State
Documents show DEQ pollution concerns at Village Fair Mall
Meridian Star
A concerned citizen presented documents from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to Lauderdale County Supervisors Monday stating that the old Village Fair Mall site on 22nd Avenue site is contaminated.
Stone County joins most of state in imposing burn ban
Sun Herald
Forget about your fire pits, bonfires or any other type of burning over the next month if you live in Stone County.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/weather/article116191113.html
Mayor Howard of Aberdeen wants the city to use solar panels
WTVA
ABERDEEN, Miss. (WTVA) - Mayor Maurice Howard of Aberdeen wants to lower utility bills for residents.
http://www.wtva.com/news/Mayor_Howard_of_Aberdeen_wants_the_city_to_use_solar_panels.html
MSU researchers map genetic deer structure in Southeastern U.S.
MBJ
Hunters throughout Mississippi hope to find a big buck this Saturday [Nov. 19], the start of deer season. It is well understood by hunters and biologists alike that deer vary in body and antler size across the state. Larger deer are thought to be the descendants of the Northern deer that were released in the state during restoration efforts in the 1900s.
http://msbusiness.com/2016/11/msu-researchers-map-genetic-deer-structure-southeastern-u-s/
Be a citizen scientist in Christmas Bird Count
Clarion Ledger
The Jackson Chapter of the National Audubon Society is calling for volunteers to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count.
Oil Spill
Deep Water Horizon oil contamination in Louisiana marshlands
wwl
LSU scientists have found the first evidence of Deepwater Horizon oil in a land animal, the Seaside Sparrow. LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources Professor Phillip Stouffer says they believe the oil got into the birds’ system, because they are feeding off the marsh and the oil is trapped in the marsh.
http://www.wwl.com/Deep-Water-Horizon-oil-contamination-in-Louisiana-/22941405
The gulf oil spill literally caused wetlands to sink beneath the waves, scientists say
Washington Post
Six years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill devastated the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, scientists are still taking stock of the damage it caused. And increasingly, they’re reporting that widespread shoreline erosion and loss of wetlands — which can hurt important salt marsh ecosystems and leave coastal areas, and the city of New Orleans, more vulnerable to sea-level rise — was a major side-effect of the disaster.
BP fine proceeds boost environmental projects in Galveston, Brazoria counties
Houston Chronicle
GALVESTON – More than $2.6 million from a criminal fine levied against BP for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been awarded to three environmental projects in Galveston and Brazoria counties.
National
EPA chief: Progress under Obama won't be undone by Trump
AP
WASHINGTON
President-elect Donald Trump will not derail progress made in fighting climate change and creating clean-energy jobs, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency insisted on Monday in arguing "the inevitability of our clean energy future is bigger than any one person or nation."
http://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article116251793.html
Amended Toxics Law Boosts Chances of Criminal Charges
Bloomberg
Information-forcing provisions of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act increase the situations in which the Environmental Protection Agency could charge a company with criminally concealing chemical risk data and violating the law, an EPA attorney said Nov. 18.
http://www.bna.com/amended-toxics-law-n73014447498/
Oklahoma Governor Fallin speaks to Trump about possible Interior Department job: spokesman
Reuters
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin met on Monday with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence and discussed the possibility of serving in the new administration, including in the Department of the Interior, her spokesman said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-fallin-idUSKBN13G1VE
What scientists learned about whale sharks from the DNA they left in seawater
LA Times
Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to study. Scientists hoping to learn about them must spy on them from the air, tag them with devices so they can be tracked via satellite or sneak up on them to collect tissue samples for DNA analysis.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article116352618.html
Uniquely Utah: State employees compete to fill calendar with beautiful shots
Fox 13
Employees with the Utah Department of Natural Resources work in every corner of the state, and every year they submit photos in the hope of being featured in an annual calendar.
Opinion
If Oil Refiners Crash, So Will the Economy
Biofuel regulations are ruining merchant oil refiners—bad for business and national security.
By CARL ICAHN
WSJ
A decade ago, the term “mortgage-backed securities” probably sounded to most people like made-up business-school nonsense. But then in 2008 the Wall Street engineers overreached and caused one of the largest financial crises in American history. Today the threat looming over the U.S. economy is similarly obscure: a shadowy, unregulated trade in electronic credits called Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) that threatens to destroy America’s oil refineries, send gasoline prices skyward and devastate the U.S. economy.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/if-oil-refiners-crash-so-will-the-economy-1479773932
