tagged w/ Friends of the Earth
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Los Angeles Times
Breaking news
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Federal agency bars Edison from restarting San Onofre plant
Los Angeles Times | March 27, 2012 | 2:52 p.m.
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, citing serious concerns about equipment failures at the San Onofre nuclear plant, on Tuesday barred plant operator Southern California Edison from restarting the plant until the problems are thoroughly understood and fixed.
.Los Angeles Times
Breaking news
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Federal agency bars Edison from restarting... more
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ENENews...
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US to burn 100s of tons of radioactive waste from Germany
Published: March 18th, 2012 at 5:21 pm ET
By ENENews
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Title: Comment sought on nuclear waste
Source: AP
Date: Feb 12, 2008
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[...] Mike Johnson, president of the [EnergySolutions]‘s Commercial Facilities Group [...] said the Oak Ridge facility has probably recycled about 1.5 million tons of radioactive metals since 1996 from foreign sources including Germany, Belgium and Canada.
Rep. Bart Gordon, chairman of the U.S. House Science and Technology Committee [...] has called it a “terrible idea,” saying the United States has enough problems disposing its own nuclear waste. [...]
“It sets a very bad precedent which could result in a flood of nuclear waste being dumped in the U.S.,” said Tom Clements, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth in Columbia, S.C. [...]ENENews...
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US to burn 100s of tons of radioactive waste from Germany... more
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Los Angeles Times...
Environmental groups want ships to slow down to avoid killing and injuring whales
June 6, 2011 | 7:21 pm
A coalition of environmental groups is asking the federal government to require ships traveling though California’s marine sanctuaries to slow down to avoid fatal collisions with whales, a problem that they say has climbed to “unsustainable levels.”
Four groups filed petition Monday asking the Commerce Department to establish a 10-knot speed limit for large commercial vessels traveling through California’s four National Marine Sanctuaries in the Channel Islands, Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank.
Some freighters travel through those waters at more than twice that speed.
Nearly 50 whales have been hit by ships traveling off the California coastline in the last decade, according to experts, who believe the number is probably much higher because many of the accidents go unreported.
Shipping groups says a speed limit would greatly slow down cargo reaching port and more than double the time it takes the fastest vessels to travel through the sanctuaries.
The petition from the environmental groups is meant to prod the federal government to take steps to fight the growing problem. Some of the most heavily trafficked shipping lanes leading in and out of the ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Francisco Bay run through the migratory paths and feeding areas of endangered whales.
In the 61-page document, the Environmental Defense Center, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and Pacific Environment say a speed limit would help protect endangered blue, humpback and fin whales from being run over by big ships.
"The overlap of these shipping lanes with California’s national marine sanctuaries puts sanctuary wildlife at great risk,” the petition reads. “While we cannot likely change the behavior of whales and other species so as to avoid ship strikes, we can and must regulate vessel practices to minimize this risk.”
Slower speeds would give whales more time to detect approaching ships and would lower the chances that injuries would become fatal if they are hit, the groups argue. A speed limit also would cut back on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and underwater noise that can harm whales.
In a statement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a branch of the Commerce Department that oversees National Marine Sanctuaries and endangered marine species, said it is also concerned with ship strikes to whales and would review the petition.
Shipping groups said a speed limit may not make it any safer for whales and has suggesting realigning shipping routes as an alternative.
“It's just premature to assume that slowing vessel speed is the solution to the ship-whale interaction issue,” said T.L. Garrett, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Assn., a trade group representing ocean carriers that dock at West Coast ports.
Where possible, vessels would probably navigate around the sanctuaries to avoid the restrictions, he added.
Four blue whales were struck and killed by vessels in 2007 near the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to designate shipping lanes from Point Conception to Point Dume a “Whale Advisory Zone.”
Since then, the agency has conducted aerial surveys of the area and broadcast seasonal advisories to ship captains traveling through the channel suggesting they limit their speed to 10 knots – or roughly 11.5 mph -- to avoid hitting whales when they’re in the Santa Barbara Channel in high concentrations, usually from May to December.
Because the advisories are voluntary, environmental groups say, they have gone largely unheeded. Shipping groups said most vessels have not opted to lower their speeds.
--Tony Barboza
Photo: Pete Thomas For The TimesLos Angeles Times...
Environmental groups want ships to slow down to avoid... more
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Los Angeles Times...
Van Nuys, Long Beach airports cited as major lead polluters
May 10, 2011 | 2:27 pm
The Center for Environmental Health on Tuesday announced impending legal action against more than 40 suppliers of aviation fuel containing lead, often used in piston-powered aircraft engines, at California airports.
