Tests Show High Levels of Arsenic from Coal Ash Spill (Knoxville News Sentinel)
A coalition of environmental groups said yesterday that water quality tests near the spot where 1.1 billion gallons of coal fly ash spilled into Tennessee’s Emory River have turned up levels of heavy metals up to 300 times higher than regulatory limits.
NASA Climate Expert Makes Personal Appeal to Obama (Guardian)
NASA climate scientist James Hansen has written a new year appeal to Barack and Michelle Obama, warning of the "profound disconnect" between public policy on climate change and the magnitude of the problem.
Czechs Take Presidency of Europe (Reuters)
The Czech Republic has assumed the rotating presidency of the EU. Member nations have expressed concerns over how well its president, Vaclav Klaus, could follow France’s tenure, in which Pres. Sarkozy tackled a wide array of issues, including climate change.
Coral Growth in Decline at Great Barrier Reef (MSNBC)
The rate at which corals absorb calcium from seawater to calcify their hard skeletons — and thus grow — has declined dramatically in the last 20 years. Signs point to climate change as the culprit, according to a study of samples from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Maryland Utilities to Add Conservation Fees (Baltimore Sun)
Maryland consumers will begin paying small monthly fees on electric bills this year to subsidize an ambitious energy-efficiency initiative, under plans approved by regulators this week.
Canada’s Forests Now Contribute to Climate Change (Chicago Tribune)
Canada’s 1.2 million square miles of forests, once seen as some of the world’s most dependable carbon sinks, are now pumping out more climate-changing CO2 than they are sequestering.
Beijing’s Ban on High-Emission Vehicles Begins (Ecoworldly)
On January 1, Beijing launched its ban of hundreds and thousands of vehicles with high emissions from the city center. One in ten cars and trucks in Beijing will be subject to the ban, accounting for 50% of the city’s bad auto pollution.
About This Story
Perhaps you noticed: This story, like all the news we publish, is free to read. That’s because Inside Climate News is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. We do not charge a subscription fee, lock our news behind a paywall, or clutter our website with ads. We make our news on climate and the environment freely available to you and anyone who wants it.
That’s not all. We also share our news for free with scores of other media organizations around the country. Many of them can’t afford to do environmental journalism of their own. We’ve built bureaus from coast to coast to report local stories, collaborate with local newsrooms and co-publish articles so that this vital work is shared as widely as possible.
Two of us launched ICN in 2007. Six years later we earned a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, and now we run the oldest and largest dedicated climate newsroom in the nation. We tell the story in all its complexity. We hold polluters accountable. We expose environmental injustice. We debunk misinformation. We scrutinize solutions and inspire action.
Donations from readers like you fund every aspect of what we do. If you don’t already, will you support our ongoing work, our reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet, and help us reach even more readers in more places?
Please take a moment to make a tax-deductible donation. Every one of them makes a difference.
Thank you,
