Week In Review Nov. 20-24, 2006

It was a short Thanksgiving week but these are the other articles, in addition to our top-line blog posts, that we covered this week in our daily WIMS environment report. Unlike other environmental newsletters, we don't leave you hanging for more information -- All of our articles contain links directly to the sources information. Plus, each daily issue also includes a complete summary and links to environmental Federal Register announcements and a U.S. EPA Daily Docket report. For complete information, or to try it at no charge (click here).

• Final Rule On Pesticides & Clean Water Act Exemptions - Nov 20: U.S. EPA signed a final rule clarifying two specific circumstances where a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit is not required to apply pesticides to or around water. [*Water, *Toxics]
  
• House Republican Moderates Say Drop House OCS Drilling Bill - Nov 20: Eighteen Moderate Republican Members of Congress released a letter today to House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) arguing that no further efforts should be made to promote the House bill on off-shore oil drilling (H.R. 4761). [*Energy, *Water]
  
• House Science Leaders Say Stop Dallying On Nanotechnology - On Nov 15: Retiring House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and incoming Chairman (now Ranking Democrat) Bart Gordon (D-TN) issued a joint statement in response to a paper published the journal Nature on November 16, laying out a research agenda to understand the environmental, health, and safety implications of nanotechnology. [*All]
  
• North Carolina Adopts Mercury Emission Regs - Nov 9: North Carolina's power plants must cut their mercury emissions substantially over the next 12 years or face shutting them down, under rules the State Environmental Management Commission (EMC) adopted. [*Air, *Toxics]
  
• Industry Groups Urge Supreme Court To Stop “Forum Shopping” - Nov 20: The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) joined several other organizations and businesses in an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court urging review of a decision by the West Virginia Supreme Court that they say would undermine efforts to prevent the Mountain State from being a magnet for asbestos and other mass tort cases. [*All]
  
• Spitzer's Environment Chief To Be NRDC Executive Director - Nov 20: After nearly eight years in charge of all New York State environmental enforcement for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (Governor-elect), Peter Lehner has accepted a top position at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). [*All]
  
• Great Lakes Regional Water Body To Meet - Nov 22: The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Regional Body announced that its next meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 at 2:00 PM (EST) in the 21st Floor Conference Room at 35 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago Illinois. [*Glakes]
  
• Canada Calls For "Truly Global Solution To Combat Climate Change" - Nov 17: Honorable Rona Ambrose, Canada's new Minister of the Environment, outlined Canada’s achievements at the 12th Conference of the Parties (COP12) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Nairobi, Kenya. [*Climate]
  
• World Bank’s Annual Environment Matters Report - Nov 8: The World Bank’s annual publication, Environment Matters, indicates that many developing countries are losing 4 to 8 percent of GDP annually due to environmental degradation. [*All]
  
• Papers On CAFO Health & Environment Issues - Nov 14: The Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health, published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has recently posted articles relating to environmental and health issues associated with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). [*Water, Air]
  
• Report Explores Microbial Energy Conversion Technologies - Nov 17: A new report from the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) explores the details of microbial energy conversion technologies. [*Energy]
  
• Pew Center Nairobi Summary & Related Reports - Nov 20: The Pew Center on Global Climate Change has released a summary of the just-completed United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Nairobi, Kenya and related reports. [*Climate]
  
• "Building" Solutions To Climate Change - Nov 16: According to a new "In-Brief" by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change entitled, Building Solutions to Climate Change released at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Denver, energy used in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings produces about 43 percent of U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, and these emissions are growing as Americans build more buildings and bigger homes. [*Climate]
  
• Report Calls For EPA & USDA Coordination On Chesapeake Bay Watershed - Nov 21: U.S. EPA's Office of Inspector General (OIG), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDAOIG), has recently issued a new report entitled, Saving the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Requires Better Coordination of Environmental and Agricultural Resources (Report No. 2007-P-0000 11/20/06).[*Water]
  
• 6th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference - Nov 17: The University of Toledo College of Law and its affiliated Legal Institute of the Great Lakes will hold their 6th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference on December 1, 2006 at the University of Toledo College of Law. [*GLakes]
  
• International Trade Conference On Great Lakes Compact and Agreement - Nov 21: The Institute for Trade in the Americas at Michigan State University College of Law has announced The Great Lakes Water Basin: International Law and Policy Crossroads Conference. [*GLakes]
  
• Senator Inhofe Vows To Lead Opposition To Climate Change Legislation - Nov 16: Outspoken critic of human-induced global warming, James Inhofe (R-OK), current Chairman of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee held a press conference to "debunk global warming alarmism" and offer comments on the COP12/MOP2 meeting in Kenya [See related article above]. [*Climate]
  
• Senators Warner & Inhofe Spar Over Environment Committee Position - Nov 17: U.S. Senator John Warner (R-VA), announced that he will seek election as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) in the next Congress, which begins in January. [*All]
  
• Groups Sue To Force Climate Change Report - Nov 14: A coalition of conservation groups filed suit today against the Bush administration for refusing to complete a National Assessment of the impact of global warming on the environment, economy, human health and human safety of the United States. [*Climate]
  
• EPA Announces 1,000th Superfund Site Cleanup - Nov 20: U.S. EPA announced that it has reached a major milestone -- the completion of construction at the 1,000th site under Superfund, the Federal government program that cleans up abandoned hazardous waste sites. [*Remed]
  
• New Brownfield Papers From Northeast-Midwest Institute - Nov 20: The Northeast-Midwest Institute has released three new papers on brownfield cleanup and redevelopment; State Brownfield Tax Incentives; Local Brownfield Financing Tools: Structures and Strategies for Spurring Cleanup and Redevelopment; and State and Local Non-Cash Tools and Strategies for Enhancing a Brownfield Project's Bottom Line. [*Remed]
  
• Sierra Club Guide To America’s Best New Development - Nov 16: The Sierra Club released its second annual, Guide to America’s Best New Development, featuring ten ground-breaking projects which they say "help keep our drinking water clean." [*Water, *Land]
  
• Climate Change Concerns Rank High In Large Poll - Nov 16: According to a large, national Zogby Interactive poll that surveyed 19,356 adults and contained a margin of error of less than a percentage point (+/- 0.7 percentage points), half of Americans who voted in the mid-term elections said concern about global warming made a difference in who they voted for on Election Day 2006. [*Climate]
  
• NRDC & Rock Group Launch "Move America Beyond Oil" Campaign - Nov 17: The rock band Green Day and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announced a major new campaign, Move America Beyond Oil, to mobilize and empower music fans to demand clean, renewable energy solutions that break the nation's dependence on oil which they say threatens both national security and the environment. [*Energy]