News
Read up on the current environmental and political news. Find the lastest press releases and links to news about MLEV.
08.17.10: Senate faces full September agenda
On the Senate’s agenda when members return from August recess: votes on the Bush-era tax cuts, climate change and small-business incentives; the authorization of the annual spending bills; running for reelection. “The September schedule, no matter how you look at it, is going to be extraordinarily full,” said Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.). “There’s a lot of stuff that’s been pushed off.” By J. Taylor Rushing courtesy of thehill.com
08.16.10: Chilling out by the quarry, Biogen Idec makes innovative use of an unusual site
WESTON — The two former granite quarries filled with water could have posed a major obstacle for the real estate company seeking a tenant for the 74-acre commercial property near Interstate 95 and Route 20. At about 400 feet deep, each quarry pond is large enough to hold 500 million gallons — not exactly what businesses desire in a site for a new headquarters. By Erin Ailworth courtesy of The Boston Globe
08.16.10: Drilling Permits for Deep Waters Face New Review
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Monday that it would require significantly more environmental review before approving new offshore drilling permits, ending a practice in which government regulators essentially rubber-stamped potentially hazardous deepwater projects like BP’s out-of-control well. The administration has come under sharp criticism for granting BP an exemption from environmental oversight for the Macondo well, which blew out on April 20, killing 11 workers and spewing nearly five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. By John M. Broder courtesy of The New York TImes
08.15.10: In Weather Chaos, a Case for Global Warming
The floods battered New England, then Nashville, then Arkansas, then Oklahoma — and were followed by a deluge in Pakistan that has upended the lives of 20 million people.The summer’s heat waves baked the eastern United States, parts of Africa and eastern Asia, and above all Russia, which lost millions of acres of wheat and thousands of lives in a drought worse than any other in the historical record. By Justin Gillis courtesy of The New York Times.
08.12.10: Open to possibilities, More communities north of Boston are turning a focus to preserving land, despite the economy
Emerald hills tumble into grassy fields. Picket fences unevenly trace dirt roads. Tractors and scattered hay bales; cattle nibbling in pastures that greet far-off woods; weeping willows and salt marshes rattled by gusts of ocean wind. By Taryn Plumb courtesy of The Boston Globe.
08.12.10: Tainted site to be cleaned, finally, $13m pact clears way after 20 years
A 20-year-old contaminated site in Walpole is expected finally to be cleaned up, following a $13 million settlement recently reached among four parties connected to the property and the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice. By Christine Legere courtesy of The Boston Globe
08.12.10: U.N. Chief Recommends Small Steps on Climate
UNITED NATIONS — Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said Monday that he doubted that member states would reach a new global climate change agreement in December at a conference in Mexico. By Neil MacFarquhar courtesy of The New York Times.
08.11.10: Approve National Grid’s deal with Cape Wind
AFTER NEARLY 10 years of intense technical review, Cape Wind has received government permitting from an endless array of local, state, and federal agencies. Now the only question is whether it is cost effective. The answer is a resounding yes. -- by George Bachrach, courtesy of the Boston Globe
08.11.10: Races put climate pacts in jeopardy
States have set the pace over the past decade as the nation’s leaders in implementing climate change policy, but much of their work could be on the line this fall. By DARREN SAMUELSOHN, courtesy of Politico.com
08.10.10: AG backs new plan on price of energy, she urges approval of National Grid's deal with Cape Wind
Attorney General Martha Coakley yesterday urged state regulators to approve National Grid’s contract to purchase electricity from the offshore energy project Cape Wind, after she got the two companies to agree to a nearly 10 percent reduction in the price of the wind power. Coakley made her recommendation to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, which must endorse the proposed 15-year contract for it to take effect. By Erin Ailworth courtesy of The Boston Globe.