Environmental Protection Agency

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Arsenic in Water May Sap IQ
 Arsenic 
 in Water 
 May Sap IQ 
study says
Apr 3, 2014 2:50 PM CDT

Arsenic in Water May Sap IQ

At levels well below the EPA's guidelines

(Newser) - Could your water be making you dumber? If it has arsenic in it, it might, a new study suggests. Researchers followed 272 Maine schoolchildren over the course of five years, and found that those whose water contained arsenic tended to have lower IQs, the Portland Press Herald reports. "Everyone...

BP Allowed Back in Gulf Waters

British Petroleum and the EPA reach agreement

(Newser) - BP is taking a big step in its recovery following 2010's massive oil spill . The US has agreed to lift the 2012 ban that kept the oil company from doing business with the US government—including seeking contracts in the Gulf of Mexico. That means the company can begin...

EPA's New Rule Will Make Gas Pricier, Earth-Healthier

Oil refiners will need to cut gasoline's sulfur content some 60%

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency is today putting in place a new rule to drastically cut sulfur from gasoline, a measure it says will ultimately save lives, the New York Times reports. Sulfur in gasoline renders vehicle pollution control systems less effective, boosting smog-causing emissions associated with heart and lung disease,...

Toxic Waste &#39;Vanishes&#39; Off California Coast
Toxic Waste 'Vanishes'
Off California Coast
in case you missed it
Nov 23, 2013 7:00 PM CST

Toxic Waste 'Vanishes' Off California Coast

Compounds mysteriously lower along Palos Verdes Shelf

(Newser) - Scientists are scratching their heads over evidence that toxic waste fouling the California seafloor has begun to disappear—for no real reason, the LA Times reports. A 17-square-mile area off the coast of LA county has long been a horrific dumping ground for the pesticide DDT and industrial compounds known...

Obama to Bypass Congress, Put Limits on Power Plants

EPA to make announcement today

(Newser) - For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency will set limits on the greenhouse gases power plants can emit. Today, the agency will announce that new coal plants' carbon emissions must stay below 1,100 pounds per megawatt hour, while new natural gas plants must maintain emissions below 1,000...

Obama Gets His EPA Chief
 Obama Gets 
 His EPA Chief 
Jul 18, 2013 4:37 PM CDT

Obama Gets His EPA Chief

Senate approves Gina McCarthy, and labor chief Thomas Perez, too

(Newser) - Two of President Obama's long-stalled nominees cleared the Senate today, thanks to this week's filibuster deal : Gina McCarthy is the new EPA chief, and Thomas Perez is the new labor secretary, reports the Hill and Wall Street Journal . The big question on Perez is how aggressive he will...

What to Watch for in Today's Climate Speech

Obama to set out landmark regulations, but rocky road ahead

(Newser) - Today, President Obama will unveil his plans to fight climate change—"the global threat of our time," he said last week—in a speech at Georgetown University. He's taking on the threat without help from Congress , though lawmakers could potentially seize on a law that lets them...

EPA Finds Workers Using 'Man Caves'

Audit also uncovers vermin feces and 'pervasive' mold

(Newser) - Contractors for the Environmental Protection Agency have apparently been hard at work—in secret man caves furnished with pin-ups, TVs, fridges, and comfy couches. The EPA says it uncovered the screened-off rooms in a warehouse in Landover, Md, where contractors have supplied services to the agency since 2007. Most of...

GOP Senators Boycott Vote on New EPA Chief

Democrats accuse them of obstructionism

(Newser) - Republicans on the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee refused to show up yesterday for a vote to confirm President Obama's nominee to head the EPA , complaining that Gina McCarthy hadn't responded to their inquiries. "We're not asking to amend any bedrock environmental laws,"...

Beekeepers Battle EPA Over Pesticide

Environmentalists want neonicotinoids banned

(Newser) - Beekeepers and environmentalists sued the EPA last week over its approval of some of America's most popular pesticides, the latest salvo in an ongoing battle over products they blame for falling bee populations . NPR took a look this morning at the struggle over neonicotinoids, which show up in a...