The Oakland-based group blames ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, AvFuel Corp. and 38 other suppliers for water and air pollution around 25 airports in California, including Van Nuys Airport, Long Beach/Daugherty Field and LAX.
“The oil and aviation industries need to know Californians will not tolerate lead pollution that threatens our health and healthy environments,” Michael Green, executive director of CEH, said in a statement. “We expect the industries to take immediate action to eliminate pollution that endangers children and families who live, work and play near airports across the state.”
Van Nuys, which handles a lot of civil aviation using piston-engine aircraft, had the highest levels of lead emissions among 3,413 airports nationwide, according to EPA.
Most of the lead pollution highlighted by the agency and the environmental group is airborne, although facilities at seven airports have polluted local groundwater, according to the group.
The EPA is in the process of establishing regulations governing leaded aviation fuel, or avgas, in response to a petition from Friends of the Earth. The General Aviation Avgas Coalition has been working on a "very low lead"-grade fuel that would reduce lead content by about 20% over the commonly used fuel.
Tuesday's action alleges violations of the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, and serves notice that the group plans to file a lawsuit within 60 days, a requirement under Proposition 65.
-- Geoff Mohan
Photo: Many civilian aircraft, such as these at Van Nuys Airport, rely on leaded fuel. Credit: Carlos Chave /Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times...
Van Nuys, Long Beach airports cited as major lead polluters... more
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[3:08 a.m. ET, 5:08 p.m. Tokyo]
An explosion has been reported near a nuclear plant in northeastern Japan's Fukushima prefecture, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the country's nuclear and industrial safety agency.
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[SCROLL DOWN FOR MARCH 12 UPDATES]
.[3:08 a.m. ET, 5:08 p.m. Tokyo]
An explosion has been reported near a nuclear... more
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The PBS Newshour ran a story this week highlighting the issue of water in the Middle East and the work that Ecopeace-Friends of the Earth Middle East are doing to address the challenges. EcoPeace Israeli Director Gidon Bromberg and Palestinian Director Nader Khateeb, provides reporter Fred de Sam Lazaro with an overview of the issues and demonstrates how they are working together – Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians — to mitigate and reverse some of the damage done to the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, and other areas so integral to the history of the region.The PBS Newshour ran a story this week highlighting the issue of water in the Middle... more
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What comes to mind when you hear the word economist?
Conservative? Business booster? Probably not "hard-core environmentalist", but one economics and fuel subsidies expert is just that — and, at 34, he's the new president of the outspoken environmental leader Friends of the Earth.
This week, Erich Pica joined a growing number of young leaders in the environmental movement. For their generation, the climate fight is very personal.
“The decisions that we are making today are going to impact my life. It is up to my generation – we need to be at the table in fighting for what really has to be done,” Pica says.What comes to mind when you hear the word economist?
Conservative? Business booster?... more
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A controversial new report says carbon offsets are a dangerous gimmick.
From the international Kyoto Protocol to the recent energy bill that passed the US House of Representatives, carbon offsets have been a centerpiece of policies designed to make countries responsible for the amount of CO2 they’re allowed to produce.
The general idea behind carbon offsets suggests US polluters send money overseas in exchange for promised - and often pretend - pollution reductions elsewhere.
Michael Despines, Climate Resilience Campaign Coordinator for the US chapter of Friends of the Earth.
For example (in) the United States, our per capita emissions is still about 19 tons per person. The world average is only 4 tons per person and in the developing world, it’s only about 2 tons per person. So we’re still emitting much, much higher than our fair share and with offsetting, it sort of locks that unfair ratio in place.
According to their report, Friends of the Earth recommends the US clean it’s own house by reducing emissions by 40% by the year 2020 before paying for the cleanup of our neighbors.
For a look at the full report and extended interview with Michael Despines, click here.
Illustration by Will Etling.A controversial new report says carbon offsets are a dangerous gimmick.
From the... more
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The shipping industry is an invisible and nearly unregulated environmental disaster, and if you haven’t heard much about its poor record, you’re not alone. Compared to power plants, cars and even commercial aviation, shipping has drawn little scrutiny ─ it gets few mentions in the media, and activist groups tend to focus their attention elsewhere. Seen as little more than an expensive tourist option or a humdrum conveyor of goods, the modern sea vessel is a mystery to the average person, either a love boat or a floating tractor trailer. If there were no pirates or seasick honeymooners, the shipping industry would barely register in the public consciousness.The shipping industry is an invisible and nearly unregulated environmental disaster,... more
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