Environment

Senate Democrats criticize political involvement in toxic chemical decisions
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says extensive involvement by EPA managers, White House budget officials, and other agencies has eroded the independence of EPA scientists charged with determining the health risks posed by chemicals
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Partnership to produce sugarcane-based diesel
High corn prices have driven California-based biofuel specialist Amyris to join with a Brazilian company to produce sugarcane-based diesel
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Technological breakthrough in the fight to cut greenhouse gases
New, efficient method found to convert waste carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemical compounds known as cyclic carbonates; researchers estimate that the technology has the potential to use up to 48 million tons of waste CO2 per year, reducing the U.K. emissions by about four percent
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NTR invests in SES
Irish renewable energy company buys controlling interest in SES; SES is developing two of the world’s largest solar generating projects in the Imperial Valley and Mojave Desert
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AWWA urges scientific approach to pharmaceuticals in drinking water
The sky may not be falling: Stories about pharmaceutical traces in U.S. drinking water abound, but an expert from Southern Nevada Water Authority testifies before Senate subcommittee that worries about the ill effects of such traces are exaggerated
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Emerging water contaminants a growing worry
As worries about pharmaceutical contamination of U.S. drinking water increase, a non-profit organization increases its efforts to build a coalition of organizations to research the issue
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Chicago testing Lake Michigan water for drugs
Lab tests found traces of pharmaceuticals in the water of Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water for millions in the greater Chicago area; city water authorities launch a thorough water testing campaign
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New way to estimate size and frequency of meteorite impacts
How large was the meteorite which hit Earth 65 million years ago, leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs? Now we know: Four to six kilometers in diameter; scientists offer new methods to measure the size and frequency of meteorite impact
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One VC's view: "Water is the next oil"
VC hopes to capitalize on an increasingly scarce resource
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Clean Diesel licenses WMF technology to China's Headway
The U.S. EPA gave Clean Diesel’s Wire Mesh Filter technology high marks, and China needs it: At the beginning of the year it signed up to the Euro IV PM emission standards for light and medium duty trucks; a clean diesel technology will allow it to meet the treaty’s standards
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Regional nuclear war would create near-global ozone hole
A limited nuclear weapons exchange between Pakistan and India using their current arsenals could create a near-global ozone hole, triggering human health problems and wreaking environmental havoc for at least a decade, according to a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder
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Small businesses offer real-world environmental technologies
EPA is one of eleven federal agencies which participate in the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program; a surprising number of small companies offer innovative and effective technologies to deal with environmental problems
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Australia, Japan in joint clean-coal project
The Australian and Japanese government, and several companies join in retrofitting a coal-fired boiler at Callide A power station in Central Queensland with oxy-firing technology which will burn coal in a mixture of oxygen and recirculated flue gases
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Ballast-free cargo ship design to reduce invasion of non-native species
As worries about non-native species invading the great Lakes mount, Wolverines researchers develop ballast-free cargo ship design; at least 185 non-native aquatic species have been identified in the Great Lakes, and ballast water is blamed for the introduction of most
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Researchers warn that Lake Mead is drying up
Lake Mead is a key source of water for for millions of people in the southwestern United States; research shows that if current trends — usage, climate change — continue, the lake may dry up by 2021
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