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Feds: Diablo nuke plant could face stronger-than-expected quakes
Diablo Canyon, California’s last nuclear power plant, must conduct another in-depth analysis of seismic risks after federal regulators concluded the facility faces the possibility of stronger earthquakes than it was originally designed to withstand. Feds: Diablo nuke plant could face stronger-than-expected quakes -San Francisco Chronicle 5/14/2015… Read More
U.S. honeybee population plummets by more than 40%, USDA finds
A growing body of evidence has pointed to one class of pesticides in particular, neonicotinoids, as the culprit to the massive bee die-offs. In fact, the European Union banned the three most widely used neonicotinoids in 2o13, but they are still used widely in the U.S. Environmental advocacy organization Friends… Read More
Honeybee losses are buzz kill for crops
Managed honeybee colonies suffered annual losses of 42%, with summer declines outstripping winter losses for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday. The declines are less steep than those associated with the mysterious widespread collapse of bee colonies, first recognized in 2006, but remain troublesome, driving up… Read More
NRC orders more research on earthquake risk at Diablo Canyon
Federal regulators Wednesday directed nuclear power plants in California and Washington state to conduct additional, in-depth research into earthquake risks by June 2017, part of a broad review of seismic threats following Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster. Among commercial U.S. nuclear plants, the Diablo Canyon reactors near San Luis Obispo and… Read More
US taxpayers subsidising world’s biggest fossil fuel companies
The world’s biggest and most profitable fossil fuel companies are receiving huge and rising subsidies from US taxpayers, a practice slammed as absurd by a presidential candidate given the threat of climate change. A Guardian investigation of three specific projects, run by Shell, ExxonMobil and Marathon Petroleum, has revealed that… Read More
Senators make push for crude exports
A group of senators on Wednesday unveiled the chamber’s first major legislative plan for lifting the nation’s longstanding ban on crude exports. Senators introduce crude export bill -Houston Chronicle 5/13/2015… Read More
Senators push to lift crude oil export ban
Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) have introduced a bill to lift the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports. The bill would fulfill one of Murkowski’s biggest energy priorities and allow American oil companies to export crude oil as they do petroleum products. It would also allow exports… Read More
What happens if we scrap the US oil exports ban?
The longstanding ban on most US crude oil exports could be on the way out. Senate Energy Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R) of Alaska and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D) of North Dakota introduced a bill Wednesday to lift the decades-old ban – a quest that’s become a cause célèbre among… Read More
Greens turn against longtime ally Earl Blumenauer over trade Deal
Environmentalists are going after one of their own. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and Food and Water Watch launched a television spot Tuesday criticizing Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon for supporting so-called “fast-track” trade legislation swiftly moving through Congress. That’s Earl Blumenauer—the congressman who wears fluorescent bicycle pins. Read More
Seattle port commissioners vote to delay Shell: Ships still inbound
The Seattle Port Commission, responding to intense and conflicting pressure, opted for a contradictory solution Tuesday that would “delay” mooring of Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet at Terminal 5. “We have a national spotlight on us,” said Stephanie Bowman as commissioners took up what to do about the home port from… Read More