Recent Press Clips

Following are press clips from national publications that relate to PEER issues, campaigns and news releases.


PHOSPHORUS AND THE DEP: KEEPING NJ'S WATERS HEALTHY
NJ Star-Ledger — July 1, 2009
State environmental officials are considering changes in how phosphorus levels are measured in the state's rivers and streams, but their proposal is no improvement on the current standard. ...more
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NEVADA WHISTLEBLOWER GETS HIS JOB BACK FOR NOW
RGJ.com — July 1, 2009
A federal agency has been ordered to rehire an ex-worker until an appeals board can hold a hearing on his whistleblower claim that he was fired in retaliation for telling his boss two co-workers illegally shot mountain lions from a government airplane in Nevada. ...more
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BREATHING EASIER ON ARTIFICIAL TURF
Philadelphia Inquirer — June 30, 2009
Jeff Ruch, executive director of PEER, said the EPA endorsed artificial-turf fields as safe in 1981 and then ignored its own scientists' requests to take another look. ...more
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WILDLIFE ADVOCATES OBJECT TO OBAMA FWS NOMINEE
AllGov — June 29, 2009
President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the environmental agency, Sam D. Hamilton, routinely avoided using the powerful federal law while heading up the agency’s regional operations in the Southeast, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). ...more
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KOFA WILDLIFE REFUGE IN PERIL
Zonie Report — June 29, 2009
PEER, a government employee group that focuses on environmental ethics, says the refuge is one of 10 imperiled wildlife refuges in the country. Its members attribute this to gas and power lines that cut through the refuge and policies that have helped bighorn sheep at the expense of other species. ...more
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SHREDDED TYRES IN PLAYGROUNDS COULD BE TOXIC RISK
Environmental Data Interactive UK — June 29, 2009
An American NGO that prides itself on being made up of public sector whistle blowers is claiming that shredded tyres used as surfacing in playgrounds may provide a good route for recycling an awkward material, but could present a hidden health threat. ...more
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GROUP CLAIMS KOFA REFUGE THREATENED DUE TO POWER CORRIDOR, SPECIES MANAGEMENT
Yuma Sun — June 27, 2009
"When you look at what's going on with Kofa, it's not being run in a way that we think is consistent with respecting the ecological web," said Daniel Patterson, ecologist and southwest director for PEER. ...more
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OBAMA'S USED GREEN TEAM: MEET THE RETREADS
CounterPunch — June 26, 2009
Of all of Barack Obama’s airy platitudes about change none were more vapid than those about the environment and within that category Obama has had little to say about matters concerning public lands and endangered species. He is, it seems, letting his bureaucratic appointments do the talking for him ...more
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OBAMA'S FWS NOMINEE IGNORED ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
Environmental News Service — June 23, 2009
The man nominated by President Barack Obama to administer the Endangered Species Act rarely used it to protect species, according to agency statistics released Monday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. ...more
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DOD, DEFENSE CONTRACTORS LOBBY TO BLOCK PERCHLORATE ADVISORY
New York Times — June 22, 2009
The Pentagon and the defense industry is lobbying the White House to prevent U.S. EPA from tightening a health advisory for a rocket-fuel chemical. ...more
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KILLING LIONS TO SAVE SHEEP FAULTED
Arizona Daily Star — June 22, 2009
Charging that the Kofa is being run as a game farm, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said in its new report that the refuge is managed to help desert bighorn sheep at the expense of other species, particularly mountain lions. ...more
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HORICON MARSH IMPERILED, REPORT SAYS
Daily Citizen — June 22, 2009
According to the PEER report, polution from the Rock River...is poisoning the marsh with silt, phosphorus and agricultural chemicals. ...more
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THERE MAY BE DANGER IN RUBBER PLAY SURFACES
USA Today — June 21, 2009
Yet EPA officials say they can't vouch for the safety of recycled rubber, which can be contaminated with lead and other toxins, according to internal documents released under the Freedom of Information Act to the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER. ...more
