WIMS Environmental HotSheet 2/10/14

<> Remarks by the President at Signing of the Farm Bill -- MI- Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan 2:16 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Spartans! Go, Green!  AUDIENCE: Go, White!  THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.  Everybody have a seat here. It's good to be at Michigan State. . .

• H.R. 2642 Details

<> Annual EPA Enforcement Results Highlight Focus on Major Environmental Violations - The U.S. EPA released its annual enforcement and compliance results demonstrating a focus on violations that have the most impact on public health. Our enforcement work over the past year reflects our focus on the biggest violators and the cas...

<> C40 Mayors Summit Demonstrates Why Cities Are Leading On Global Climate Change - During the Summit, C40 released a landmark report, Climate Action in Megacities Volume 2.0 (CAM 2.0), developed in partnership with consultancy firm Arup.

<> U.S. Sailors Sick From Fukushima Radiation File New Suit Against Tokyo Electric Power - Citing a wide range of ailments from leukemia to blindness to birth defects, 79 American veterans of 2011's earthquake/tsunami relief Operation Tomadachi ("Friendship") have filed a new $1 billion class action lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power. The suit includes an infant born with a genetic condition to a sailor who served on the USS Ronald Reagan as radiation poured over it. . .

<> Chlidren Exposed to Increasing Concentrations of Pyrethroid Insecticides- (Beyond Pesticides, February 10, 2014)   A recent study has found that exposure to pyrethroids is increasing among children and adults. The study also finds that children are still widely exposure to chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate chemical that has been banned for household use for over 12 years.

<> A full month after West Virginia spill, many questions linger … along with the chemical's distinctive odor - By Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist with EDF. Today marks exactly a month since what is now said to be 10,000 gallons of "crude MCHM" – mixed with what was later found to have included other chemicals – spilled into West Virginia's Elk River, contaminated 1,700 miles of piping in the water distribution system for nine counties. . .

<> New Tool Available to Help Track Spilled Oil - Computer model can help with current, future clean-up efforts. A newly developed computer model holds the promise of helping scientists track and predict where oil will go after a spill, sometimes years later.  U.S. Geological Survey scientists developed the model as a way of tracking the movement of sand and oil found along the Gulf of Mexico since the . . .

<> Simplifying the Energy Tax Code - The following post is SAFE's contribution to a dialogue on the relative benefits of changing the energy tax code, from the OurEnergyPorlicy.org forum. Senator Baucus should be commended for moving our nation closer to comprehensive tax reform, particularly as it relates to the energy tax code. The current system is a complex patchwork of incentives that would benefit from. . . 

<> EPA Evaluation Finds Use of Coal Ash in Concrete and Wallboard Appropriate- Using a newly developed methodology, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released its evaluation of the two largest beneficial uses of encapsulated coal combustion residuals (CCR or coal ash): use in concrete as a substitute for portland cement, and the use of flue gas...

<> Energy Department Announces Funding to Improve the Resiliency of the Electric Grid - Energy Department Announces Funding to Improve the Resiliency of the Electric Grid In support of the President's State of the Union address and Climate Action Plan, the Department of Energy today announced up to $7 million to advance the design of microgrids -- technology that will help communities become more adaptive and prepared for power outages caused by severe. . .

<> As natural gas prices climb, drillers agree to cut flaring - If North Dakota was a country, it would rank fifth behind Russia, Nigeria, Iran, and Iraq on the list of worst natural gas wasters, according to the World Bank. The New York Times compares the level of flaring in North Dakota's Bakken Shale to the emissions caused by two medium-sized coal fired power plants. This level of waste is allowing nearly a third of the natural gas being 

<> New Report: Early Lessons Learned in Bringing SSL to Market - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a new report that documents early challenges and lessons learned in the development of the SSL market. Entitled "Solid- State Lighting: Early Lessons Learned on the Way to Market," it summarizes early actions taken by DOE and others to avoid potential problems that were anticipated based on lessons learned from the market. . . 

<> Beyond bulbs: Illinois raises the bar on energy efficiency- As more customers switch to high-efficiency lighting, utilities are having to look elsewhere to meet energy conservation mandates. (Photo by Dan McKay via Creative Commons) What happens when the "low-hanging fruit" of energy efficiency runs out? Illinois is about to find out. After years of heavy reliance on lighting upgrades and other programs, the state's two largest utilities. . .

<> Top Wolf Scientists Unanimous: Science Doesn't Support Plan to Strip Protections - Center for Biological Diversity

<> DOE Announces Webinars on Natural Gas for Biomass Technologies, Additive Manufacturing for Fuel Cells, and More - February 5, 2014, DOE Announces Webinars on Natural Gas for Biomass Technologies, Additive Manufacturing for Fuel Cells, and More EERE offers webinars to the public on a range of subjects, from adopting the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced registration is typically required.