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"Governments could slow global warming dramatically, and buy time to avert disastrous climate change, by slashing emissions of one of humanity's most familiar pollutants soot according to NASA scientists. A study by the space agency shows that cutting down on the pollutant can have an immediate cooling effect and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from air pollution at the same time. At the beginning of the make-or-break year in international attempts to negotiate a treaty to replace the Kyoto protocol, the soot removal proposal offers hope of a rapid new way of tackling global warming. Governments have long experience in acting against soot. Cutting its emissions has a virtually instantaneous effect, because it rapidly falls out of the atmosphere, unlike carbon dioxide which remains there for over 100 years. And because soot is one of the worst killers among all pollutants, radical reductions save lives and so should command popular and political support. The study from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics concludes that tackling the pollution provides ''substantial benefits for air quality while simultaneously contributing to climate change mitigation'' and ''may present a unique opportunity to engage parties and nations not yet fully committed to climate change mitigation for its own sake". Geoffrey Lean reports for the UK Independent January 4, 2008.

"Old mosquitoes usually spread disease, so Australian researchers figured out a way to make the pests die younger -- naturally, not poisoned. Scientists have been racing to genetically engineer mosquitoes to become resistant to diseases like malaria and dengue fever that plague millions around the world, as an alternative to mass spraying of insecticides. A new report Friday suggested a potentially less complicated approach: Breeding mosquitoes to carry an insect parasite that causes earlier death. Once a mosquito encounters dengue or malaria, it takes roughly two weeks of incubation before the insect can spread that pathogen by biting someone, meaning older mosquitoes are the more dangerous ones." Lauran Neergaard reports for the Associated Press January 2, 2008.

"The Interior Department announced a controversial decision late Wednesday to double the rate of logging on 2.6 million acres of federally owned forests in southwestern Oregon. In doing so, it brushed aside the objections of the governor and two federal agencies charged with guarding the quality of the area's water and the health of the fish that depend on it. The decision, which was posted on the Web sites of the Bureau of Land Management's Oregon offices, has revived the battle lines formed during the fight over the extensive logging of old-growth timber in the 1980s, a practice blamed for the rapid decline in populations of the northern spotted owl. The economies of the timber industry and Oregon's rural southwestern counties took a major hit when logging on federal lands in the area was cut back by 80 percent under the terms of the Northwest Forest Plan, which took effect about 15 years ago. Representatives of both groups applauded Wednesday's decision, saying it would revive local mills and timber companies." Felicity Barringer reports for the New York Times December 31, 2008.

"WASHINGTON -- A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel-fuel taxes is being urged by a federal commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads. The National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing, a 15-member panel created by Congress, is the second group in a year to call for higher fuel taxes. With motorists driving less and buying less fuel, the current 18.4-cent-a-gallon gas tax and 24.4-cent diesel tax are failing to raise enough to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs. In a report expected in late January, commission members say they will urge Congress to raise the gas tax 10 cents a gallon and the diesel-fuel tax 12 to 15 cents a gallon." Joan Lowy reports for the Associated Press January 2, 2008.

"A coalition of 115 conservation, animal protection, ranching, and faith-based organizations from across the United States today sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for agriculture secretary asking that he halt the government slaughter of millions of wild animals, including wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars, and prairie dogs. The letter faxed to Tom Vilsack requests that he reform the Agriculture Department's wildlife 'management' policies that the groups said 'for too long have focused on exterminating, rather than protecting, wildlife.' Each year the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 'secretive' Wildlife Services kills millions of wild animals, 'primarily on behalf of agribusiness,' the coalition wrote in its letter to Vilsack, a two-term Iowa governor." Environment News Service had the story January 2, 2008.

Michael Scott of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports January 4, 2008, on the time in 1969 that the Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it caught fire. The incident helped bring about the landmark Clean Water Act amendments of 1972. The substantial story includes photos of the river burning and video clips.

"After a blowout five years ago on the wall of a massive, above-ground coal ash landfill at TVA's Kingston power plant, engineers were under pressure to find a fix that was not only viable, but also economical. The blowout wasn't large but indicated that something was not quite right inside the 98-acre mound of sludge. Water was tunneling in the layers of ash and creating pressure points on the dike holding the structure in place. How the Tennessee Valley Authority decided to stabilize Kingston's ash landfill would have implications for its many other elevated waste dumps, an important tool in the agency's strategy to maximize its storage on-site and avoid more costly options. A Tennessean review of state records and some TVA documents shows that top officials rejected solutions that were deemed 'global fixes' because they were simply too costly. The most expensive option was listed at $25 million." Anne Paine reports for the Nashville Tennessesan January 4, 2009.

"A few little earthquakes here or there is just a part of everyday life when you live on top of the largest supervolcano in North America. But in the last eight days, there have been more than 400 earthquakes at Yellowstone National Park -- where the volcanic system powers the geysers, mudpots and steam vents. ... When a bunch of earthquakes occur in a concentrated area in a short amount of time, geologists call it a "swarm." They're not unheard of at Yellowstone, but rarely have the earthquakes reached the magnitude and frequency of the past week. ... Scientists don't know why this particular swarm is so intense, but Heasler says there's no need to worry about an imminent volcanic eruption. The last time the supervolcano erupted was 640,000 years ago." Travis Larchuk reports for NPR's All Things Considered, January 3, 2009.

