EPA to Loosen Clean-Air Rules in National Parks

It plans to kill $10M in grants used to test tainted water

(NEWSER) - Swimmers, beware: You may want to stick with sand, not surf, this summer. The EPA is feeling the financial squeeze, and this week submitted a budget request that eliminates $10 million in grants that are used to test for polluted water and post warning signs. The EPA says the burden can just shift to the former beneficiaries: coastal and Great Lakes states, which have "the technical expertise and procedures to continue beach monitoring without federal support." But the Los Angeles Times says that certainly isn't the case in California, which has had a hard time footing the bill even with federal funding. More»

Expert calls new data 'surprising'

(NEWSER) - The Chinese government, under fire from its citizens about its unbelievably upbeat pollution reports , has started to release more detailed data about smog in Beijing, reports the AP . For the first time, Beijing's official weather website yesterday included readings about PM2.5, or particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size—extra-small particles that are considered more dangerous. So far, though—surprise, surprise—the new readings have been good, with data one expert called "surprisingly low." More»

Toxic chemical found in most meat, dairy

(NEWSER) - The EPA is set to release guidelines this month warning the public not to ingest too much of a class of poisonous chemicals. Sound reasonable? Well, farmers and the food industry beg to differ, because the chemicals in question are dioxins—a ubiquitous byproduct of paper, metal, and cement production that often finds its way into food, especially meat and dairy. They say the EPA’s preliminary guideline is much too low, and will needlessly alarm the public, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Rail against government's 'fog' label

(NEWSER) - The Chinese know smog when they see it—even when the government calls it "fog." So Beijing citizens are taking their own pollution readings. "If people know what their air is like, they are more likely to take action," said a researcher at an environmental group that is showing residents how to test pollution on a locally made monitoring machine—then posting the results online. More»

Want to stay off the beaten path? Start here

(NEWSER) - If you’ve seen enough of Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon, CNN has an idea for you: Why not visit another of the country’s 397 national parks and monuments, like one of these seven you’ve probably never heard of?

• Dry Tortugas: You have to seriously want to make it all the way out to one of these seven islands 70 miles west of Key West, which are only accessible by ferry or seaplane. But don’t expect actual dryness: Tropical storms are a regular occurrence.