Eideard

Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized new federal standards on toxic pollutants and mercury emissions from coal power plants Wednesday, a move being praised by environmentalists but criticized by others, who predict lost jobs and a strain on the nation’s power grid.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, at an event at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, announced that for the first time U.S. coal and oil-fired power plant operators must limit their emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants.

“I am glad to be here to mark the finalization of a clean air rule that has been 20 years in the making, and is now ready to start improving our health, protecting our children, and cleaning up our air,” Jackson said. “Under the Clean Air Act these standards will require American power plants to put in place proven and widely available pollution control technologies to cut harmful emissions of mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases. In and of itself, this is a great victory for public health, especially for the health of our children…”

All qualities which mean nothing to people who paper their souls with greenbacks and pimp for profits above all else on this tawdry planet.

“These standards rank among the three or four most significant environmental achievements in the EPA’s history,” said John Walke, clean air director of the National Resources Defense Council. “This rule making represents a generational achievement.”

The new regulations are among the most wide-reaching to come from the EPA during Barack Obama’s administration. They include separate limits for mercury emissions, acid gasses, and other pollutants from several metals…

According to an EPA analysis, the larger economic benefits of the reduced pollution will more than pay for the short-term clean-up costs. The EPA also predicts more jobs will be created than lost as power plants invest million of dollars in upgrades.

It also estimates health costs — as a result of less exposure to these toxins — will be reduced to between $59 billion and $140 billion by 2016, and the new regulations will prevent 17,000 premature deaths each year…

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a group traditionally sympathetic to Republicans, has aired ads urging listeners not to “let the EPA turn out the lights on the American economy…”

If memory serves me right, the US Chamber of Commerce didn’t spent a cent on whining about sub-prime derivatives and sleazy Wall Street practices that dumped the world’s economy into the crapper a few years back. Anyone sense something hypocritical about that?

Century City and downtown Los Angeles
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said…it would again delay issuing a final limit on smog pollution opposed by manufacturers and many Republican lawmakers until the Obama administration has finished reviewing it.

In December, the agency said it would issue the rule by the end of July…

“Following completion of this final step, EPA will finalize its reconsideration, but will not issue the final rule on July 29th, the date the agency had intended,” the EPA said in a release…It was the fourth time the agency delayed the smog standards, originally slated to be finalized last August…

The proposal was stronger than 2008 standards set by the Bush administration. Environmentalists blasted those for being less than what government scientists recommended.

Under the rule, factories and oil, natural gas and power generators would be forced to cut emissions of nitrogen oxides and other chemicals called volatile organic compounds. Smog forms when those chemicals react with sunlight.

The rule has been opposed by industry groups. The American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable complain that it would damage the economic recovery and that many areas would not be able to meet the new limits…

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said the ozone rules would save as much as $100 billion in health costs, and help prevent as much as 12,000 premature deaths from heart and lung complications…

Every additional day of delay means more Americans will suffer…that is, ordinary Americans. Not those who will return to their home districts after another do-nothing session of Congress. Those politicians who should be prompting the EPA to get off their rusty dusty butts and aid the lives of American people aren’t risking their health by doing anything more than passing quickly through pollution zones.

The same holds true in spades for that herd of dinosaurs who smoke their cigars in private clubs funded by the American Petroleum Institute, the greenback claque chauffeured forth-and-back to meetings of the US Chamber of Commerce. Perish the thought anything other than filtered, conditioned air reaches their pampered respiratory systems.

Last month, China banned companies from manufacturing, importing or selling baby bottles that contain bisphenol A (BPA), a potentially dangerous chemical routinely added to everyday plastic products.

China joins Canada, France, Denmark and the European Union in recognizing that this chemical is linked to a number of harmful health effects like breast cancer, heart disease, obesity, hyperactivity and other disorders.

Unfortunately, BPA is still routinely used in hundreds of consumer products sold in the United States…

BPA is a known endocrine disruptor, which means it interferes with how hormones work in the body by blocking their normal function. This chemical is so widespread that it has actually been detected in the bodies of 93% of Americans…

Despite a BPA investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency, and other numerous studies, the United States still does not have a nationwide ban of the chemical. Even though BPA has been linked to so many harmful health effects, it is still used in American products — most notably in infant and children’s feeding products.

Just this summer, the American Medical Association adopted a new policy recognizing that BPA is an endocrine-disrupting chemical and urged a ban on the sale of these products. The AMA also urges the development and use of safe alternatives to BPA for the linings of infant formula cans and other food can linings…

There is no good reason this country should continue to expose our children to a chemical that is known to disrupt the way our hormones work when there are safe, BPA-free alternatives available for baby bottles, sippy cups, and baby food and infant formula packaging.

