Heads of the EPA, History/Scuttlebutt Condensed Version

by War on Error

The other day Jamess and I were spontaneously wondering (and we can assume others may be, too)

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EPA?

When was it either gutted or compromised?

So, the following is the Crib Note version of Administrators of the EPA from it's inception to date, which includes info on where they came from and where they went after heading  

The Environmental Protection Agency

Some Administrators are really, really.....um....(how can I say this nicely) 'interesting' while others are.... underwhelming.  I think what I unearthed helps explain some things going on with mountain tops and oil gushers.  You be the judge, but I can't wait for your input because, together the dKos community can connect dots better than most!

Enjoy!

continued at Daily Kos...

Michigan Oil Spill Evacuations From Carcinogenic Benzene

by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

Last Thursday, Calhoun county Michigan advises evacuations from area of oil spill due to carcinogenic benzene in air quality studies.

The long-term effects of Benzene exposure is on the blood. Benzene causes harmful effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia. It can also cause excessive bleeding and can affect the immune system, increasing the chance for infection. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that benzene causes cancer in humans. Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia, cancer of the blood-forming organs."

4 days later, the oil spill evacuees endure frustration  away from homes.  

continued at Daily Kos...

Sunday Train: A Dime A Gallon Tariff on Imported Oil for Energy Independent Transport

by BruceMcF

Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence

The big news from July was: Senate's energy bill: What a disappointment (LA Times Editorial):

Amid tough fights over healthcare and financial reform, Obama's push for cleaner energy ran out of gas long ago. It looked like a losing battle anyway; with Senate Republicans universally opposing a cap-and-trade program or other efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, and some Democrats in heavy manufacturing states also opposed, it may have been impossible to round up the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster on a Senate energy bill as strong as the one passed by the House last year. But that doesn't excuse Obama or Reid for surrendering so easily, or so completely.

The strategy to stitch together a complex, multiple part, massive sprawling Energy Bill has failed in precisely the way its opponents intended it to fail: this is a big reason why Big Oil was so heavily invested in the fight against health care reform, to push the Energy Bill back into election year politics.

continued at Daily Kos...

Excessive Use of Dispersants? EPA Does What BP Tells it What to Do

by Ellinorianne

Just yesterday Congressman Markey is asking if more dispersants were used than BP disclosed to the public.  There have been a lot of questions surrounding the use of dispersants, from their level of toxicity and the usefulness to them in a spill of this size.

I wrote about the mix of using booming and dispersants and how people actually questioned doing both at the same time (although there has been a lot of talk as well how booming was bust and not done very well either).  But rounding up dispersed oil in booms makes no sense.  The whole operation by BP seemed rather, well, highly questionable.  The technology for drilling had come a long way, but not the technology for dealing with oil spills and the health of the workers for cleaning them up.

continued at Daily Kos...

Gas, Oil, AND Coal: Regulation Is A Must

by David E Cozad

As British Petroleum begins the process of silencing any criticism of the mess made by their reckless negligence I’ve been hearing about water pollution problems from DailyKos members that span the spectrum; our increasing desperation for gas, oil, and coal are liable to wreck the country’s groundwater for future generations.

  I’d like to share what I’ve found and ask your assistance in stopping it.

continued at Daily Kos...

BP to offer claimants a One-time Payment

by jamess

I think "Breaking" is the correct adjacent ...

BP offers one-off payouts to stem Gulf oil spill lawsuits
Lump-sum compensation offered in return for waiving the right to sue,
but uncertainty remains for those indirectly affected
Tim Webb, guardian.co.uk -- August 1, 2010

BP will begin its legal offensive this month to cap its liabilities from the Gulf of Mexico disaster by offering those affected one-off compensation payouts in return for them waiving the right to sue.
[...]
The fund does not cap BP's liabilities at $20bn. But privately the company believes that it will not have to pay out anywhere near this sum. BP has hired a battery of lawyers to protect itself, and so far it has paid out $261m in claims.
[...]
According to BP, 1.8m gallons of dispersant have been pumped into the Gulf. Scientists say that the resulting high toxicity levels could harm marine life for years to come.

Hmmm ... Seems BP is a bit worried about the long-term effects of that 1.8 Millions of gallons of Corexit, they used -- to help make that spill problem disappear?

continued at Daily Kos...

Animal NUZ #5: Sunday Funnies Edition - DKos Exclusive

by ericlewis0

continued at Daily Kos...

Bridging the Urban/Rural Divide: An Interview with Gary Paul Nabhan

by NourishingthePlanet

In February 2010, writer Fred Bahnson interviewed Gary Paul Nabhan, a lecturer, food and farming advocate, folklorist, and conservationist who lives and farms in the U.S. Southwest. Nabhan discusses climate change, the links between scale and sustainability in food production, and the need to bridge the urban/rural divide in agriculture. Original published on the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet

continued at Daily Kos...

A Giant step behind Wal-Mart

by A Siegel

When I hop onto my bike early in the morning because we're out of coffee or need some bread, a Giant Food grocery store is the closest option.  The store recently went through a renovation and is amid a "grand opening".  Wondering through this store, however, makes this author's head spin contrasting the store's realities with Giant's "green store" statement

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Dawn Chorus Birdblog: Humungous Bird Science Edition

by matching mole

And now for something completely different....

No, it's not a quest featuring mysterious riddles.  Nor is it a rogue pootie diary.  It's real actual bird science.  I'm going to (ab)use my Dawn Chorus guest privileges this week to talk about behavioral and evolutionary research relating to our feathered friends.  Because this is a community diary I'm going to try and keep it light and cordon off the gritty details so that they doesn't harm innocent bystanders.  I'm also supplying pictures/video off the web and some background on the species involved.  If you have any questions feel free to ask.  Or if you want to talk about something completely different that's cool too.

continued at Daily Kos...

BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 68

by Gulf Watchers

Please rec the new Mothership #69 here. This one has expired.
The current ROV DIARY: Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV # 261 - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - Waiting for the "kill". - Gulf Watchers Overnight - peraspera

Rules of the Road

• We take volunteers for subsequent diaries in the sub diaries or ROV's as we have playfully coined them.
• Please rec this mothership diary, not the ROVs.
• Please be kind to fellow kossacks who may have limited bandwidth and refrain from posting images or videos.

PLEASE visit Pam LaPier's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!

continued at Daily Kos...

Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (House passes drilling bill edition)

by Neon Vincent

Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, and the environment.

This week's featured story comes from Reuters.

House approves oil spill reform bill
By Tom Doggett and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON | Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:16pm EDT

The House of Representatives on Friday approved the toughest reforms ever to offshore energy drilling practices, as Democrats narrowly pushed through an election-year response to BP's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Passing the bill as the House leaves for its six-week recess gives lawmakers the opportunity to return home boasting they reined in Big Oil and held BP responsible for the worst offshore oil disaster in U.S. history.

The vote was 209-193 on the bill supported by President Barack Obama.

More science, space, and environment stories after the jump.

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