Oil Spill
Gulf oil spill had dramatic impact on microscopic life, study suggests
Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 6:00 AM
By Brendan Kirby
Press-Register
MOBILE, Alabama — Months after BP PLC capped the gushing well in the Gulf
of Mexico and crews had cleared oil from coast, Alabama's beaches looked
like they had returned to normal.
New research by an Auburn University professor and other scientists,
though, suggests that significant changes had taken place in creatures too
small to be seen by the naked eye. Those changes, professor Ken Halanych
said, bear further study and could have big impacts that might not become
apparent for years.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/07/gulf_oil_spill_had_dramatic_im.html
BP Oil Spill: Two Years Later, Dispersants' Effects Still a Mystery
ABC
By ALON HARISH
July 9, 2012
Two years ago this week, the wellhead that ruptured on the sea floor of the
Gulf of Mexico, sending 4.9 million barrels of oil into the water, was
capped. After three months, the end of the largest oil spill in the
industry's history was in sight.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/bp-oil-spill-years-dispersants-effects-mystery/story?id=16727991&singlePage=true#.T_rfV3DqPCQ
Landrieu hails Restore Act; now real fight begins
Updated: Jul 09, 2012 8:47 PM CDT
Fox 8
Written by: Rob Masson
New Orleans, La. - The accolades continue to pour in for a new law that
cold pump hundreds of millions of dollars into coastal restoration in
Louisiana.
http://www.fox8live.com/story/18982930/landrieu-hails-restore-act-now-real-fight-begins
Florida Readies for RESTORE Act Funds
WKRG
By Debbie Williams
Empty streets and barren beaches, hallmarks of what many have referred to
as the "lost summer of 2010".
http://www2.wkrg.com/member-center/share-this/print/?content=ar4098436
State News
Miss. Power appeals rate increase denial on Kemper
By AP
July 10, 2012
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Power Co. asked the state Supreme Court
Monday to overturn regulators' rejection of a rate increase. And while that
appeal is going on, the company wants the high court to allow it collect
the additional $55 million from customers.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/90249--miss-power-appeals-rate-increase-denial-on-kemper#.T_t-cb1Jlao.twitter
Coal plant rising over a rural Kemper County landscape
Sun Herald
Multibillion-dollar coal plant rising over a rural landscape
By MICHAEL NEWSOM — mmnewsom@sunherald.com
KEMPER COUNTY -- Mississippi Power Co.'s multibillion-dollar coal
gasification plant is going up here, towering over the rural landscape on
an isolated site about 20 miles north of Meridian.Thousands of workers have
poured into the sleepy area to build the large power generation plant along
two-lane Mississippi 493, which will use lignite coal found in the ground
here to generate 582 megawatts.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/07/07/4050778/coal-plant-rising-over-a-rural.html#storylink=misearch
MSU-developed grass being studied as renewable energy source
by MBJ Staff
Published: July 10,2012
STARKVILLE — A variety of grass developed at Mississippi State University
is getting its moment in the sun as a biofuel ingredient, thanks to a
recent U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement.
http://msbusiness.com/2012/07/msu-developed-grass-being-studied-as-renewable-energy-source/
National News
Dead zone pollutant grows despite decades of work
Published: Monday, July 09, 2012, 5:00 PM
By Contributing writer
The Times-Picayune
For two centuries, the town of Hermann has been known for the Missouri
River. But now the river is making Hermann known for an unexpected reason:
It is a hot spot for nitrate. Despite three decades of costly efforts to
clean it up, the levels at Hermann have increased 75 percent since 1980.
From farm and urban runoff, nitrate throughout the vast Mississippi River
basin funnels into the Gulf of Mexico, where it sucks oxygen out of the
water and kills almost everything in its path, creating what has been
called the "dead zone."
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/07/dead_zone_pollutant_nitrate_gr.html
OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Federal officials to defend EPA air rules
The Hill
By Ben Geman and Zack Colman - 07/09/12 05:53 PM ET
On Tap Tuesday: Senior Obama administration officials will gather with
state-based energy regulators Tuesday to chat about Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) air pollution rules that have come under fire from
Republicans and some state officials.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/236811-overnight-energy-federal-officials-to-defend-epa-air-rules
EPA, environmentalists agree: Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan on track to 2025
restoration
By Associated Press, Published: July 9
RICHMOND, Va. — The six states and the District of Columbia within the
Chesapeake Bay watershed are on pace to restore the nation's largest
estuary, state and federal officials and environmentalists agreed Monday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/chesapeake-bay-panel-leading-the-estuarys-restoration-meeting-monday-in-northern-virginia/2012/07/09/gJQAX8SXXW_story.html