We’ve blogged about these studies before. Some would be hilarious in the Darwinian sense – if these materials weren’t so harmful. But we live in a nation where lobbyists hold a lot more dollars – and therefore a lot more power – than scientists and regulatory agencies. You might consider voting for someone who thinks this is another useful change.

The Environmental Protection Agency will set a limit on the amount of the chemical perchlorate, as well as other “toxic contaminants,” in drinking water.

The national regulation on perchlorate will reverse a 2008 decision made by President George W. Bush’s administration, the agency said in a statement. It comes after EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson ordered agency scientists to review “the emerging science of perchlorate.”

“There’s going to be a lot of scrutiny of the standard because, again, we are looking at but one of several precursors that can affect iodine uptake in the thyroid,” Jackson told CNN’s Chief Medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. “It’s the first time we’ve ever regulated a chemical not because of what it does directly to you, but because it has an impact on iodine uptake that might affect your child down the road.”

Perchlorate is both a naturally occurring and man-made chemical, according to the EPA. It is used in fireworks, road flares, rocket fuel and may be present in bleach and some fertilizers, the agency said. Research has indicated that it can impact the thyroid and disrupt the proper development of fetuses and infants.

Some states have already established limits on perchlorate in drinking water, but there has been no national standard…

In addition, the EPA is also establishing a drinking water standard on “a group of up to 16 other toxic chemicals that may cause cancer and pose serious risks to human health,” the statement said.

The chemicals are a group of volatile organic compounds, such as industrial solvents, and include trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, along with other regulated and some unregulated substances “discharged from industrial operations.”

So, how many silly people actually thought government bodies like the EPA already had been doing a thorough job checking on water safety?

And it took the kind of change KoolAid Party protestors hate to get the EPA moving on the issue. That’s OK. The populist dumbos have copper bracelets to protect them from disease, right?

The probe of diesel use in hydraulic fracturing, a practice that has allowed drillers to tap abundant shale gas, found that oil services firms such as Halliburton and BJ Services, which was bought by Baker Hughes Inc, injected millions of gallons of fluids containing the fuel into wells between 2005 and 2009. A total of 12 companies were cited in the probe for using diesel without proper permits.

Critics say the chemicals used in the process, called “fracking,” can contaminate drinking water.

In 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency entered into a voluntary agreement with Halliburton, BJ Services and Schlumberger to eliminate the use of diesel fuel in hydraulic fracturing fluids injected into coalbed methane wells.

In addition, a 2005 energy law exempted hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, except when diesel is used…

Democrats who sponsored the probe in the House of Representatives urged the EPA to look into this matter…

The fracking probe was initiated by House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee last year when it was headed by Waxman…

Some lawmakers have called for federal regulation of the practice beyond the use of diesel fuel, but with Republicans now in control of House such legislative action appears unlikely.

Wow, there’s a surprise.

The Republicans will probably [1] forgive the pollution retroactively; and [2] appoint a new commission to be headed by Dick Cheney and charged with reducing environmental restraints on any and all new extraction processes the Oil Patch Boys come up with.

The road salt that cities and businesses stockpile to melt ice along sidewalks and treat Ohio’s roads and highways is increasingly polluting our drinking water, according to state environmental regulators.

Since 2009, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has found rainwater runoff from road-salt piles fouling public and private wells in five Ohio communities. Though not considered a health threat, the salty taste of drinking water grew so bad that the village of Camden in Preble County had to abandon its wells.

“After you get to a certain level, you can certainly tell there is a change in the taste,” said Melissa Williams, the Preble County health commissioner. “It will corrode your plumbing fixtures, also…”

For example, there are no legal limits on how much salt can be in drinking water beyond a federal guideline meant to safeguard taste. And there are no rules that govern how road salt is stored.

Of course. None of those things are important to politicians. Only the cost of the salt.

“The (Ohio EPA) director has broad authority to protect health and welfare,” said Mike Baker, the agency’s drinking-water and ground-water chief. “If you can’t drink the water due to taste, it’s a real concern.”

And no one in Ohio ever heard of there being a potential problem, noticed other states and regions doing anything different. Right?

Camden started pumping water from a temporary well on Nov. 17 after two road-salt piles at a business fouled the village’s three wells. Ohio EPA officials found that the business had installed illegal storm drains that let salt-contaminated rainwater soak into the ground…

Ignorance hands out another couple hundreds tons of salty bliss to folks in Ohio.

About two months before two new plug-in cars go on sale in the United States, the federal government is struggling with how to rate the fuel economy of mass-market plug-in vehicles.