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WYOMING'S NATIONAL ELK REFUGE ON TEN MOST IMPERILED LIST
New West — June 21, 2009
A grim outlook is predicted for the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge in Wyoming unless the sprawling home to elk and bison gets an infusion of new policies and resources, according to a new report from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). ...more
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ENVIRONMENTALISTS: ELK REFUGE AMONG TEN IMPERILED
CBS4Denver — June 21, 2009
An environmental group has listed the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole among the nation's 10 most imperiled wildlife refuges. PEER criticized artificial feeding of elk at the refuge during the winter, saying the practice spreads disease and degrades habitat. ...more
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WATER WOES, WIND TURBINES THREATENING HORICON REFUGE, REPORT SAYS
Wisconsin State Journal — June 20, 2009
Nearby wind turbines, declining water quality and decreasing water levels at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Wisconsin earned the popular birders’ destination the dubious distinction of being ranked the third most imperiled refuge in the nation, according to a list compiled by PEER. ...more
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ELK REFUGE 'IMPERILED'
Jackson Hole Daily — June 20, 2009
An environmental group named the National Elk Refuge as one of the country’s ten most imperiled refuges Thursday, indicting the 20,000-acre property’s crowded feedlines for problems with disease and habitat degradation. The group, PEER, chose the list from more than 540 refuges in all 50 states. ...more
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DC CIRCUIT RULES FOR FIRED PARK POLICE CHIEF
Courthouse News Service — June 18, 2009
The D.C. Circuit reinstated a lawsuit filed by former U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers, who accused the government of destroying a performance review that would have exonerated her after she was fired for talking to the media about budget woes. ...more
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YUKON DELTA AMONG TOP TEN IMPERILED REFUGES
KTUU.com — June 18, 2009
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility released a report Thursday showing refuges across the country facing threats from human activities. ...more
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EPA TO INVESTIGATE PLAYGROUND MULCH
South Bergenite — June 17, 2009
After the memos were recently uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act request by the environmental watchdog group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the group lambasted the EPA for endorsing the recycled rubber without first investigating its potential hazards. ...more
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COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF FIRED U.S. PARK POLICE CHIEF
WTOP. com — June 17, 2009
A court ruling could put a former U.S. Park Police Chief one step closer toward getting her job back. ...more
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BLUE RIBBON COALITION DOUBTS OBAMA BLM PICK
motorcycle-usa.com — June 17, 2009
But the Coalition is concerned about Abbey's association with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and their sub-groups, Public Employees for Environmental responsibility (PEER) and Rangers for Responsible Recreation, after his retirement from the BLM. ...more
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EPA EXAMINES HEALTH IMPACT OF SHREDDED TIRES
Earth911 — June 17, 2009
While the investigation is underway, the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is requesting that the EPA remove its endorsement of using crumb rubber in consumer products. ...more
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GROUPS APPEAL KAIBAB FOREST ROAD MANAGEMENT PLAN
Arizona Daily Sun — June 16, 2009
A group of conservationists is appealing a road management plan for the Kaibab National Forest's Tusayan Ranger District in northern Arizona. ...more
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CITIZENS OPPOSE OBAMA'S LATEST FAVORITE FOR OSM(RE)
Charleston Gazette — June 16, 2009
Those comments came after various citizen groups, along with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, criticized Obama for offering the job to Glenda Owens, a longtime Interior Department employee whose background didn’t exactly show she was all that i ...more
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COURT RULES THAT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN'T JUST DESTROY EVIDENCE
FedHallofShame.com — June 16, 2009
...here is today’s news: whistleblower Teresa Chambers, the Park Service Chief forced out during the Bush Administration, won her privacy act appeal. The Department of Interior destroyed her favorable performance record, and the DC Court of Appeals ruled that the Agency’s actions violated the law. ...more
