Test Finds Mercury in Every Fish

They protect polluters on the false pretext of saving jobs: EPA chief

(NEWSER) - House Republicans claim that to create jobs, we need to loosen environmental regulations. To that end, they’ve “averaged roughly a vote every day” in session to weaken the rules—and have already cut back the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other laws, writes EPA chief Lisa Jackson in the Los Angeles Times . “This pseudo jobs plan to protect polluters might well be called ‘too dirty to fail,’” she writes. More»

EPA regulators can perform cost-benefit analysis before ordering upgrades: ruling

(NEWSER) - Federal regulators may perform cost-benefit analysis on new power plant equipment designed to protect fish, and decide whether to require the equipment based on that analysis, the Supreme Court ruled today. The 6-3 decision overturns an appellate court ruling that barred the EPA from performing cost-benefit analysis because it wasn't intended by the authors of the Clean Water Act, the New York Times reports.. More»

(AP) - About four out of 10 freshwater fish species in North America are in peril, says a major study by US, Canadian, and Mexican scientists. And the number of subspecies of fish populations in trouble has nearly doubled since 1989, the new report says. One biologist called it "silent extinctions" because few notice the dramatic dwindling deep in lakes, rivers, and streams. And while they are unaware, people are the chief cause of the problem by polluting and damming freshwater habitats, experts said. More»

Water drunk by 41M people contaminated

(NEWSER) - Small amounts of a wide range of prescription and over-the-counter drugs have been found in drinking water used daily by 41 million Americans in 24 major cities. A major AP investigation found pain killers, anti-seizure drugs, angina and cholesterol medications, mood-altering drugs, and other pharmaceuticals in tap water, the water table and aquifers. More»

Scientist says feds didn't like pollution report, reassigned him

(NEWSER) - A report suggesting industrial contamination in the Great Lakes poses health threats to residents is being suppressed by the feds, says study author Chris De Rosa, who also claims he was demoted because of his findings. The study found 230,000 "vulnerable" people are living in polluted areas, but the government cited concerns with methodology, reports the Washington Post. More»