Echo

Obama’s EPA cracks down, orders more tests for BP refinery

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(IL) Chicago Tribune – The Obama administration is cracking down on BP as the oil company overhauls its massive refinery in northwest Indiana, one of the largest sources of air pollution in the Chicago area. In response to a petition from environmental groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday ordered Indiana regulators to revamp a new operating permit for the Midwest’s biggest refinery. The groups, along with elected officials in Illinois, contend Indiana had allowed the oil giant to avoid stringent requirements under the federal Clean Air Act. More

Energy

Clark: Electric cars a national security issue

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – During a speech today in Detroit, retired U.S. Army General and former presidential candidate Wesley Clark cast the effort to develop electric vehicles as a critical national security need that is essential to help the United States reduce its dependence on foreign oil. The issue “is absolutely dead center in the bull’s-eye for national security,” Clark said during a three-day conference called “The Business of Plugging In,” which is being held at Motor City Casino in Detroit. More

Echo

Environmental officials: River Rouge asphalt fire not a problem

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(MI) The Detroit News – Environmental officials have determined there is no dangerous fallout from an industrial fire that broke out in River Rouge this morning. Paving-grade asphalt in a 70-square-yard area went up in flames during a cleanup shortly after 9 a.m., said Curt Robinson, terminal manager at Michigan Marine Terminal in River Rouge. It had spilled from a leak in May at the property, he said. An oil storage tank on the property also exploded. More

Echo

State mercury rules breakthrough for children’s health, water quality

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(MI) The Michigan News – Leading Michigan environmental groups today applauded the long-awaited finalization of state rules designed to reduce mercury pollution from power plants as much as 90 percent starting in 2015. “We are pleased that Gov. Granholm is following through on her campaign promise to help curb this dangerous metal from further contaminating our Great Lakes, poisoning Michigan’s fish and threatening our children,” said James Clift of the Michigan Environmental Council. “These reductions are affordable, achievable, and of paramount importance to creating a healthier Michigan.” More

Echo

Environmentalists vow to halt BP construction

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(IN) The Post-Tribune – BP could be forced to halt construction on its Whiting refinery if the company and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management lowballed air pollution as much as environmentalists allege. Environmentalists say IDEM allowed BP to increase air pollution without the pollution control equipment required by the Clean Air Act. They vowed Tuesday to do what they can to stop construction while BP puts in the best available pollution controls. More

Nearshore

Saugatuck dunes deal great news for future

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(MI) Kalamazoo Gazette – Helen Taylor couldn’t have said it any better. Taylor, The Nature Conservancy’s state director, described the recent agreement to acquire 171 acres of dunes at Saugatuck as “a huge step forward in the marathon effort to protect this property in perpetuity for the people of Michigan.”

The area includes the south portion of the McClendon property (formerly the Denison property) adjacent to Saugatuck’s Oval Beach City Park. Announcement of the deal was made by the city of Saugatuck, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan and The Nature Conservancy. More

Echo

Greece polluted site remains uncleaned

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(NY) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle – Eight years after agreeing to clean up contamination at an old shipyard and military plant on Dewey Avenue in Greece, the property owner has given up, leaving New York state with the task of overseeing remediation of the heavily polluted site. Longtime Greece residents remember the huge building at 4777 Dewey Ave. as the Odenbach Shipbuilding Co. In the 1950s, the structure became Air Force Plant No. 51, where bomber and missile-related equipment was manufactured.

Echo

America’s dirty little secret

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(ON) The Globe and Mail –  The United States has proved to be the biggest laggard, refusing to sign the 1997 Kyoto Protocol or to adopt any effective domestic emissions controls. As we head into the global summit in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the U.S. is once again the focus of concern. Even now, American politics remain strongly divided over climate change — though President Barack Obama has new opportunities to break the logjam. A year after the 1992 treaty, Bill Clinton tried to pass an energy tax that would have helped the U.S. to begin reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. The proposal not only failed, but triggered a political backlash.

Echo

Second annual Michigan energy prize is $100,000

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(MI) The Mudpuppy – It’s Year Two for the Clean Energy Prize competition and sponsors DTE Energy and the University of Michigan have changed the rules. This time around, teams don’t have to include a U-M student. Any team that includes a student from a Michigan college or university is eligible. Go green, if you want (as in Michigan State University).  More