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Now here’s a heart-warming story to make us forget, at least for a time, all the depressing stats regarding U.S. workers: a guy who spent 37 years as the mailroom supervisor for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadephia has received, as a thank-you … his very own species of catfish.
Frank Gallagher, who oversaw the academy’s mailroom for nearly four decades and earned a reputation as the go-to guy for learning who was doing what — “They used to call me ‘the grapevine,’ ” Gallagher said — has been immortalized as the inspiration for Rhinodoras gallagheri, a new species of catfish described Mark Sabaj Pérez, a fish scientist with the academy.
Why have gas prices risen to nearly $4 a gallon (or more) in the U.S.? Is it oil speculation? Rising demand? Or the first signs of peak oil?
Whatever the cause (and there’s good reason to blame all three to some degree), most so-called experts these days aren’t expecting oil prices to drop anytime soon. In fact, Newsweek this week features a sobering article titled, “The Coming Energy Wars,” that predicts we’ll soon see oil prices top $200 a barrel. When that happens, the authors warn, we can expect everything about our daily lives to change.
A Great Lakes compact that would prevent the region’s water from being siphoned off into the thirsty Southwest and other dry parts of the country is a little closer to taking effect, now that lawmakers in Michigan have OK’d the deal.
The Great Lakes Water Resources Compact aims to protect the water rights of the eight states bordering the lakes: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Michigan’s approval of the agreement brings the number of states signed on so far to five: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to hold two public hearings next week on a request to extend the operating license for reactor 1 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
The afternoon and evening hearings are set for Tuesday, March 4, in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
By Max Lindberg •
February 27, 2008
Last December, EPA administrator Stephen Johnson denied California’s request to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today, the Senate released documents putting Johnson squarely in opposition with the scientific and legal experts on his staff when he denied the request.The documents were requested by Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who said:
“These documents paint a picture of an Environmental Protection Agency in crisis. They show the dedicated professional staff of the EPA working hard to do what they are paid to do by the American people - protect our health and our environment. At the same time, we see more and more evidence of Administrator Johnson ignoring the science and the facts, and discarding the advice of his professional staff.”
“I believe this decision will be reversed by the next President or by the courts, but the Administrator can save the taxpayers time and money, and can get us started cleaning up our air if he would simply follow the law, the facts, and the advice of his agency professionals.”
By Max Lindberg •
August 23, 2007
She’s the mother of eight, the grandmother of 15 and a great-grandmother to seven, she enjoys crossword and jigsaw puzzles, and quilting. Marjorie lives in Nicholson Township, Pennsylvania and, like many people enjoys an occasional walk along the road in her rural area. There’s nothing unusual about that, but Marjorie makes that walk a study in environmental consciousness.
That’s Marjorie on the right, out on the road with her trash bag [...]
Gamesa, a Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, has hammered out its first-ever U.S. union contract with the United Steelworkers (USW). Workers at two Gamesa facilities in Pennsylvania voted to approve their first contract with 80 percent in favor of it. The agreement lays the foundation for a stronger partnership between one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers – and the only one that makes its blades, nacelles, and towers all in the U.S. – and
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