EPA Sets New Regulations to Curb Air Pollution From Fracking – April 18, 2012

Actual Implementation Deadline Delayed to January 2015

Photo by Rick HurdleThe new rules require natural gas well operators to capture gas that escapes
the well during the production process, which they currently "flare" or burn.

The US Environmental Protection Agency today announced the first-ever federal standards to reduce air pollution from fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, for oil and natural gas extraction, but delayed the actual implementation of the regulations.

The new rules require natural gas well operators to capture gas that escapes the well during the production process, but giving in to industry pressure, it allows drillers a nearly three-year window to put emissions capture equipment in place. In the meantime, companies can… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

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Are We Ready for Degrowth? – April 12, 2012

Like It or Not We Are Going to Have to Slow Down, Says New Research

A slew of reports on the state of our shared planet, its resources, and sustainable living are being released these days in the run up to the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June. I have been browsing through some of them the past couple of weeks and, really, it seems there’s not much that’s new to learn. Almost all the studies point out the depressing truth that we are fast reaching the limits of Earth’s carrying capacity and yet are miserably far behind in our efforts to carve out a just, sustainable, and environmentally sound world.

Photo courtesy Library of CongressWorldwatch Institute's… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

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“Pink Slime” is Controversial, for More Reasons Than You Might Expect – April 5, 2012

Treated Ground Beef Filler Raises Troubling Questions about Cultural Norms and Ethical Food Consumption

Photo by Ernesto Andrade The long-standing controversy over the ground beef filler came to a head last month after it was reveal-
ed that the USDA was going to keep buying the product for use in the National School Lunch Program.

I’m not a pure vegetarian. I do eat meat (organic, grass-fed, if that’s any excuse) a few times a year. So I’ve been following with great interest all the brouhaha this past month over the ground beef filler “pink slime” or “lean finely textured beef,” (LFTB) as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) calls it.

The “lean” trimmings comprise ground connective tissue from… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

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EPA Proposes Strict Emissions Limits on Future Power Plants – March 27, 2012

Industry, GOP Cry Foul, but Enviros Say New Rules Don't Not Make Much Difference Since Coal's Already on Its Way Out

The US Environmental Protection Agency today proposed the first-ever federal standards to limit greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants, a key source of climate change-causing carbon dioxide emissions.

Photo by Bruno D RodriguesThe proposed new rules concern only new units that will be built in the future. Existing power plants
and those that have already been cleared by the EPA are exempt from the restrictions.

Fossil fuel-fired power plants are responsible for 40 percent of the man-made CO₂ emissions in the US. They are also a major source of air and water pollution, contributing to smog, acid rain, and mercury contamination of lakes, streams… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

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Anti-Nuclear Protest in Small Coastal Indian Town Faces Govt. Repression – March 23, 2012

Hundrends of Men, Women, and Children Camp out Near Nuke Plant Site in Koondankulam, Demand Plant be Shut Down

On March 11, 2011 as people in Koondankulam and Idinthakrai, two coastal villages in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, watched the unfolding nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan on TV in horror, they couldn’t help but think — this could happen to us.

Photo by Kebinston FernandoMen, women and children, protesting the plant are camping out on the grounds of a
century-old local church in Idinthakarai, a village near the nuclear plant site.

Now a year later, thousands of local villagers and anti-nuclear activists are locked in a tense face off with the Indian State over an unfinished nuclear power project… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

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