EPA: 55% of US Streams, Rivers in Bad Shape

Survey finds just a fifth of waterways in good health

(Newser) - America's millions of miles of rivers and streams are in terrible shape, an extensive Environmental Protection Agency survey has found. After sampling close to 2,000 locations ranging from the Mississippi to tiny streams, the EPA found that just a fifth of rivers and streams are in good enough...

Obama Naming Energy, EPA Honchos Today

Picks Ernest Moniz, Gina McCarthy to fill the key vacancies

(Newser) - President Obama will appoint a new energy secretary and new head of the Environmental Protection Agency today, according to a White House official. Obama is nominating MIT scientist Ernest Moniz to head the Energy Department and EPA veteran Gina McCarthy to run the environmental agency. She currently serves as EPA'...

EPA Rethinks Hybrid Mileage
 EPA Rethinks Hybrid Mileage 
Mar 1, 2013 1:31 PM CST

EPA Rethinks Hybrid Mileage

And hauls in Ford for special testing

(Newser) - The EPA is taking the unusual step of hauling in Ford's C-Max hybrid for special testing as it reevaluates its rules for determining mileage for next-generation hybrids, USA Today reports. Usually, the EPA lets automakers test their fuel mileage themselves according to its rules, but the agency has had...

EPA Boss Quit Over Keystone XL

Lisa Jackson left post because Obama is changing his position: insider

(Newser) - Here's the latest on the eco-drama going on in DC: Lisa Jackson, who last week left her post as the head of the EPA, apparently stepped down because President Obama is now planning to change course and throw his support behind the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, reports the New ...

EPA Head Lisa Jackson Stepping Down

Jackson's tenure marked by big fights with Republicans

(Newser) - The Obama administration's chief environmental watchdog, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, is stepping down after a nearly four-year tenure marked by high-profile brawls over global warming pollution, the Keystone XL oil pipeline, new controls on coal-fired plants, and several other hot-button issues that affect the nation's economy and people'...

New Sandy Fear: 45 Superfund Sites Were in Storm's Path

Storm surge could have stirred up a lot of toxic waste

(Newser) - Add toxic waste to the litany of Sandy cleanup concerns. Some 45 Superfund sites in New York and New Jersey were within a half-mile of areas vulnerable to storm surge, the Wall Street Journal reports. And the EPA says that at least a few such sites—seen as America's...

In Face of Gas Woes, Great News at the Pump

Gas prices falling everywhere else, but crisis persists in worst-hit areas

(Newser) - More steps in the effort to ease the post-Hurricane Sandy fuel crisis: UPI reports that the EPA lifted clean diesel regulations in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and NYC area, allowing vehicles to use heating oil for emergency response purposes, while the Energy Department said it was working with the Pentagon...

EPA: Hyundai, Kia Exaggerated Fuel Claims

Automakers will give debit cards to reimburse nearly 1 million buyers

(Newser) - The EPA says Hyundai and Kia overstated the fuel efficiency of more than 900,000 of their recent vehicles by as much as 6 miles per gallon, reports the Los Angeles Times . The South Korean automakers apologized, blamed "procedural errors," and promised to send customers debit cards to...

New Rules for Autos: 54.5 MPG by 2025

EPA finalizes stricter standards for cars and trucks

(Newser) - The Obama administration today finalized a major upgrade to America's fuel economy standards that will force new cars and trucks to average 54.5 miles a gallon by 2025. The final rules rolled out today are essentially the same ones proposed last year , the Detroit News reports, but they...

EPA's New Soot Rules Pose Threat to Obama

11 states demanded action on air pollution, but others will likely be irked

(Newser) - The Obama administration didn't want to tighten air pollution regulations until after the election—but lawsuits from 11 states have forced its hand. The Environmental Protection Agency will today announce a proposal for stricter rules on allowable soot levels. Though a final decision won't come until December, the...

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