“Weekly Green News Blurb | You Should Know,” is our newest series that we plan to publish each week on Sunday so you can come to work Monday and catch up on all your needed environmental news — the biggest stories you may have missed last week because the mainstream media drones on about celebrity arrests or is still talking about the latest missing person. Yeah, that’s a jab at sensational journalism!
If you want sensational journalism, we have a real sensation for you right here. Let’s go!
The Life of An American is Worth Less Now
The “value of a statistical life” is worth about $1 million less than it was about five years ago. It has dropped to $6.9 million, according to the EPA. Important for environmental regulation: When writing regulations (such as those made on pollution), the comparison of the cost of human life that may be spared by it and the cost of the regulation is compared, and if the cost of regulation is more, it’s unlikely that the regulation will be made.
Georgia Judge Blocks Coal-Fired Power Plant
A Superior Court Judge in Georgia stopped construction of a coal-fired power plants because the plant must limit its carbon dioxide emissions. Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore delivered the decision against Dynegy’s Longleaf power plant near Columbus, based on an April 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said carbon dioxide is a pollutant under the federal Clean Air Act. The plant had planned to emit 9 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, about equal to adding 1.3 million cars on the road. Cheers to this decision!
Chemical Weapons Destruction is Behind on Schedule
The Pentagon is considering moving chemical weapons to military sites in four states, prompting outcry from many legislators whose states would have weapons travelling through them if the plan were to move forward. The move is to comply with a 1997 Treaty banning chemical weapons; Congress has declared that the U.S. should be in compliance by 2017. Fears of the munitions facing traffic accidents or becoming terrorist targets has raised fears chiefly for the safety of the residents of those areas, and might I add the environmental degradation that could make those areas uninhabitable potentially for years to come. Ribble Rabble Ribble Rabble.
Ex-Aide Says Cheney’s Office had Portions of EPA Report Deleted
Fearing that references to global warming gases as threats to human health, Cheney’s Office reportedly had such reference removed from a report made to Congress because it would make avoiding regulating greenhouse gases more difficult. Who’s surprised? Rabble-rabble!
Are compact fluorescent bulbs still a bright idea?
The Chicago Tribune gets it wrong on this one, pointing out that “there aren’t many recycling centers available. At some county hazardous waste collection sites you have to pay about $1 per bulb to recycle CFLs,” while omitting the fact that Home Depot is offering CFL bulb recycling for free at all of its approximately 1,000 U.S. stores. There were exaggerations in the story regarding how long it takes for the bulbs to warm up and that the light is of low-quality, even though the bulbs have come a long way and most models produce a similar light to that produced by the incandescent bulbs they replace.
The article overemphasizes the fact that CFL bulbs contain mercury while ignoring the fact that the net effect is less emitted mercury from power plants because of the use of these bulbs reducing the need for power production — and that coupled with the fact that they can now be recycled for free at Home Depot stores means much less mercury being released into our environment. The overarching story here is that CFL bulbs are both an eco-friendly option and a way to save money — now even more true with the free recycling option at Home Depot stores.
That’s this week’s Green News Blurb! See you next Monday with another week’s worth of the news that you may not have picked up in the papers or from your cable news. Let us know what you think about the stories posted above in our comments section found below.