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PEER: BAD NEWS ON OBAMA'S SUB-CABINET ENVIRONMENTAL APPOINTMENTS
Eye on Miami — June 15, 2009
Here's what Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has to say about another poor sub-cabinet level pick: "President Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service did not protect science from political interference or scientists from retaliation, according to PEER. ...more
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BROKEN TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM BEING FIXED
kitv.com — June 14, 2009
A ship is repairing or replacing 10 defunct ocean buoys in the Pacific Tsunami Warning System after an environmental group called attention to the "large dead zones" in the ocean. ...more
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HEARD AROUND THE WEST
RIN: Read It News — June 14, 2009
According to PEER (no pun intended; it's the acronym for the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) this was the first time the Webcam functioned as a protector of natural resources in the park, or (depending on your point of view) as an intrusive Big Brother. ...more
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TSUNAMI BUOYS UNDER REPAIR
Honolulu Star-Bulletin — June 14, 2009
A group called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility called attention to "large dead zones" in the system of 39 Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis buoys. ...more
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CUSHIONING FOR KIDS COULD BE TOXIC
Allegheny Times — June 14, 2009
According to the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the EPA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have for years endorsed shredded tires as a way to reduce injuries, but neither ever investigated the potential toxicity to children. ...more
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TOUGHER CARCINOGEN LIMITS ARE PUSHED
New Jersey Star-Ledger — June 12, 2009
New Jersey scientists are urging the state to adopt the strictest levels ever for Chromium-6, the deadly carcinogen linked to lung cancer and which contaminates more than 200 former industrial properties in Hudson County. ...more
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N.J. SCIENTISTS URGE STATE TO ADOPT STRICTEST LEVELS FOR CANCER-LINKED CHROMIUM
nj.com — June 11, 2009
Environmental activists, including NRDC, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the New Jersey Sierra Club, have accused the DEP of resisting tighter standards for fear it could stop redevelopment of Hudson County's shoreline fronting the New York skyline. ...more
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GROUP CONCERNED ABOUT TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
Oregon Public Broadcasting News — June 11, 2009
The advocacy group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, is pressing federal leaders to fix holes in its tsunami warning system. PEER says it's passing along concerns from frustrated scientists within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. ...more
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RECYCLED TIRE FILLER STUDIED FOR SAFETY
The Journal Gazette — June 10, 2009
They provide a softer fall. They give second life to trash. But could those shredded tires on playgrounds make kids sick? ...more
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STATE AGENCIES SILENCED ON LAKE PLANS?
Jackson Free Press — June 10, 2009
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks remains strangely silent and without comment on two plans to partially inundate a state park stagger drunkenly forward. ...more
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INTERIOR SUED TO OBTAIN OIL ROYALTY REVENUE INFORMATION
Red Green and Blue — June 10, 2009
Is the U.S. Interior Department wrongly withholding information that will reveal whether taxpayers are being ripped off in a controversial oil and gas royalty program? Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) seem to think so, according to a lawsuit they filed today. Interior claims ...more
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EPA DOCUMENTS RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT SHREDDED TIRES
Waste & Recycling News — June 9, 2009
The U.S. EPA is examining whether shredded tires are safe to use on playgrounds. ...more
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WILDLIFE WHISTLEBLOWER CASE IN NV
AP — June 9, 2009
A former professional hunter for the U.S. government claims in a whistleblower complaint that he was fired in retaliation for reporting co-workers who illegally shot two mountain lions from an airplane in northeast Nevada. ...more
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PLAYGROUNDS: THE IDEAL CANCER-DELIVERY SYSTEM?
