Oil Sands Development Contributes Elements Toxic at Low Concentrations to the Athabasca River and its Tributaries

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Published online before print August 30, 2010) / Erin N. Kelly, David W. Schindler, Peter V. Hodson, Jeffrey W. Short, Roseanna Radmanovich, Charlene C. Nielsen http://tinyurl.com/2frfwe5 [Abstract] We show that the oil sands industry releases the 13 elements considered priority pollutants (PPE) under the US Environmental Protection Agency’s … Continue reading »

Estimate of Premature Deaths Associated with Fine Particle Pollution (PM2.5) in California Using a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Methodology

California Air Resources Board http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/health/pm-mort/pm-report_2010.pdf [Executive Summary] The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (U.S. EPA) recently released “Quantitative Health Risk Assessment for Particulate Matter”  provides national estimates of premature mortality associated with fine particulate matter pollution (PM2.5), supported by its finding that the scientific evidence shows a causal connection between mortality and exposure to PM2.5. … Continue reading »

Federal Agency Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans

White House Council on Environmental Quality http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/sustainability/plans [From White House website] Continuing a commitment to lead by example, the White House released Federal Agency Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans on September 9, 2010, which work to achieve the environmental, economic and energy goals called for in the Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and … Continue reading »

The Greening of Water Law: Managing Freshwater Resources for People and the Environment

UN Environment Programme http://www.unep.org/delc/PDF/UNEP_Greening_water_law.pdf [From Executive Summary and Introduction] ‘The Greening of Water Law: Managing Freshwater Resources for People and the Environment’ explores the notion and the benefits of greening water law by presenting and assessing a variety of legal, procedural and policy mechanisms, for both national and international arenas, that can help to elevate … Continue reading »