"The United States on Wednesday set steep final duties on billions of dollars of solar energy products from China, but turned down a request from lawmakers and U.S. manufacturers to expand the scope of its order."
The Earth Institute at Columbia University held a "State of the Planet" conference today, in New York city. It was open to the public, online, and interactive. Twitter hashtag: #SOP2012. A star-studded list of major speakers included Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. An archived video of the event will be posted when ready. See the SOP website.
"Pesticides pervade the environment, from the air we breathe to the food we eat, and they are making children sicker than they were a generation ago, a new report warns."
"Oil and gas companies will soon have to start telling U.S. EPA before they 'frack' wells, a development that has caught many in the industry off-guard and rekindled some drillers' most potent fears about federal intrusion."
"Officials in Temple Terrace, Fla., are cautioning residents that heavy rains have brought out the toxic, invasive Bufo marinus toad, a huge amphibian that secretes a toxin powerful enough to kill unsuspecting dogs, cats and other animals."
"Budget cuts to the ozone monitoring department were $13.3m this year, the 25th anniversary of the Montreal protocol."
"The Treasury Department's inspector general is investigating a popular stimulus program that allowed rooftop solar panel projects to turn tax credits into cash grants, according to a regulatory filing."
"Nearly three-quarters of Americans say global warming influences U.S. weather and made this year's record-hot summer worse, a survey said on Tuesday."
"MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Republican Senate candidate John Raese filled in wetlands and damaged more than 2 miles of streams when he rerouted them to create waterfalls on a private, 18-hole West Virginia golf course that federal regulators say he built without the required permits."
"COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Democratic Party on Monday urged federal and state prosecutors to investigate whether the largest privately owned coal company in the country illegally forced employees and vendors to contribute to presidential contender Mitt Romney and other mostly Republican candidates."