Washington City Paper — June 8, 2009
For years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has endorsed recycling old tires into cushiony playground surfaces like the one slated to go under the “play rocks” in Shaw’s planned Tenth Street Park. ...more
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EPA EYES RUBBER MATERIAL AT PLAY AREAS
Denver Post — June 6, 2009
After years of recommending ground-up tires to pad playground and athletic field surfaces, the Environmental Protection Agency is now investigating whether the recycled road rubber poses health risks to children. ...more
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DROP IN STATE'S POLLUTION FINES IRKS GROUP
Tampa Tribune — June 6, 2009
An environmental group says that Florida Department of Environmental Protection enforcement actions against polluters have declined. ...more
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NEW JERSEY KEEPING ENVIRONMENTAL RECORDS UNDER WRAPS
The Star-Ledger — June 5, 2009
In April we learned that a Department of Environmental Protection report concluded the state's standard for levels of hexavalent chromium in soil is 240 times higher than it should be. The report was leaked to the press, just before it was due to be released in response to a request filed under the ...more
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GOVERNMENT STUDIES PLAYGROUND RISKS
AP — June 4, 2009
The federal government is reconsidering whether sports fields and playgrounds made from ground-up tires could harm children's health after some Environmental Protection Agency scientists raised concerns, documents show. ...more
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GOVERNMENT RETHINKING USE OF GROUND-UP TIRES ON PLAYGROUNDS
Asbury Park Press (AP) — June 4, 2009
For years, the Environmental Protection Agency has endorsed the recycling of ground-up tires to cushion the surfaces of children's playgrounds and sports fields — the same material used for the Obama family's new White House playground. ...more
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OBAMAS: EPA INVESTIGATING YOUR PLAYGROUND SURFACE
Daily Kos — June 4, 2009
This is my fourth diary on the issue of rubber mulch, which has become part of the White House playscape, where Sasha and Malia Obama and their friends play. Their playground surface was made from 1,400 used tires. The tires were ground up and dyed green and called rubber mulch. ...more
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CONCOM DROP SUIT AGAINST WESTPORT SELECTMEN
EastBayRI.com — June 3, 2009
A settlement announced last week has put to an end to a two-year-old lawsuit by the town Conservation Commission against the Board of Selectmen. ...more
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ENVIRONMENTALISTS RIP DEP PROPOSAL AS A 'GAG ORDER'
The Star-Ledger — June 2, 2009
The state Department of Environmental Protection proposed restrictions yesterday on the public release of its scientific studies and reports, which environmental groups lambasted as a sweeping "gag order" spurred by a controversy over chromium pollution in Hudson County. ...more
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MORE THAN ONE BRIDGE NECESSARY
Tennessean — May 31, 2009
At least two new six-lane bridges and a third "non-auto" bridge into West Nashville will be required if the proposed May Town project gets built in Bells Bend. ...more
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GUNS IN PARKS: SAFE, SCARY, OR A SIDESHOW?
The New York Times — May 22, 2009
When the Senate and House overwhelmingly approved legislation regulating the credit card industry, they also endorsed a measure attached to the bill that would allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and refuges. ...more
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10 THINGS NATIONAL PARKS WON'T TELL YOU
Smart Money — May 22, 2009
FOR BUDGET-MINDED adventurers planning their vacation, America’s 391 national parks and historical sites are a big draw. Roughly 275 million visitors a year trek to such natural wonders as the Grand Canyon or landmarks like the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, their popularity is a double-edged swo ...more
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ENCROACHING ON FEDERAL LANDS: OIL AND GAS COMPANY TO DRILL AT AZTEC RUINS
The Daily Times — May 20, 2009
Construction of a natural gas well within the expanded boundaries of Aztec Ruins National Monument could begin as soon as Tuesday. ...more
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REPORT: NM LACKS WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION
KOB.com — May 19, 2009
A new study reports New Mexico provides the least amount of protection in the country for government whistleblowers. ...more
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6 WALK ONTO OLD FAITHFUL, GET CITED
Billings Gazette (AP) — May 15, 2009
The National Park Service has cited six people for walking on Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park after someone outside the park reported seeing them on a live park webcast, Chief Ranger Tim Reid said Tuesday. ...more
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LAWMAKERS DISPUTE PRIME HOOK CHARGES
Cape Gazette — May 15, 2009
State House Minority Leader Richard Cathcart, R-Middletown, says charges by an environmental watchdog group against a local legislator are baseless. ...more
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BUSH TEAM STILL HAUNTS ENVIRONMENTALS
Politico — May 15, 2009
Environmentalists who see this year as their best hope for a major global warming bill can’t seem to escape a familiar foe: former Bush administration officials they fought year after year on energy and climate issues. ...more
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OLD FAITHFUL INCIDENT BROADCASTS CONTROVERSY
The Washington Post — May 14, 2009
The National Park Service has cited six men with illegal possession of park material, off-trail travel and public urination after an incident May 4 at Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park. The men, all employees of a park concessionaire, left the boardwalk near the geyser and two of the ...more
