Tuesday, March 29, 2011

US Senate May Vote To Halt EPA Rules On Wednesday

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110329-715098.html

I feel that if this cannot get passed, when will anything be done? When will it be allowed to be passed? Especially now if the Democrats are thinking to vote against it. These rules would control the greenhouse gas emissions, mostly limiting the carbon dioxide emission from factories, power plants and other sources. Even though the first of these rules are already in effect, requiring new and upgraded facilities to hold emissions permits- it just needs to be followed through. If these bills keep getting knocked down, I do not know how this country is going to get itself out of this predicament.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Concern in Tokyo over radiation in tap water

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake

Radiation from Japan's damanged nuclear plant has now leaked into their drinking water making it unsafe for babies to drink. People have bascially attacked stores to buy the last of the bottled waters even though they were advised not to hoard because people who were majorally effected by the tsunami will have nothing. Also, radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has seeped into raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips, from areas around the plant. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was halting imports of Japanese dairy and produce from the region near the facility. The radiation levels in the water-210 becquerels of iodine-131 per liter of water-is more than twice the recommended limit of 100 becquerels per liter for infants. They said the levels posed no immediate health risk for older children or adults. There is still some trouble with stabilizing the plant, but the workers have been told to evacuate. However there are places now that have no drinking water and this is a problem. Poor Japan...

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

E.P.A. Proposes New Emission Standards for Power Plants

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/science/earth/17epa.html?_r=1&hpw

EPA has proposed the first national standard for emissions for mercury and other toxins from coal-burning plants. This rule could lead to the early closing of dozens of generating stations which will obviously be challenged by the industries and the republicans in Congress. Having this standard will prevent thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of cases of disease a year. It was said that households could expect to see their electric bills rise by $3 to $4 a month when the regulation is fully in force after 2015. Also, it was said that installing and maintaining smokestack scrubbers and other control technology would create 31,000 short-term construction jobs and 9,000 permanent utility sector jobs. The cost, 10 billion, is going to be one of the most expensive rules in history. The National Association of Manufacturers said the proposed rule would lead to higher electricity prices and significant job losses. However, others are saying that caring for a child with a birth defect will be more expensive then all of this. We all know money is an issue, but once again no one is looking at the long term benefits.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

O'Malley's wind energy plan raises cost concerns

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/03/AR2011030305856.html

Maryland's governor O'Malley has a plan to have offshore wind development. However, everyone is against it because of the cost to residents. He isn't really sure how much its going to cost exactly but his estimate is around $9....and everyone is complaining. In the long run, this is going to benefit everyone because it will be cleaner and more efficient energy and will also develop more jobs. There are some Republicans though, who refuse to support this wind plan no matter what the cost is even if the cost decreases. The governor's plan would require Maryland utilities to sign 25-year agreements to buy offshore wind power at a price far above the current market rate. The subsidy would go to developers who say they could not secure financing for the estimated $1.5 billion project otherwise. The cost would be spread among all residential and commercial customers through a monthly fee on electric bills. Yes, there will obviously be charges but wouldn't it be better to start a new energy source now then regret it in the long run when all the oil runs out and they don't have an alternative. They will be sorry that they didn't pay the extra money.

Random Blog!

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything BUT I was watching TV, and there was a commercial for this Big Cat Iniative and they said "cause an uproar" to help the endangered big cats. So, I looked it up online and wanted to help as much as I could so every view this trailer gets on youtube, $.10 will be donated to lion conservation by the NGS. Here it is!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ7SvK7w1xA&feature=bf_play&playnext=1&list=QL&index=1

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Oil Jumps Above $102 Per Barrel

I was going to do an article about how they threw away the offshore drilling plan, but when I returned to the website the article was nowhere to be found. So, I found this instead!

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/03/02/business/AP-US-Oil-Prices-Glance.html?_r=1&hp

This shows the breakdown of all the costs for oil as of today. Right now, each barrel has settled over $102 which is not going to be good to our gas prices.