Today’s essential reads
FRACKING:
N.Y. Natural Gas Fracking Lawsuit Raises NEPA Questions
When New York’s attorney general filed suit yesterday in an effort to require an environmental review before the Delaware River Basin Commission approves regulations for natural gas extraction, one entity was notably absent from the list of defendants: the commission itself.
Lawsuit Calls for Full Environmental Review of Hydrofracking
An environmentalist and Canandaigua Lake watershed educator says the state attorney general’s litigation to seek a full environmental review of the hydraulic fracturing process is an important step.
The Changing Face of Washington County
There has been a lot of discourse about Marcellus Shale drilling. You’ve heard the two most common arguments – that it’s good for the economy and its bad for the environment. But today, we’re going to talk about something a little bit different. All the drilling is significantly changing the landscape of the region.
BP OIL SPILL:
Louisiana Advances Bill Banning Dispersants
A committee in the Louisiana State Senate approved a ban on dispersants in the state’s waters on Tuesday as new evidence came to light indicating that the record volume of chemicals used last year in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill may have done more harm than good.
Feinberg Expects to Pay Out Only One-Fifth of Total BP Claims Fund
The lawyer in charge of BP’s $20bn (£12bn) compensation fund is starting to wind down his operations in the Gulf Coast with just a fifth of the total fund having been paid out.
BP Not Meeting Gulf of Mexico Spill Obligations, US Report Claims
US lawmakers have raised fresh concerns that BP is not meeting its obligations to victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and criticised President Barack Obama for failing to take control.
State Lawmakers Trim Oil Spill Relief Bill
Legislation meant to help oil-spill victims address lingering and future health care needs was stripped of nearly all of its enacting language during a Wednesday hearing.
RADIATION:
Fukushima Radiated Water May Overflow
Radioactive water accumulating in Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant may start overflowing from service trenches in five days, potentially increasing the contamination from the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
WHO Rings The Alarm Bell On Mobile Phone?
No longer a luxury item, mobile phones have become a staple in our everyday lives. The number of mobile phone subscriptions worldwide is estimated to be 5 billion. Mobile phones emit electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range.
What to Know About Cellphones and Cancer
When the World Health Organization — the world’s leading health authority — declares that cellphones may cause a rare but often deadly form of brain cancer, consumers take notice. Making sense of the declaration is much trickier.