"LOS ANGELES -- The Bush administration appears poised to push through a change in U.S. Forest Service agreements that would make it far easier for mountain forests to be converted to housing subdivisions. Mark E. Rey, the former timber lobbyist who heads the Forest Service, last week signaled his intent to formalize the controversial change before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. As a candidate, Obama campaigned against the measure in Montana, where local governments have complained of being blindsided by Rey's negotiating the policy shift behind closed doors with the nation's largest private landowner." Karl Vick reports for the Washington Post January 4, 2009.

"Falling prices for recyclables result in a glut of garbage, leaving a bounty of raw materials for enterprising artists." Joel Millman And Robert Guy Matthews report for the Wall Street Journal January 2, 2009.

"Coral growth has been sluggish since 1990 due to an increase in both sea temperature and acidity as a result of global warming." David Biello reports for Scientific American January 1, 2009.

"In an alarming yet little-noticed series of recent studies, scientists have concluded that Canada's precious forests, stressed from damage caused by global warming, insect infestations and persistent fires, have crossed an ominous line and are now pumping out more climate-changing carbon dioxide than they are sequestering." Howard Witt reports for the Chicago Tribune January 2, 2009.

"Despite recent saber rattling between state and federal officials, a new California law takes effect today that effectively bans the sale of toys and other children's products containing phthalates. These goods now may not contain more than 0.1 percent of phthalates, a colorless, oily chemical used in thousands of consumer products to impart flexibility and durability.The law, which narrowly passed the Legislature and received a tepid endorsement from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before he authorized it in 2007, sets the strictest standard nationwide for phthalates in consumer products. But in November, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a legal opinion stating that the federal ban on children's products, which sets the same limits on phthalate levels as the state, applied only to goods manufactured on or after Feb. 10, the date the federal law takes effect." Suzanne Bohan reports for the Contra Costa Times January 1, 2009.

"A popular fear of germs has led to an explosion in the number of products containing triclosan ..., a bactericide. Despite a growing body of research suggesting that triclosan is an endocrine-disrupting contaminant, a new U.S. EPA assessment of the chemical finds little cause for concern." Janet Pelley reports for Environmental Science & Technology December 31, 2008.

"More than three decades after Dow Chemical was blamed for some of the worst dioxin contamination in history, federal regulators are meeting with the company yet again about cleaning up polluted waterways in eastern Michigan. Though some hope the closed-door talks could kick-start a long-awaited cleanup, local environmental advocates fear they will lead only to more delays. The Tribune reported in May that a regional administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was ousted after she cut off similar negotiations with Dow, saying they were going nowhere." Michael Hawthorne reports for the Chicago Tribune January 1, 2009.

"Leaks, seepage and water-logged walls plagued the fly ash retention pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant for years before the structure's Dec. 22 catastrophic failure, according to the agency's February 2008 inspection report. While TVA hasn't ended its official probe into the cause of the failure, the report indicates the agency knew about leaks at the site for more than two decades and opted not to pay for long-term solutions to the problem." Scott Barker reports for the Knoxville News January 1, 2009.

"The Environmental Protection Agency failed to follow its own guidelines and made a basic error in evaluating how a toxic contaminant in rocket fuel harms human health, according to a report by the agency's inspector general. The contaminant, perchlorate, has been found in significant levels in drinking water in at least 400 locations; scientific studies indicate that perchlorate blocks the necessary accumulation of iodide in human thyroid glands. Iodide insufficiencies in pregnant women are 'associated with permanent mental deficits in the children,' the E.P.A. said. Perchlorate can occur naturally, but high concentrations have been found near military installations where it was used in testing rockets and missiles. The new report, issued late Tuesday, said the E.P.A. should not have looked at perchlorate individually, but should have followed its own guidance and examined the cumulative impact of perchlorate, other substances in the environment that inhibit the uptake of iodide by the thyroid and potentially inadequate supplies of iodide in American diets. While the report criticized the agency's analytical approach, it did not quarrel with two controversial regulatory actions involving perchlorate: one decision to set a safe dosage level four times greater than California's, and a second not to require cleanup of perchlorate contamination." Felicity Barringer reports for the New York Times December 31, 2009.

"Heavy rains on melting snow over the weekend caused sewage treatment plants across mid-Michigan to send discharges into nearby rivers." The Saginaw News had the story December 30, 2008.

PITTSBURGH -- "An environmental advocacy organization is suing Beaver County zinc smelter Horsehead Corp. for polluting the Ohio River under the federal Clean Water Act. Clean Water Action filed suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, claiming that Horsehead is guilty of more than 135 violations, including the discharge of illegal amounts of zinc, lead, selenium and chlorine into the Ohio River in Monaca. 'Horsehead Corp. has failed to comply with their water-pollution permit for many years now,' Myron Arnowitt, state director for Clean Water Action, said in a statement. 'It's time for this company to ensure that their discharges are not degrading the Ohio River.'" Allison M. Heinrichs reports for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review December 31, 2008.

"More zebra mussels have been found in the Maryland portion of the Susquehanna River, state environmental officials confirmed yesterday. The alien mussels, which can cause millions of dollars in damage to water supply and hydroelectric intake pipes and upset the local ecology, were attached to a boat at Glen Cove Marina in Harford County. Earlier this month, a single mussel was found within the intake hydroelectric station at Conowingo Dam, the first sighting in the state." Candus Thomson reports for the Baltimore Sun December 9, 2008.