate …

STORIES DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• Experience the Future Today!: Study Says US Heat Wave Just Preview of Future: The US capital, Washington, is on track for 50 days in 2010 in which the mercury crosses 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius), a number that could rise as high as 100 by 2050, the National Wildlife Federation said in a study. (AFP)
• The Great Russian Heat Wave of 2010
• Russian drought devours world wheat supplies: US (Raw Story.com)
• Russia combats wildfires in Chernobyl radiation zone: Some 600 fires are burning in different parts of the country; Russia is mounting extra patrols to fight wildfires in a region hit by nuclear fallout from Chernobyl, amid fears that radiation could spread. (BBC)
• Russia’s peatland fires seen burning for months Some of Russia’s smog-causing peatland fires are likely to burn for months, part of a global problem of drained marshes that emit climate-warming greenhouse gases, experts said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
• Russian Fires Raise Fears of Radioactivity (NY Times)
• Chernobyl, Fires and Radiation: The reality, according to specialists in environmental risk from fires and radiation, is that any radiation contained in the resulting smoke and other emissions is very unlikely to pose a significant health risk [*with one exception possibly being in firefighters working in the area]. (NYT Dot Earth)
• Russia fires cause “brown cloud,” may hit Arctic: Smoke from forest fires smothering Moscow adds to health problems of “brown clouds” from Asia to the Amazon and Russian soot may stoke global warming by hastening a thaw of Arctic ice, environmental experts say. (Reuters)
• New NASA images reveal devastating impact of Russian fires (MongaBay.com)
• Officials point to Russian drought and Asian deluge as consistent with climate change (MongaBay.com)
• Pakistan Floods: 2nd Wave of Disaster Unfolding
• US triples number of Pakistani aid helicopters (Raw Story.com)
• ‘Hardline’ groups step in to fill Pakistan aid vacuum: Right-wing organisations, including banned extremist groups, are leading the relief and rescue effort in flood-hit Pakistan. (BBC)
• VIDEO: Pakistan floods – as it happened: There are reports of outbreaks of cholera among the survivors of monsoon flooding in north west Pakistan, as the death toll rises and rescue workers struggle to reach 27,000 stranded people. (Guardian UK)
• US envoy says Pakistan goal relief, not militants (Raw Story.com)
• Obama Administration Acts on Clean Air: New Air Pollution Rules, $$ for Bay Area Electric Car Charging Network
• The EPA Sets First National Limits on Mercury and Other Toxic Emissions from Cement Plants: The EPA has for the first time moved to control hazardous air pollution from cement plants with the first ever national rules that will protect Americans health. (CleanTechnica)
• EPA limits mercury, other emissions from cement plants (The Hill)
• EPA Sets First National Limits to Reduce Mercury and Other Toxic Emissions from Cement Plants (Environmental Protection Agency)
• Bay Area to install over 5,000 EV charging stations (CNET.com):
  The $5 million will cover the installation of 50 fast-charging EV stations along highways, 2,000 public stations for public parking lots and participating company-owned parking lots, and 3,000 residential charging stations.

  “In the Bay Area, the transportation sector accounts for more than 50 percent of air pollution. Significant emission reductions from the transportation sector will help the Bay Area attain and maintain state and national air quality standards,” the board said in a statement.

• San Francisco Bay Area Gets $5 Million for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations ((US Dept. of Energy)
• Update: BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf:
• BP relaunches Gulf well operations after storm (Raw Story.com)
• The BP Cover-Up: BP and the government say the spill is fast disappearing-but dramatic new science reveals that its worst effects may be yet to come. (Mother Jones)
• BP unveils ‘sand shark’ device to clean Gulf beaches of oil (AP)
• DOJ gags scientists studying BP disaster (Think Progress)
• Deepwater Horizon rig will not be salvaged (NOLA.com)
• Gulf of Mexico ‘Dead Zone’ Grows as Spill Impact Is Studied (Bloomberg)
• Green Groups Ready Battle Against BP Revenue Plan (The Hill)
• Texas Sues Feds Over Offshore Drilling Ban (AP)
• Gulf of Mexico oil spill litigation will be handled in New Orleans (NOLA.com)
• In Louisiana, Signs of Regrowth Seen in Oiled Marshes (AP)
• Gulf Leaders Wary Over Wavering on Final Plug (AP)
• NOAA Tried to Silence Reports of Undersea Oil Plumes (Mother Jones)
• Louisiana Fishermen Slam Claims that Oil Almost Gone, Seafood Safe: Fishing grounds are full of oil-soaked marsh grass and tarballs, with shrimp season set to open next week, locals say (Solve Climate)
• Steven Chu: Static Kill “Completed Successfully” (Treehugger)
• Gulf’s Wildlife Casualties Rising Fast: More injured and dead wildlife has been found in the 25 days since BP capped the well than when it was still spewing. (Mother Jones)
• FUNNY: Millions Of Barrels Of Oil Safely Reach Port In Major Environmental Catastrophe[this would be satire, btw] (The Onion)

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

• UK Daily Mail Reverses Course: “Global warming is real and deeply worrying”: The Daily Mail has become the latest previously ‘climate sceptic’ newspaper to shift its editorial line to acknowledge that climate change is “real and deeply worrying”. (LeftFoot Forward)
• NOAA: July Hotter and Wetter than Normal in U.S.: This week NOAA announced that this May to July has been the hottest three month span on record in the northeastern and southeastern regions of the U.S (NOAA.gove)
• Analysis: MI oil spills hit support for Canada mega-pipeline: The spill threatens to tilt public opinion against TransCanada’s $12 billion pipeline system that could ultimately stretch from Alberta to Texas. (Reuters)
• MSHA: ‘No conclusions’ yet on monitor tampering in mine blast investigation (The Hill)
• Jellyfish sting hundreds on Costa Blanca beaches: Biologists blame climate change and overfishing for concentrations along coast near eastern city of Elch (Guardian UK)
• Hollywood greens up with environmental database: A new website with resources on everything from recycling sets to cruelty-free mascara makes it simple to do so. (Reuters):
  The website allows users to select from a wide array of categories — from food and beverages, to wood and paint vendors — and to narrow results by states and cities.

  It includes organizations that help producers donate set pieces to other productions, and has a “Best Practices” page, which suggests alternate ways of going about everyday production tasks, such as purchasing cruelty-free make-up, hair and personal care products.

• Portugal Gives Itself a Clean-Energy Makeover” Nearly 45 percent of the electricity in Portugal’s grid will come from renewable sources this year, up from 17 percent just five years ago. (NY Times)
• Markey blames Senate for “Sophie’s choice” slashing renewables aid (The Hill)
• RIP Ted Stevens, architect of the Alaskan petrostate (Foreign Policy Magazine)