Will your beach vacation make you sick this summer? from NRDC 8FEB12

THIS is disgusting, but we can do something about it. At the beach I always worry about sharks in the water, I don't want to have to worry about shit in the water too! Click the link to send your copy of the NRDC's letter to the EPA demanding stricter clean water / beach regulations, the deadline for comments on the EPA proposal is 21 FEB 12.

	Will your beach vacation make you sick this summer? A new EPA proposal would consider acceptable beach water pollution that would let 1 in 28 beachgoers get sick. Imagine if a restaurant served food that made 1 in 28 of its patrons sick. We'd close the place down -- and require it to be cleaned up before re-opening. The EPA's proposal is not progress. It is a public health failure. We must demand better. Millions of us will head to a U.S. beach this summer and get sick. Diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, rashes, eye infections and ear ailments -- we get these illnesses after swimming in water contaminated by sewage spills and polluted runoff. The Environmental Protection Agency had promised to update beach pollution regulations by October. But instead of making improvements, the agency took the lazy route and proposed virtually the same standards it issued in 1986. By the EPA's own account, those standards say it's just fine if 1 in 28 of us get sick when we go to the beach. Children are especially vulnerable, perhaps because they tend to submerge their heads more often and are more likely to swallow water when swimming. Our beautiful beaches are the top vacation destinations in the country. Coastal tourism, which generates substantial revenues for state and local governments, needs clean waterways to survive and thrive. Nothing ruins a day at the beach like diarrhea and vomiting. Stand up for your family's health! Tell the EPA to make America's beaches safer, especially for children. What to do Send a message, before the February 21st comment deadline, urging the EPA to protect our health and strengthen its proposal.

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EPA Issues New Standards For Coal-Burning Plants 7JUL11

FINALLY they are doing something right!

Listen to the Story

All Things Considered

[3 min 29 sec]

 

Enlarge AP Sunflower Electric Cooperative's coal-fired power plant in Holcomb, Kan., churns out electricity. Kansas is one of the states included in the new pollution rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency sent a strong message Thursday to power plants that burn coal. It's time to clean up dirty exhausts that travel long distances, and 75 percent of Americans will breathe healthier air as a result.
The new EPA transport rule is designed to clean up the pollution that blows from power plants into other states. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says it's about fairness.
"This is EPA, the federal government, doing what the federal government should and has a responsibility to all Americans to do. And that's leveling the playing field, ensuring that one community doesn't put out smog and soot at the expense of the residents downwind," she says.
The new rule replaces a similar Bush administration regulation that was struck down by a court that deemed it too lenient. The new rule will cut almost 2 million more tons of pollution per year than the Bush administration program.
States from Texas to New York will have to slash 70 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions and 50 percent of nitrogen oxides from power plants, compared with 2005 pollution levels.
Scientists say the fine particles and ozone from these plants contribute to deadly heart and lung failures.
The agency estimates the rule will be so potent that within three years, it will prevent as many as 34,000 premature deaths each year.
It's also expected to reduce hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks per year. That really resonates with Jackson, whose sons both had asthma when they were small. Her younger son still carries a rescue inhaler.
Jackson says she wants every parent with an asthmatic child to have "as close to a normal experience in childhood as possible."
She says less power plant pollution will mean fewer days when parents have to tell their kids they can't play outside because the air is bad.
"When you talk about asthma attacks, every single one can mean hours — if not days — of caring for a sick child or family member. It can mean hospitalization," she says.
That adds up to lots of costs for families and society. Jackson says that's part of why the new rule is projected to provide billions of dollars in public health benefits.
Some power companies complain the deadlines are too tough to allow them time to install pollution control equipment. So, they will have no choice but to shut down some older coal-fired power plants.
Pat Hemlepp represents American Electric Power, which is one of the country's biggest power companies, with plants in 11 states from Texas to Michigan.
"Taking power plants out of service like this pulls tax dollars out of the communities, pulls jobs out of communities, in addition to increasing electricity costs," Hemlepp says. "This is a region of the country that's struggling to recover from the economic downturn, and doing this on such a short timeline is an economic hit that could be avoided."
But overall, Harvard Economist Robert Stavins says, the new regulation is a real winner for the economy.
"It doesn't mean that there are no costs, but the benefits of the transport rule in terms of human health protection tremendously outweigh the costs of this," he says.
Stavins says even in parts of the country where electricity costs will increase a little bit, health care savings in those same communities will more than compensate.

