Gulf Coast environmental groups praised the call and urged the new task force to rely on input from local officials. Executive director of Mobile Baykeepers, Casi Callaway, says “Local involvement is absolutely key. If the public does not have a say, we’re not going to be ‘sweet’.” Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will head the new Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. “The president has made clear that he wants restoration plans to come from the Gulf Coast and not be imposed on the Gulf residents by Washington,” Jackson said in a statement. “We’re counting on the people who know these areas best, the people who call the Gulf home, to shape our work.” Obama’s order to restore the Gulf Coast says, “Its natural resources are an important economic engine for the entire United States, its waters sustain a diverse and vibrant ecosystem; and the Gulf’s culture, natural beauty and historic significance are unique.” … Read ahead
Source: timeeco.com
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A federal task force charged by President Obama in February to determine the viability of developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) released a report concluding that CCS can play an important role in domestic greenhouse gas emissions reductions if the right mix of policy drivers and coordinated oversight is enacted. Co-chaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, the … 
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – Officials investigating the cause of a huge oil spill along a major river in southern Michigan say it will take months to clean up the mess, and damage to wetlands and wildlife may last considerably longer. Enbridge Inc., the Canadian owner of the ruptured pipeline that released the crude into the Kalamazoo River, says the spill is contained. Gov. Jennifer Granholm said after a helicopter inspection of the stricken area Friday that the company’s handling of the problem had improved since she gave it poor reviews earlier this week. “I can say there’s been significant progress,” Granholm said at a news conference, adding: “I don’t want to suggest we are satisfied. We continue to ask for additional resources.” Enbridge, based in Calgary, Alberta, said it was preparing to remove the damaged section of pipe as its focus shifted to cleaning up the spilled oil, which it estimates at 820,000 gallons. The Environmental Protection Agency puts the total at more than 1 million gallons. “No one is sugarcoating it,” company spokesman Alan Roth said. “There’s still a tremendous amount of work to do, but good progress is being made.” EPA chief Lisa Jackson said she was “very confident” the oil would not reach Lake Michigan, where the river empties about 80 miles from where the spill has been contained. Enbridge said it had recovered 100,800 gallons of oil and estimated that 420,000 gallons are in a holding area and will be pumped into tanks. Federal and company officials said they were close to reaching the 40-foot section of pipe containing the break, which has been inaccessible because it’s in a marshy, oil-covered area. Only when the pipe is reached will it be certain that the leak has stopped, said Ralph Dollhopf, EPA’s on-scene coordinator. Once removed, the section will be taken to a National Transportation Safety Board lab for tests, said Matt Nicholson, the agency’s lead investigator. A team from NTSB’s Office of Pipelines and Hazardous Materials division will be on site for up to 10 days, he said. Scientists fear the worst may be yet to come for fish in the river. Jay Wesley, a biologist with the state of Michigan, said the oil spill had killed fish in “very limited numbers” along the affected stretch of the river from Marshall westward into Battle Creek. The bigger problems for fish may come within a week or so, if the oil spill results in decreased water oxygen levels. Wesley said insects, algae, frogs and turtles along the river have been killed in high numbers — which could hurt the fish food supply. “The effects are probably going to be more long-term,” Wesley said. “We probably won’t know the full effects for weeks or months or years.” The Marshall area has been considered a good area for bass fishing. Recreational anglers also fish the area for northern pike, catfish and suckers. Until the spill occurred, health officials considered fish taken from the waters from Marshall to Battle Creek OK to eat in limited amounts — unlike a downstream, westward stretch from Kalamazoo that is laden with PCBs and is on the federal Superfund list of highly contaminated areas. ___ Flesher reported from Traverse City, Mich. … 
The Environmental Protection Agency intends to classify milk as a hazardous waste; in the same category as oil. That means, farmers would have to come up with an oil spill prevention plan which could cost them thousands of dollars. The Senate Agricultural Committee passed a resolution today urging the EPA to take back those regulations. … 
WASHINGTON — The nation's farmers could face severe restrictions on the use of pesticides as environmentalists, spurred by a favorable ruling from a judge in Washington state, want the courts to force federal regulators to protect endangered species from the ill effects of agricultural chemicals. The eight-year-old ruling by a federal judge in Seattle required the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Environmental Protection Agency to review whether 54 pesticides, herbicides and fungicides were jeopardizing troubled West Coast salmon runs. The agencies moved recently to restrict the use of three of the chemicals, including a widely used one with the trade name Sevin, near bodies of water that flow into salmon-bearing streams, and they're considering restrictions on 12 additional chemicals. The Washington State Department of Agriculture says such restrictions would prevent pesticide use on 75 percent of the state's farmland. … 
Air pollution maps, like this one showing the forecast on July 6, 2010, are updated by the Environmental Protection Agency so people can plan outdoor activities and avoid breathing unhealthy air. Reds and oranges represent the most unhealthy air, while yellow is unhealthy only for the most sensitive people…. 
New devices could capture greenhouse gas and provide CO2 for commercial uses, all in one pop Carbon dioxide is one of the most plentiful gases in the atmosphere, but when soda makers want to inject the fizz into their sweet-tasting drinks, they often …