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OBAMA SPLITS WITH HOUSE ON WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS
Dow Jones Newswires — May 14, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama's promise of open government is facing an early test over a push to expand protections for whistleblowers, including those who work at federal agencies. ...more
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YELLOWSTONE WEBCAM CATCHES MEN USING OLD FAITHFUL AS TOILET
Red Green and Blue — May 13, 2009
A webcam installed last year to broadcast live streaming video of Yellowstone National Park’s iconic Old Faithful Geyser around the world was instrumental in the arrest of six vandals last week. As seen in photos released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a group of ...more
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DELDOT DITCH WORK VIOLATES WETLANDS LAW
Delaware Online — May 12, 2009
State transportation officials conceded Monday that they inadvertently violated state and federal wetland laws when they excavated drainage ditches along Fowler Beach Road at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. ...more
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WATCHDOG GROUP WANTS DELDOT IN COURT
Cape Gazette — May 12, 2009
Transportation officials announced last week ditching work in Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge violated state and federal permitting regulations. A criminal complaint against Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) was filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Mon ...more
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DELDOT ROUTINE MUST BE REVIEWED
Cape Gazette — May 12, 2009
The Delaware Department of Transportation last week told the Cape Gazette that it had undertaken routine maintenance of Fowler Beach Road, a narrow, two-lane strip that runs through Prime Hook national Wildlife Refuge to the Delaware Bay. ...more
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A BATTLE AT SEA (GRANT)
Inside Higher Ed — May 6, 2009
Last March, as his employer held a conference down the street about the future of offshore development in Alaska's Bristol Bay region, Rick Steiner held a news conference criticizing the fact that the University of Alaska event featured Shell Oil as a prominent sponsor. “If Shell is allowed to have ...more
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GROUPS PRESS STATE TO ADOPT STRICTER CHROMIUM CLEANUP STANDARDS
The Jersey City Independent — May 6, 2009
On Monday, a coalition of community and environmental groups filed petitions for rulemaking with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), asking the agency to adopt more stringent standards for hexavalent chromium cleanup. ...more
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SALAZAR TAKES QUICK ACTION, BUT TOUGH DECISIONS LIE AHEAD
Federal Times — May 5, 2009
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar took over an Interior Department riddled with ethical problems and management challenges — and he has moved quickly over the last three months to clean them up. He ordered a review of the Minerals Management Service’s troubled royalty collection program and referred e ...more
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RUMBLE REPORT FINALLY GOES PUBLIC
The Western News — May 5, 2009
An internal memo criticizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s cleanup of asbestos in Libby was released to the public last week under less stringent Freedom of Information Act guidelines set by President Barack Obama’s administration. ...more
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NEW ARIZ. PARKS CHIEF ONCE VANDALIZED PARK PROPERTY
Arizona Central — May 4, 2009
The woman chosen to be the next director of Arizona's state parks once carved her name into a historic park property in southeastern Arizona. She also helped recover thousands of acres of burned parkland in San Diego County and launched an innovative system for making campground reservations online ...more
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PLAN TO PROTECT BIGHORN SHEEP PUTS COUGARS IN CROSSHAIRS
The Zonie Report — May 1, 2009
Cougars with a taste for bighorn sheep could find themselves back in the crosshairs of state wildlife management agents as early as this summer. ...more
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LET'S NOT RUSH TO KILL COUGARS
Arizona Central — May 1, 2009
Lions and sheep. An emotional combination. Especially when mountain-lion populations seem to be increasing on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in western Arizona while bighorn-sheep numbers are down. Shoot the lions? No, say environmentalists. ...more
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GOVERNMENT RELEASES LIBBY ASBESTOS MEMO
Seattle Post-Intelligencer — April 30, 2009
HELENA, Mont. -- A government memorandum identifying public-health concerns about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's asbestos cleanup in Libby has been released a week after a group sued for disclosure, citing fruitless attempts to obtain the document through the Freedom of Information Act.S ...more
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MODIFYING THE DEBATE
Honolulu Weekly — April 29, 2009
As the state Legislature hammers out the final details of a bill banning genetically modified (GM) taro, events are unfolding at the national level that could render moot the contentious local debate over altering a plant that many Hawaiians consider sacred. ...more
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MORATORIUM ON KILLING MOUNTAIN LIONS EXTENDED
Yuma Sun — April 27, 2009
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has extended a self-imposed moratorium on the shooting of offending GPS-collared mountain lions on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge for another three months. ...more
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HOW ABOUT "E" FOR EGG ON YOUR FACE?