TELL THE EPA: STOP TOXIC AIR POLLUTION from LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS 8APR11

BIG coal is fighting the new regulations proposed by the EPA regulating  mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants, after all, clean air will cut into their already obscene profit margins. Please click the link to send a message to the EPA asking them to adopt these new regulations, From the League of Conservation Voters

Click here to submit a public comment to the EPA.

Yesterday, the U.S. House passed an extreme bill that would permanently block the EPA’s ability to protect public health and hold polluters accountable under the Clean Air Act. Fortunately, on Wednesday, the U.S. Senate rejected four amendments that also would have blocked the EPA from applying commonsense safeguards to curb harmful pollution, including one that was the same as the House bill.

One thing is clear: the fight to protect clean air will surely continue as evidenced by those in Congress who have vowed to maintain attacks on the EPA and the environment - which is why, with the EPA having proposed the first-ever national standards for mercury and other toxic air pollution for power plants, we need to demonstrate strong public support for environmental protection.

Stop toxic air pollution. Click here to submit a public comment to the EPA saying you support the proposed new air pollution standards.

Every year, tons of pollutants like mercury and arsenic are pumped into the air we breathe, harming our environment and endangering our health.

Unfortunately, it only takes a small amount of toxic air pollution to cause serious, lifelong health complications. Toxic air pollutants - like mercury from power plants - cause neurological damage in children exposed in the womb and during early development.

But by implementing these new proposed safeguards, the EPA will be taking significant steps toward protecting our health. These proposed rules will protect us from many airborne toxins including mercury, arsenic, lead, dioxins, acid gas and six dozen other harmful pollutants.

Stand up for cleaner air. Click here to submit a public comment to the EPA saying you support the proposed new air pollution standards.

The EPA estimates that these new guidelines - which are 20 years in the making - will save as many as 17,000 American lives annually and will prevent up to 120,000 cases of childhood asthma and up to 11,000 cases of acute bronchitis in children.

Additionally, the EPA’s proposed rules are expected to generate anywhere between $60 and $140 billion worth of health cost savings - that represents a return on investment of between $5 and $14 back for every dollar we spend implementing the new guidelines.

With Big Oil, Dirty Coal and other dirty energy interests aggressively working to block the EPA from implementing vital clean air standards, it is more important than ever the EPA hear from you. Make your voice heard by submitting a public comment to the EPA.

Thank you,

Gene Karpinski
President
League of Conservation Voters

P.S. After you’ve submitted a public comment to the EPA, please ask your friends and family to do so via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter by using our new share page. Thank you.

BREAKING: EPA Vetoes Largest Mountaintop Removal Permit: New Era of Civility in the Coalfields? 13JAN11

VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE OF APPALACHIA!!!!! THANK YOU LISA JACKSON AND EPA!!!!!


It's been a long time coming. Now it's final. Lisa Jackson and the EPA have gone to the mountaintop and announced its veto of the largest mountaintop removal mining permit in Appalachia.
"This ushers in a new era of civility in the coalfields," said long-time coalfields justice leader Bo Webb. He added: "I think Judy Bonds just sent us all a little smile," referring to the recent passing of the "godmother" of the anti-mountaintop removal movement.
Invoking the rule of law and science in the central Appalachian coalfields, the EPA just announced its long awaited and extensively researched decision today to veto the 2,300-acre mountaintop removal mining permit at the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia. Basing their ruling on 404 (c) of the Clean Water Act, the EPA concluded that the proposed mine would have "unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas (including spawning and breeding areas), wildlife, or recreational areas."
This final determination overrules the Army Corps of Engineer's earlier approval of the Logan County mine.
In addition, the EPA noted:

The project, as permitted, will bury 6.6 miles of Pigeonroost Branch, Oldhouse Branch, and their tributaries under excess spoil generated by surface coal mining operations. These streams represent some of the last remaining least-disturbed, high quality stream and riparian resources within the Headwaters Spruce Fork sub-watershed and the Coal River sub-basin and contain important wildlife resources and habitat. The quality of these streams is comparable to a West Virginia-designated reference site, and the macroinvertebrate communities found in these streams, which are used as an indicator of quality, rank extremely high in comparison to other streams throughout the Central Appalachia ecoregion and the state of West Virginia. These streams perform critical hydrologic and biological functions, support diverse and productive biological communities, contribute to prevention of further degradation of downstream waters, and play an important role within the context of the overall Headwaters Spruce Fork subwatershed and Coal River sub-basin.

Charleston Gazette journalist Ken Ward has posted the EPA decision here. Ward quotes Peter S. Silva, EPA's assistant administrator for water, on today's decision:

The proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine would use destructive and unsustainable mining practices that jeopardize the health of Appalachian communities and clean water on which they depend. Coal and coal mining are part of our nation's energy future, and EPA has worked with companies to design mining operations that adequately protect our nation's water. We have responsibility under the law to protect water quality and safeguard the people who rely on clean water.

Living under a mountaintop removal operation in the Coal River Valley, anti-mountaintop removal movement leader Webb noted today:

This is very good news to so many people who live directly beneath mountaintop removal operations. It is encouraging to see the EPA exercise their authority to enforce the Clean Water Act. I hope the EPA will continue its obligation to enforce the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, to protect the people in Appalachia mountain communities.

This decision will not be without critics in the coal industry, including Big Coal-bankrolled political allies like Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, who repeated his support for his state's current lawsuit against the EPA on mountaintop removal permits in his State of the Union speech last night.
During his recent US Senate campaign to replace the venerable Sen. Robert Byrd, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin even fired a rifle in a campaign ad, declaring: "I'll take on Washington and this administration to get the federal government off of our back and out of our pockets. I'll cut federal spending and I'll repeal the bad parts of Obamacare. I sued EPA and I'll take dead aim at the cap-and-trade bill."
Noting the growing and deadly health care and water crises in the coalfields, Webb called for a new era of civil discourse in the debate over mountaintop removal mining, which has left the area in economic and environmental ruin, and a move toward a just transition to clean energy investment in his region.
Webb added: "Our children's future depends on it. I call upon the EPA, in the interest of public health to now issue an immediate moratorium on all mountaintop removal operations."

 

Tell the EPA to keep dangerous smog out of the air we breathe from NRDC 25OKT10

CLICK the header to join the NRDC's fight for cleaner air!


Tell the EPA to keep dangerous smog out of the air we breathe


Millions of Americans live in areas where smog pollution from power plants, factories and vehicles renders the air unhealthy to breathe. Smog (also referred to as ground-level ozone pollution) can cause asthma attacks, hospitalizations and premature deaths. Children, the elderly and people with lung disease are most adversely affected by high concentrations of ozone.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to soon issue tighter standards on smog. The EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee has unanimously recommended that the standards be tightened to adequately protect public health. According to the EPA's own analysis, stronger standards could prevent as many as 12,000 premature deaths, 58,000 asthma attacks, 21,000 hospital and emergency room visits and 5,300 non-fatal heart attacks every year.

Unsurprisingly, however, polluters and their allies are pushing back hard, arguing that the standard shouldn't be strengthened.
What to do
Send a message urging EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley to protect our health by strengthening smog standards.

EARTHJUSTICE E BRIEF 21OKT10

CALLS for action on wolves and coal ash, and great articles on the upcoming elections, clean energy, Arctic drilling, mountain top removal mining, clan air and more from Earthjustice, because the Earth needs a good lawyer...

Home About Earthjustice Take Action Donate October 2010

At a Glance: In The News Trip: Prop 23 Wolf Foes unEARTHED In The Win Take Action "We don't have all that much money." -Valero Energy spokesman explains why oil company only gave $4 million to support CA's Proposition 23. On The Ballot: Clean vs Dirty Energy America's strongest laws that regulate global warming emissions are in danger of being vetoed by voters in California. The passage of Proposition 23 could devastate clean energy efforts across the nation, warns Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen. Read More In The Election Aftermath... On Nov. 9, when the dust finally settles from the mid-term elections, join our conference call to hear an election assessment from Marty Hayden, VP for Policy and Legislation. The call starts at noon (PT). Go here for further details and to register.

Wolf Foes Arise in Congress A pack of congressmen and senators are taking aim at the Endangered Species Act after northern gray wolves were protected from hunting by the ESA. They've introduced legislation to remove ESA protections and restore hunting seasons. These are clear attempts to avoid a court order obtained by Earthjustice. Read the full story | Comment Support Us Wolves back in the crosshairs! Help save them. New legislation in Congress seeks to strip federal protections from the wolves of the northern Rockies.

Vote for Earthjustice! With elections coming up, Earthjustice is the candidate that really needs your vote. Help us advance to the next round of Free Range Studio's 2010 Youtopia contest. You can read more about our contest idea and cast up to 3 votes to help us advance here: Vote Today! From Earthjustice's blog: Liz Judge: Oil, dispersants, water and mystery mix six months after Gulf oil spill. Read More The Zuke: Denying climate change one straw at a time. More David Guest: Friends are foes in Florida water war. More

Around the world of Earthjustice: The Dangers of Protecting Mexico Torture, imprisonment and threats are seriously impeding efforts to protect Mexico's environment from harmful exploitation, according to a report issued by AIDA a partner organization of Earthjustice that works on behalf of the environment throughout the Americas. The report was presented to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights "to help strengthen protection of the right to a healthy environment in Mexico and safeguard the people who defend this human right."  Read More A Stormy Q and A Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman talks about why cleaning up stormwater pollution in Washington State is crucial to preserving the livelihood of the Pacific Northwest.  Read More Feds: Ignorance No Bar to Arctic Drilling A key federal agency apparently believes ignorance is no reason to not allow oil drilling in the Arctic.  Read More

Earthjustice and its allies won advances—or outright victories—across a broad front: Clean The Air, EPA Warns Valley Yielding to persistent advocacy by Earthjustice, the EPA has told the air district in the smoggy San Joaquin Valley that it has 18 months to fix a regulation that did nothing to clean up facilities that burn coal, petcoke, tires, biomass and municipal solid waste all of which significantly contribute to the valley's major air pollution issues. Read More Better Deal For Cleaning Everglades Earthjustice has won a better solution to keeping polluted runoff out of Florida's Everglades. A court is recommending that the state use large quantities of former sugar cane land to filter polluted runoff, instead of a $700 million reservoir project in the southern Everglades Agricultural Area. Read More Hawaii Shines Light On Solar Rooftops Hawaii's PUC has ordered the state's biggest utility to start rewarding homeowners and businesses that install rooft-top solar panels. This means that the utility must pay for any electricity sent from those rooftops to the grid. Read More Recommendation To Veto Spruce Mine Permit After years of watching their streams buried and waters contaminated by mountaintop removal mining, the people of Appalachia have received good news from the EPA a recommendation to veto a permit for one of the biggest mines has been sent to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Read More Dimming Unfriendly Lights in Hawaii Threatened and endangered seabirds in Kauai, Hawaii are getting a break through an agreement reached between a resort and Earthjustice clients. The St. Regis Princeville Resort agreed to reduce disruptive lighting and to fund programs aimed at restoring populations of threatened Newell's Shearwaters and endangered Hawaiian Petrels. Read More Lake Tahoe Development Stopped A development plan that would have greatly increased the number of piers, ramps and other facilities around Lake Tahoe has been thrown out by a federal judge two years after Earthjustice sued to stop development. Read More

Take Action Take Action: Clock is ticking on cleaning up coal ash... The coal and power industries don't want to clean up the coal ash mess they've made. We still have time to comment on the first-ever federal rule for coal ash disposal. Tell the EPA to set strong, federally enforceable safeguards against this hazardous waste! Take action today! Connect Join us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Watch us on YouTube! Earthjustice. Because the earth needs a good lawyer. Earthjustice is the nation's leading, non-profit law firm for the environment. To learn more about our work, visit our website, http://www.earthjustice.org. Photo Credits - Hawai'i Solar: Pink Dispatcher. Coal ash: © jerrygreerphotography.com. ©2010 Earthjustice | 426 17th Street, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612 | 510-550-6700 | enews@earthjustice.org