Welcome Guest | log in

help
sign up for the wlt newsletter

globalert

Environmental Health News Updates

Environmental Health News
( Links to articles in today's press about environmental health. Many more links available today at www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org )
Shallow-water platform fire raises wider questions on oil safety,
The fire Thursday at an oil platform off the Louisiana coast may not, in the end, do much harm to the Gulf of Mexico. But it could still mean trouble for both the Obama administration and the oil industry - by raising new questions about the gulf's oil fields.
Mariner has dealt with fires before.
Mariner Energy Inc. has dealt with a history of fires, injuries and safety violations, including on the platform that caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday. But such problems aren't unusual in an industry that sees hundreds of safety and environmental problems every year.
Concern mounts over oil pipeline safety.
When federal regulators learned last year that a Houston company built pipelines using defective steel, they ordered hundreds of sections dug up and replaced. Now, some pipeline steel that once would have been ordered replaced if discovered, will remain in service. That includes pipe on the new $5.2 billion Keystone oil pipeline.
Massey execs' access to mine after blast questioned.
Two officials from mine owner Massey Energy were underground unsupervised for four hours after the blast. They remained underground even after the Mine Safety and Health Administration closed the mine to all but official rescuers and authorized activity.
BP says curb on drilling would imperil payouts.
BP is warning Congress that if lawmakers pass legislation that bars the company from getting new offshore drilling permits, it may not have the money to pay for all the damages caused by its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tibetan nomads struggle as grasslands disappear from the roof of the world.
The Tibetan plateau has been destroyed by rising temperatures, excess livestock and plagues of insects and rodents. Scientists say desertification of the mountain grasslands of the Tibetan plateau is accelerating climate change.
Fight against mine could be a bloody affair.
Ramping up pressure on the federal government, native leaders on Thursday expressed fierce opposition to a proposed copper-gold mine in the British Columbia Interior and warned of violent consequences if the project is approved.
Most Map Ta Phut projects off hook.
The Administrative Court has ordered the operating permits of only two industrial projects in the Map Ta Phut area to be terminated, allowing 74 other earlier-suspended projects to go ahead. Villagers affected by industrial pollution reacted emotionally to the verdict, which many considered as a defeat.
Amazon at lowest level in over 40 years in Peru: Experts.
The Amazon, the world's biggest river, is at its lowest level in over 40 years near its source in northeastern Peru, causing havoc in a region where it is used as the only form of travel, authorities said.
Fears grow over global food supply.
Russia announced a 12-month extension of its grain export ban on Thursday, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08 which spread through developing countries dependent on imports.

Links to Other News Sites