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Snippets from the news

• Six E.U. states ready to block climate plan. • World Bank green-energy funding up 87 percent. • Offshore wind farm approved in New Jersey.

EPA talked out of declaring public-health emergency in asbestos-ridden town

A public-health emergency has never been declared in Libby, Mont., where asbestos exposure from vermiculite mining has killed 200 people and sickened more than 1,000 more. But documents and emails obtained recently by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) show that in 2002, the U.S. EPA was primed to declare such an emergency — before being talked […]

Oregon looks to protect its ocean ecology

Amidst the slavering cries to drill pretty much everywhere, it’s encouraging to hear the news from Oregon. The state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has just finished accepting proposals for new marine reserves — protected places where Oregon’s maritime ecology can thrive. A coalition of conservation leaders has developed an ambitious and smart proposal. Now […]

Nine states sue EPA over water rule, saying it allows pollution

Nine U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba have sued the U.S. EPA over a regulatory change that exempts transfers of water from one water body to another from Clean Water Act protections. If allowed to stand, the plaintiffs charge, the June administrative ruling would permit ships to dump ballast water in the Great […]

Snippets from the news

• GAO skeptical of claims that clean coal will soon be ready for the big-time. • Houston and Los Angeles deemed to have “severe” smog. • L.A., Long Beach ports inaugurate new anti-smog plan. • Ships can keep dumping coal and other residues into Great Lakes. • Head of NOAA announces resignation.

We’re headed out on the town — join us

We’re in Chicago touring green roofs and green biz ventures, but tonight we want to share all our adventures with you — live and in person — at a Chicago pub near our hotel. Meet us at O’Callaghan’s — 29 W. Hubbard St. between Dearborn St. and State St. We’ll head over there around 9 […]

Oil economist denies peak oil

“Therefore there will never be a moment when the world runs out of oil because there will always be a price at which the last drop of oil can clear the market. And you can turn anything into oil into if you are willing to pay the financial and environmental price.” — Christof Rühl, chief […]

Hurricane Ike dealt big blow to Texas wildlife and waterways

Hurricane Ike caused plenty of problems for Gulf Coast humans, but now it looks like the storm has also messed with area wildlife. Ike’s storm surge helped turn some freshwater wetlands as far as 20 miles inland into salty marshes hostile to many freshwater fish, as well as other wildlife. “[The salt infusion] exasperates everything […]

Snippets from the news

• Mayors envision 4.2 million new green jobs. • Investment in cleantech continues to soar. • Greenpeace and Sierra Club Canada: Don’t vote Tory. • Climate change could kill off one-third of species by 2100, say scientists. • Coca-Cola lightens cans in Europe. • IKEA bags bags.

Colbert parodies Big Oil greenwashing

Last night, The Colbert Report marked the expiration of the moratorium on offshore drilling with this brilliant parody of Big Oil greenwashing. “A lot of people talk about loving the earth. But how many of them actually penetrate it?” asked Colbert. Watch the Colbert sketch: Now compare it to a real ad from Chevron: