Water


USGS: Global Warming-Caused Sea-Ice Loss Not Irreversible

Sea-ice habitats essential to polar bears would likely respond positively should countries curb global greenhouse gas emissions.

Water Treatment Plant Will Desalinate Byproducts of Coal Seam Gas Extraction

QGC, an Australian coal seam gas-explorer and -producer, has signed a contract with a consortium of GE and Laing O’Rourke for the construction of a water treatment plant in southwest Queensland that will support the region’s rapidly growing coal seam gas industry.

EPA Levies Hefty Fine on Calif. Company for Making Untested Health Claims

EPA has fined Monterey Park, Calif.-based Kinetic Solutions Inc. $82,400 for allegedly selling unregistered and misbranded pesticides and making unproven claims about their effectiveness.

Amy Pruden

Researchers Find that 90 Percent of Antibiotics Leave the Body Intact

Researchers have learned that up to 90 percent of antibiotics consumed pass through an organism’s body without metabolizing, meaning the drugs can leave the body almost intact through normal bodily functions.

IBM Helps Corpus Christi Build a Smarter City

IBM is working with the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, to continuously improve efficiency and sustainability for the city's more than 280,000 residents.

OSHA Issues $787,000 in Penalties Against Wisconsin Firm

The citation includes 14 alleged willful and one serious violation against WRR Environmental Services Co. of Eau Claire in connection with a June 29 explosion and fire at its plant, OSHA announced Tuesday.

Largest ThinFilm Solar Module Plant in the US to Open in Indiana

Abound Solar, a manufacturer of next-generation, cadmium telluride, thin-film photovoltaic solar modules, announced that it has leased a 781,750-square-foot facility in Tipton, Ind., where it will be establishing a solar module manufacturing plant.

EPA and Peace Corps Look to Collaborate on Future Projects

The two agencies will explore opportunities to collaborate on a wide range of environmental issues – including efforts to bring cleaner cookstoves to millions in the developing world – while engaging young people, expanding the conversation on environmentalism, and supporting local solutions for communities here at home and around the world.



Southwestern Forests at Increased Risk from Climate Warming and Drought

Slower-growing trees. More severe fires. More bark beetle outbreaks. A lot more dead trees. And big changes in where various tree species are dominant in southwestern U.S. forests.

Coast Guard Gives Endangered Sea Turtles Lift Home

Twenty sea turtles from the New England Aquarium were taken from Hanscom Air Force Base in Lincoln, Mass., to Orlando, Fla., where they will continue rehabilitation at Sea World before being potentially released back into the wild.

NOAA Restricts Fishing in Aleutian Islands to Protect Steller Sea Lions

NOAA’s Fisheries Service issued its final interim rule to reduce commercial fishing for groundfish stocks in the Aleutian Islands in an effort to provide more food for the endangered western Steller sea lion.

Billionaire Unveils Russia's First Hybrid Car

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov unveiled a new hybrid car that is due to enter the market in 2012, a first in a country where motorists often show scant regard for the environment.

Public, Private Partners Conclude Major Cleanup of Ottawa River

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state of Ohio and the Ottawa River Group announced that they have completed a major cleanup project on the Ottawa River.

University Constructing 2.8-Megawatt Fuel Cell that Runs on Waste Methane

Construction of a fuel cell with enough capacity to power 2,800 homes has begun on the University of California’s San Diego campus as part of a renewable-energy project to turn waste methane gas from the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant directly into electricity without combustion.

Dekalb County, Ga., to Stem Overflows with Sewer Upgrade

The county will pay more than $1 million in civil penalties and supplemental environmental project costs.

2011 National Beach Conference Set for March

EPA seeks abstracts for presentations; deadline is Jan. 14.

EPA 2010 Enforcement to Reduce 1.4B Pounds of Pollutants

289 defendants were charged for allegedly committing environmental crimes, 198 criminals were convicted, and $41 million were assessed in fines and restitution.

Chesapeake Bay Oysters

NRL Aids in Maryland Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Efforts

The Naval Research Lab’s Chesapeake Bay Detachment is now host to the latest addition to the state’s oyster restoration and revitalization effort.

Upcoming Summit Targets Bed Bugs

The summit is open to the public and will focus on ways the federal government and others can continue to work together on management and control of bed bugs.

Genetically Engineered Microorganism Metabolizes Waste into Methane

A University of Arkansas researcher and his colleagues have created the first methane-producing microorganism that can metabolize complex carbon structures, which could lead to microbial recycling of waste products and their transformation into natural gas.