Asbury Park Press — April 26, 2009
TRENTON — Looks like it's going to take more than a campaign built on the "Es" to convince the majority of voters Gov. Corzine should remain in office. The latest Quinnipiac University Poll shows 54 percent disapprove of the job he's doing. ...more
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STATE ORDERS RUBICON TRAIL CLEANUP
Tahoe Daily Tribune — April 25, 2009
The Rubicon Trail is a mess, and El Dorado County and the Eldorado National Forest have to do something about it starting this summer, according to a decision by state water quality managers this week. ...more
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OBAMA STILL LEANING TOWARD INSIDER FOR OSM(RE)?
Charleston Gazette — April 24, 2009
The group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has decided to weigh in again on the Obama administration’s plans for the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. ...more
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THE TRANSITION LINGERS ON
Washington Post — April 24, 2009
Everyone thought they had boxed up their belongings, popped open the champagne and choppered out of town on Inauguration Day. Democrats celebrated the incoming administration. ...more
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GROUP WANTS EPA DOCUMENT TIED TO ASBESTOS CLEANUP
Great Falls Tribune — April 24, 2009
HELENA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is being sued over allegations it has improperly withheld a report about environmental cleanup in Libby. The suit by the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, seeks the court-ordered release of a 2006 report prepared by a ...more
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GROUP DEMANDS EPA REPORT TIED TO LIBBY ASBESTOS CLEANUP
Flathead Beacon — April 24, 2009
HELENA – A lawsuit charges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is improperly withholding a report about "mishandling" of environmental cleanup in Libby, the northwestern Montana town where some residents blame an old mine's asbestos for widespread disease and dozens of deaths. ...more
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KOFA REFUGE COUGAR KILLINGS ON HOLD
Arizona Republic — April 24, 2009
TUCSON - The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has extended a moratorium on killing mountain lions on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge until July 31, but conservationists said Thursday that they aren't satisfied ...more
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WHY DID CORZINE WITHHOLD DEP REPORT?
