4.16.2013
Oil Spill
Gulf seafood industry rebounding from oil spill impact
WLOX
This Saturday marks three years since the BP oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico. And this week, WLOX News will be taking a closer look at the impact
of that tragedy and the ongoing recovery.
The seafood industry certainly felt the impact.
http://www.wlox.com/story/21984921/gulf-seafood-industry-rebounding-from-oil-spill-impact
BP oil spill trial: BP wells supervisor frustrated by last-minute Macondo
changes
By Richard Thompson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
April 15, 2013 at 6:10 PM
BP's Houston-based wells team leader testified Monday that he had grown
frustrated by a series of last-minute changes to the Macondo drilling
project in the days before the well blew out.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/04/bp_wells_supervisor_grew_frust.html
BP manager recalls frustrations with last-minute changes before deadly
explosion on Gulf rig
By Associated Press,
NEW ORLEANS — A BP team leader who supervised managers on the oil rig that
exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 testified Monday that he was
frustrated by last-minute changes to the drilling project, but didn't have
any safety concerns before the deadly blast.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/bp-team-leader-who-oversaw-rig-managers-testifies-as-trial-over-gulf-oil-spill-enters-8th-week/2013/04/15/eb160242-a5ee-11e2-9e1c-bb0fb0c2edd9_story.html
Coastal restoration bill clears first hurdle in House committee
By Lauren McGaughy, NOLA.com | The Times Picayune
April 15, 2013 at 8:00 PM
The House Appropriations Committee approved a bill Monday that would
require any Clean Water Act fines received from the federal government as a
result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill to go solely to coastal
restoration and protection programs.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/04/oil_spill_restore_fines_louisi.html
State News
Pickering to deliver news on DMR foundation boats
Sun Herald
By MICHAEL NEWSOM — mmnewsom@sunherald.com
BILOXI -- State Auditor Stacey Pickering will hold a news conference here
Tuesday to talk about two boats the Mississippi Marine Resources Foundation
owns.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/04/15/4595556/pickering-to-deliver-news-on-dmr.html
Hattiesburg officials hold open meeting on waste water treatment
WDAM
Video Only
http://www.wdam.com/category/240207/video?clipId=8777054&autostart=true
City hosting public meeting on wastewater treatment Thursday
Hattiesburg American
The City of Hattiesburg is hosting a public meeting on proposed wastewater
treatment systems 6 p.m. Thursday in the Grand Ballroom of the Hattiesburg
train depot at 308 Newman Street.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20130415/NEWS01/130415015/City-hosting-public-meeting-wastewater-treatment-Thursday
Dispose of unused or expired medication
WTVA
WEST POINT, Miss. (WTVA) -- Got Drugs?
That's the question being asked by law enforcement agencies large and
small.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/Dispose-of-unused-or-expired-medication/fm9SvERW3EihVejdAGAWsQ.cspx
Earth Day
Bolivar Commercial
by Denise Strub
04.15.13 - 08:42 pm
Willie Wren stacks old tires, which have been brought to Cleveland Public
Works during Earth Day Saturday. Wren said he had already filled one large
trailor and more tires were coming in as Bolivar Countians participated in
the recycling event.
http://www.bolivarcom.com/view/full_story/22252089/article-Earth-Day?instance=main_article
National News
Big Spills From Aging Oil Pipelines
Seam Failures From Old, Outmoded Welds Are Under Study After Exxon and
Chevron Lines Rupture
Wall Street Journal
Recent pipeline ruptures, including one at an Exxon Mobil Corp. pipeline
that caused a major oil spill in Arkansas last month, are raising fresh
questions about the safety of pipes made decades ago using obsolete
welding techniques.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323741004578418693982405224.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
EPA reports decline in greenhouse gas emissions
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 04/15/13 03:54 PM ET
Emissions of greenhouse gases in the United States decreased slightly in
2011, a new analysis from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/293959-epa-reports-decline-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions
Senators to revive energy efficiency bill
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 04/15/13 06:05 PM ET
A pair of senators is expected reintroduce a bill Thursday that's seen as a
bipartisan vehicle for action on energy efficiency.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/293999-senators-to-revive-energy-efficiency-bill
Role reversal: GOP blasts Obama plan to sell TVA
By MATTHEW DALY — Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a political role reversal, Republicans are blasting
President Barack Obama's plan to consider selling the Tennessee Valley
Authority, an icon of the New Deal long targeted by conservatives as an
example of government overreach.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/04/16/4596228/role-reversal-gop-blasts-obama.html
Fracking foes in California win in court
San Francisco Chronicle
David R. Baker
Fracking opponents in California have won what may be their first victory
in court, with a federal magistrate's ruling that federal authorities broke
the law when they leased land in Monterey and Fresno counties to oil
drillers without studying the possible risks of hydraulic fracturing.
http://www.sfgate.com/green/article/Fracking-foes-in-California-win-in-court-4419423.php
Opinion
SUN HERALD | Editorial: It's time to bring it on Saturday morning
Saturday is your chance to rid your home of a potential danger to you, your
family and the environment. You can be a hero with very little effort.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/04/15/4595718/sun-herald-editorial.html
Press Releases
EPA Publishes 18th Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released
its 18th annual report of overall U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
showing a 1.6 percent decrease in 2011 from the previous year. Recent
trends can be attributed to multiple factors including reduced emissions
from electricity generation, improvements in fuel efficiency in vehicles
with reductions in miles traveled, and year-to-year changes in the
prevailing weather.
Under this Administration, EPA has taken a number of common sense steps to
help reduce GHG emissions. This includes increasing fuel efficiency for
cars that will reduce America's dependence on oil by an estimated 12
billion barrels by 2025, and increasing energy efficiency through the
Energy Star program that saved Americans $24 billion in utility bills in
2012.
GHGs are the primary driver of climate change, which can lead to hotter,
longer heat waves that threaten the health of the sick, poor or elderly;
increases in ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other
respiratory illnesses; as well as other threats to the health and welfare
of Americans. GHG emissions in 2011 showed a 6.9 percent drop below 2005
levels. Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases in 2011 were
equivalent to 6,702 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. These gases
include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2011 is the
latest annual report that the United States has submitted to the
Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
since it was ratified by the United States in 1992. The treaty sets an
overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to address the challenge
posed by climate change. EPA prepares the annual report in collaboration
with other federal agencies and after gathering comments from stakeholders
across the country.
The inventory tracks annual GHG emissions at the national level and
presents historical emissions from 1990 to 2011. The inventory also
calculates carbon dioxide emissions that are removed from the atmosphere
through the uptake of carbon by forests, vegetation, soils, and other
natural processes (called carbon "sinks").
For a graphic illustrating total U.S. GHG emissions by year, visit
www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources.html#emissions-and-trends
More on the greenhouse gas inventory report:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html
