Oil Spill
Scientists still busy with NRDA process
WLOX
It's the legal process that will determine the damages caused by the BP oil
spill. The Natural Resource Damage Assessment will also outline the
restoration that's required to make things right.
http://www.wlox.com/story/18511235/scientists-still-busy-with-nrda-process
Judge recuses herself from ex-BP engineer's case
AP
A federal judge in New Orleans has recused herself from the criminal case
against a former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages about the
company's response to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/17/v-print/3953512/judge-recuses-herself-from-ex.html
State News
Cochran again expresses 'serious misgivings' about EPA decision
by MBJ Staff
Published: May 17,2012
DESOTO COUNTY — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) yesterday again expressed his
serious misgivings with an Environmental Protection Agency decision to
place parts of DeSoto County under new air quality rules, cautioning that
the designation could cast a pall on job creation.
http://msbusiness.com/2012/05/cochran-again-expresses-serious-misgivings-about-epa-decision/
Residents concerned about proposed Stone County landfill
Sun Herald
By NICOLE DOW
STONE COUNTY -- About a dozen residents expressed their concerns at a
public meeting Thursday regarding a proposed rubbish site. The meeting was
hosted by the Pine Belt Regional Solid Waste Management Authority.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/17/v-print/3955116/residents-concerned-about-proposed.html
Army Corps of Engineers: Backwater levees must be raised or face
de-certification
MBJ
by Ted Carter
Published: May 17th, 2012
The Mississippi Delta may finally be drying out after an historic flood
inundated 200 square miles of the region last spring. But the flood left
behind a giant-sized worry for the region — the prospect of
de-certification of the Yazoo Backwater Levee.
http://msbusiness.com/2012/05/army-corps-of-engineers-backwater-levees-must-be-raised-or-face-de-certification/
National News
EPA's Jackson Says Fracking Water Study Won't Stop Drilling
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson on Wednesday
sought to tamp down concerns raised by Republican senators that the Obama
administration will try to curtail shale gas and oil development through
its studies of hydraulic fracturing.
http://energy.aol.com/2012/05/17/epas-jackson-says-fracking-water-study-wont-stop-drilling/
Vt. becomes 1st state to ban hydraulic fracturing
AP
By DAVE GRAM
MONTPELIER, VT.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday signed into law the nation's first
ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique that involves
blasting chemical-laced water deep into the ground.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UQHK180.htm
Pennsylvania Doctors Worry Over Fracking 'Gag Rule'
by SUSAN PHILLIPS
NPR
May 17, 2012
From WHYY
A new law in Pennsylvania has doctors nervous.
The law grants physicians access to information about trade-secret
chemicals used in natural gas drilling. Doctors say they need to know
what's in those formulas in order to treat patients who may have been
exposed to the chemicals.
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/17/152268501/pennsylvania-doctors-worry-over-fracking-gag-rule
Palm oil industry adds lobbying muscle in EPA climate battle
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 05/17/12 01:13 PM ET
The palm oil industry has hired law and lobbying giant Holland & Knight to
help battle the Environmental Protection Agency's preliminary finding that
palm-based biofuels don't meet the greenhouse gas standards of the federal
renewable auto fuels mandate.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/228055-palm-oil-industry-adds-lobbying-muscle-to-epa-climate-battle-
Press Releases
Skin Cancer is Most Common Cancer in US, Yet One of the Most Preventable
EPA, FDA, NPS, National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention Highlight Sun
Safety Tips for 'Don't Fry Day': May 25th
WASHINGTON – As summer quickly approaches, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has joined the National Council on Skin Cancer
Prevention, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Park Service
(NPS) to emphasize the dangers of skin cancer and has provided simple steps
Americans can take to protect themselves. The National Council on Skin
Cancer Prevention designated the Friday before Memorial Day "Don't Fry Day"
as a way to highlight sun safety.
"Skin cancer prevention and sun safety are important issues for EPA – our
primary mission is to protect people's health and the environment," said
Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and
Radiation. "While the agency has made steady progress protecting the
Earth's ozone layer, the SunWise program and Don't Fry Day help teach
children and families simple steps to stay safe in the sun and protect
themselves from harmful UV rays."
"The risk of skin cancer is very real. It's therefore important that
consumers prevent sunburn and protect themselves from the risk of skin
cancer and early skin aging throughout the year," said FDA Commissioner
Margaret Hamburg, M.D. "The FDA strongly recommends that consumers
regularly use a Broad Spectrum sunscreen with an SPF value of 15 or higher
in combination with other protective measures to more effectively protect
themselves and their families whenever they are in the sun."
"Whether you hike or stroll, paddle a canoe or kayak or just sit in a
mountain meadow watching the clouds go by, remember to put on your hat,
apply sunscreen and have plenty of water to drink," said National Park
Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "These sun safety tips will protect
your skin and I think guarantee that we'll see you often in your national
parks."
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. and the most
common cancer among 20 to 30 year-olds. It's estimated that one American
dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Approximately 76,000 new cases of melanoma will occur this year.
To help protect people's health, EPA's SunWise program, one of the nation's
largest environmental and health education programs, encourages kids and
their caregivers to practice safe sun habits and raises awareness about UV
sunlight that penetrates the Earth's ozone layer.
Here are some tips to help Americans continue to exercise, get outside and
be SunWise this Memorial Day weekend and throughout the summer:
Check the UV Index app: Check the ultraviolet (UV) index anytime by
downloading EPA's app (epa.gov/enviro/mobile) to help plan outdoor
activities in ways that prevent overexposure to the sun. UV rays from the
sun (and from artificial light sources such as tanning beds) can lead to
skin cancer.
Apply sunscreen and wear protective clothing: Apply a palm-full of
sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher that provides broad-spectrum protection
from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays to exposed skin
about 15 minutes before heading outdoors. Reapply every two hours. Wearing
protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses also prevents sun
damage.
Seek shade, not sun: The sun's UV rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4
p.m., so seek shade during this time.
Although less common in individuals with darker complexions, skin cancer
does not discriminate and is more often fatal for individuals with darker
skin. Overexposure to the sun also causes immune suppression and up to 90
percent of wrinkles, brown spots, leathering of the skin and sagging.
EPA's SunWise program offers factsheets online that have state-specific
information (epa.gov/sunwise/statefacts.html). According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the states with the highest melanoma
death rates include Nebraska, Vermont, Colorado, Kentucky, West Virginia,
Oklahoma, and Idaho.
More on SunWise: http://www.epa.gov/sunwise
More on FDA sun safety:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm258416.htm
More on NPS Healthy Parks Healthy People:
http://www.nps.gov/public_health/hp/hphp.htm
More on CDC skin cancer prevention efforts: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/
The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention social media opportunities:
http://twibbon.com/cause/Don39t-Fry-Day-7/Join