Asbury Park Press — April 23, 2009
A new NJ Department of Environmental Protection report says our state’s standards are more than 200 times laxer for chromium in the soil than needed to protect health. Chromium in soil is associated with cancer. But hold your cheers for the DEP. The report was finished April 8. The Washington-based ...more
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PARK SERVICE WARNS OF SOLAR PROJECTS' IMAPACT ON MOJAVE DESERT
New York Times — April 23, 2009
A National Park Service official has warned the Bureau of Land Management that approving dozens of solar power plants in southern Nevada could dramatically impact water supplies across the arid region. ...more
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REPORT LABELS LIMIT ON POLLUTANT A HEALTH HAZARD
Star Ledger — April 22, 2009
New Jersey scientists have concluded in a new report that the state's allowable standard for an industrial, cancer-causing pollutant is far too high -- a finding that may affect urban redevelopment and chromium cleanups in Hudson County. ...more
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PARK WIRELESS PLAN SET
Jackson Hole Daily — April 21, 2009
A final plan for wireless communications in Yellowstone provides the potential for a modest increase in developed areas while protecting backcountry and historic sites, National Park Service officials say. ...more
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SIERRA SPORTSMEN'S CLUB DISCUSSES POLITICS, IMPROVEMENTS
Lassen County News — April 21, 2009
The Sierra Sportsmen’s Club and the Friends of the National Rifle Association met in the Veteran’s Memorial building on Monday, April 13 to discuss upcoming events and projects scheduled for the remainder of the year. ...more
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NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE CONCERNED OVER SOLAR POWER PLANS ON BLM LANDS IN WEST
National Parks Traveler — April 20, 2009
The National Park Service has been trying to raise its "climate friendly" image in recent months, but it's concerned about the potential impact huge solar power arrays on Western lands could have on national parks. ...more
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YELLOWSTONE UNVEILS WIRELESS COMMUNICATION PLAN
Billings Gazette — April 20, 2009
Yellowstone National Park has promised to move a cell phone tower overlooking Old Faithful geyser, but would accept applications for a new cell tower near the community of Lake under its wireless communications plan unveiled Monday. ...more
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DESERT CLASH IN WEST OVER SOLAR POTENTIAL, WATER
Santa Fe New Mexican — April 18, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A westward dash to power electricity-hungry cities by cashing in on the desert's most abundant resource - sunshine - is clashing with efforts to protect the tiny pupfish and desert tortoise and stinginess over the region's rarest resource: water. ...more
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SULPHUR BANK SUPERFUND SITE TO RECEIVE MILLIONS IN FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS
Lake County News — April 16, 2009
CLEARLAKE OAKS – A new allocation of federal stimulus money will soon be heading to Lake County. On Wednesday, Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, announced $600 million in new funding new funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ...more
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CONSERVATION GROUP SUES OVER MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL BISON RANGE
Flathead Beacon — April 14, 2009
MISSOULA – A conservation group sued the Interior Department this week over the government's plan to manage the National Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation near Missoula. ...more
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SPEAKING SCIENTIFICALLY WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR
Congressional Quarterly — April 13, 2009
President Obama has made a point of reaching out to scientists, from his inaugural pledge to “restore science to its rightful place” in the making of policy, to his directive last month that agencies develop whistleblower protections for their scientists. ...more
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JUST WHAT IS DRIVING THOSE RAIL OBJECTORS, ANYWAY?
South Coast Today — April 12, 2009
f you have any doubt about the lengths that suburban opponents of the proposed Southcoast commuter rail project will go, read about how a national environmental group — whose New England branch just happens to be based in Easton, Mass. — recently attacked Congressman Barney Frank's support of the pr ...more
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OSM 'AT A CROSSROADS,' RAHALL SAYS
The Charleston Gazette — April 11, 2009
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The federal Office of Surface Mining is "at a crossroads," and President Obama should choose a strong leader who will reform the long-troubled agency, House Natural Resources Chairman Nick J. Rahall said Friday. ...more
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TOWNS SPAR OVER COMPLEX
Boston Globe — April 9, 2009
Sharon Hills is designed as a "smart growth" housing project that will net the town of Sharon more than $3 million in taxes a year. But some Stoughton and Easton residents say there's nothing smart about it. ...more
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WILDLIFE POACHING ALLEGED ON GUAM
Stars and Stripes — April 8, 2009
TOKYO — An environmental worker at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam has filed a complaint with the Pentagon saying base officials allow illegal poaching and encroach on protected habitats. ...more
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SWAPPING BUS FOR TRAIN LOCALLY UNPOPULAR
The Herald News — April 7, 2009
An express bus route is one of three narrowed-down options for connecting SouthCoast residents to Boston, and it's an idea that leaves community and organization leaders sharply divided. ...more
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