How the Environmental Protection Agency rates the two cars, the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf, could have a big influence on consumers’ perceptions of vehicles that run on electricity. General Motors, which makes the Volt, and Nissan are anxiously awaiting the agency’s decision as they start production of the cars and complete marketing plans for rollouts in December.

Providing the customary city and highway miles-per-gallon information would make little sense for the Volt, which can drive 25 to 50 miles on battery power before its gas engine kicks on, and even less so for the Leaf, which is powered by only a rechargeable battery.

Cathy Milbourn, a spokeswoman for the E.P.A., declined to specify a date when the new ratings might be released, saying only that they would come “shortly.”

There’s a fair bit of geek introspection in the article. Most of which is irrelevant to the average vehicle purchase.

I understand and agree with all the other good stuff about pollution and climate change. Cripes – I’ve been an advocate for positive change for long enough. But, that average consumer we always consider ain’t bringing in all the guidelines to choose their new ride. They want to know what it costs. That’s all. That’s enough.

His final fishing trip on board the Mary B III

Daniel Scott Lasky’s wish was to be buried at sea.

So when the 48-year-old died this month of Lou Gehrig’s disease, his family followed his request. They put his body on dry ice, brought it to South Florida, chartered a boat, said their goodbyes and released him to the sea, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

Except a day later, Lasky’s body floated to the surface…

On Dec. 18, 2009, he had his “celebration of life” at Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hickory, the obituary read. He died about nine months later, on Sept. 8, at home. The obituary said, “Burial will be at sea.”

The day after his death, his family began the drive south, stopping overnight in Daytona Beach before arriving in Fort Lauderdale on Friday.

That day, Sharon Lasky, his pastor and a few other family members boarded the Mary B III, along with the boat’s captain, crew and Daniel Lasky’s body, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office. After their goodbyes, they went fishing in his honor and returned to shore.

The next morning, a fisherman found the body floating and alerted the U.S. Coast Guard.

Although burying a body at sea is legal, certain rules have to be followed.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, human beings who are not cremated must be buried at least three nautical miles from land in water at least 600 feet deep. And, said the EPA, measures must be taken to make sure the body sinks to the bottom “rapidly and permanently.”

Oops!

The Environmental Protection Agency has completed regulations limiting the release of mercury and other toxic air pollutants from cement plants, a move the Obama administration said would save lives but that cement makers warned could drive jobs overseas.

This is the first time the federal government has restricted emissions from existing cement kilns. The regulations aim to reduce, by 2013, the annual emissions of mercury and particulate matter by 92%, hydrochloric acid by 97% and sulfur dioxide by 78%.

EPA officials said the limits would benefit children, whose brains can be damaged by mercury that makes its way through the air to water and then to fish that children eat. They also predicted the rules would stave off thousands of premature heart and lung deaths each year attributed to particulate pollution.

“By reducing harmful pollutants in the air we breathe, we cut the risk of asthma attacks and save lives,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a statement.

Environmentalists said California, which is the nation’s largest producer of cement and has several heavy-emitting kilns, would see particularly high public health returns…

Cement producers said the rules would cost them “several billion dollars” to implement by installing pollution scrubbers at existing kilns. They warned that regulations could lead to plant closures and job outsourcing.

There’s more of the same from the corporate suits. Mostly crap threats.

True. Manufacturers needn’t worry much about laws being enforced under a Republican administration; but, I believe we’re safe from that for another six years, anyway. Especially if the GOP continues to be led around by nose rings attached to teabaggers who wish for leaded gas, free cigarettes for schoolchildren and the return of black-and-white TV.

Beef containing harmful pesticides, veterinary antibiotics and heavy metals is being sold to the public because federal agencies have failed to set limits for the contaminants or adequately test for them, a federal audit finds…

The health effects on people who eat such meat are a “growing concern,” the audit adds.

The testing program for cattle is run by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which also tests meat for such pathogens as salmonella and certain dangerous strains of E. coli. But the residue program relies on assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency, which sets tolerance levels for human exposure to pesticides and other pollutants, and the Food and Drug Administration, which does the same for antibiotics and other medicines.

Limits have not been set by the EPA and FDA “for many potentially harmful substances, which can impair FSIS’ enforcement activities,” the audit found…

Even when the inspection service does identify a lot of beef with high levels of pesticide or antibiotics, it often is powerless to stop the distribution of that meat because there is no legal limit for those contaminants.

In 2008, for example, Mexican authorities rejected a U.S. beef shipment because its copper levels exceeded Mexican standards, the audit says. But because there is no U.S. limit, the FSIS had no grounds for blocking the beef’s producer from reselling the rejected meat in the United States.

Terrific. Just another reminder why it took an election just to begin the process of turning federal agencies into something that must be responsible to the electorate – instead of corporate rubber stamps.