EPA will Ban Rat and Mouse Toxic Poisons: For professional use only

Trofim Denisovich Lysenko or the great sparrow hunt all over again

Remember when they banned DDT almost 40 year prior because it claimed responsibility for the degeneration of eagles and other birds? Rachel Carson,  made it known through her book called “Silent Spring, a falsification of the effects of DDT.  Thus, the creation of the EPA.   DDT had earlier been hailed as a “miracle” chemical that repelled and killed mosquitoes that carry malaria, a disease that can be fatal to humans. The results from the ban were disastrous: at least 1-2 million people continue to die from malaria each year.  The USA is still plagued by Bed Bugs epidemic because of this ban today.  
Now, present the EPA as of Tuesday creating better and healthier living, for children, pets and wildlife will ban the rat and mouse poisons, as well as most loose bait and pellet products  in residential form. 
Only a licensed pest control professional will be able to use those poisons that are available for use in residential setting.  In other words, not obtainable to the public any longer.
The pest control lobbyists in Washington made a comeback.
But the EPA has issued a media release with other tips how to stop the invasion of rat and mice.


Now, the inner city children can get bit by rats and mice that plague their dwellings. Let us see what diseases will occur from a new infestation of these rodents.

via themadjewess.wordpress.com

Crack leaks radioactive water into sea off Japan

that's_offensive!.

Manholes poke out from the ground in Urayasu, Japan,

due to the liquefaction triggered by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
The phenomenon, which allows sand and water

to rise following ground shaking,

was particularly pronounced in this area as a result of the

long duration of the March 11 quake. via npr.org

Highly radioactive water was leaking into the sea Saturday from a crack discovered at a nuclear power plant destabilized by last month's earthquake and tsunami, a new setback as frustrated survivors of the disasters complained that Japan's government was paying too much attention to the nuclear crisis.

"Hell In A Bottle" 1986 Japan via doppelganger

 The contaminated water will quickly dissipate into the sea and is not expected to cause any health hazard. Nevertheless, the disturbing discovery points at the unexpected problems that can crop up and continue to hamper technicians trying to control the crisis.

ynetnews.com

Nuclear FALLOUT West Coast of America

Increases in radiation from sources that are likely from troubled nuclear energy reactors in Japan.

All this talk about Asia makes me hungry

I guess this is their response to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

A RadNet radiation monitor is seen on the roof of the Bay Area Air
Quality District offices on
March 16, 2011 in San Francisco.
In the wake of the nuclear
disaster in Japan,
the Environmental Protection
Agency is deploying additional radiation
detectors in areas on the
West Coast to compliment
the existing RadNet system,
which measures radition levels in air.
RadNet is a nationwide network
of monitoring stations in each state
that collect samples of air, rain,
drinking water, and milk
for analysis of radioactivity. 
  via sacbee.com

For our friends on the left coast you have time to flee to one of those red states you hate so much and here is a little more information for you.

Exposure from x-rays or gamma rays is measured in units of roentgens. For example:

* Total body exposure of 100 roentgens (or 1 Gy) causes radiation sickness.
* Total body exposure of 400 roentgens (or 4 Gy) causes radiation sickness and death in half the individuals. Without medical treatment, nearly everyone who receives more than this amount of radiation will die within 30 days.
* 100,000 rads causes almost immediate unconsciousness and death within an hour

Enjoy the weather! via jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com

looting in Japan

Inside Story - Japan's Nuclear Crisis ...Is this the nightmare scenario of nuclear meltdown becoming real? And what can be done to contain the nuclear threat while at the same time dealing with the widespread destruction caused by Japan's largest recorded earthquake?

A monitor in Sacramento maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today showed slight increases in radiation from sources that are likely from troubled nuclear energy reactors in Japan.
The "beta" category picks up strontium, while the "gamma" category picks up cesium and iodine. All three are constituents typically associated with nuclear energy production.
The recent increases remain within normal background levels, the EPA said, which vary according to atmospheric conditions.
The numbers are recorded in "counts per minute," which is a way of measuring radiation levels over time and cannot be easily compared to dose levels, such as those experienced by medical patients undergoing X-ray examination.

Another monitor in Sacramento, maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, also picked up elevated radiation levels. This monitor, which is far more sensitive, detected "miniscule quantities" of the radioactive isotope xenon-133, the agency stated.
The origin was determined to be consistent with a release from the Fukushima reactors in northern Japan. The levels detected were at 0.1 disintegrations per second per cubic meter of air, which results in a dose rate about one-millionth of the dose rate a person normally receives from rocks, bricks, the sun and other natural background sources. This coincides with a similar reading March 16 through 17 in Washington state.
Xenon-133 is a radioactive noble gas produced during nuclear fission that poses no concern at the detected level, according to the Department of Energy. via sacbee.com

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Japanese Scramble to Avert Meltdowns as Nuclear Crisis Deepens After Quake: TOKYO — Japanese officials struggled on Sunday to contain a widening nuclear crisis in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami, saying they presumed that partial meltdowns had occurred at two crippled reactors and that they were bracing for a second explosion, even as they faced serious cooling problems at four more reactors. >>> Hiroko Tabuchi and Matthew L. Wald | Sunday, March 13, 2011

via librabunda.blogspot.com image via fuckyeahbubblebutts.tumblr.com and image via blogs.indiewire.com Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
image via scoutingreality.com

Electric Car Conversions

The cost of such a conversion is still being determined, but Nourbakhsh said the project team expects to have estimates available at the open house. The cost won't be negligible, he acknowledged, but conversion is a means of recycling and extending the life of older vehicles, while eliminating harmful emissions and supporting local mechanics and garages. Because each vehicle is customized, the size of the battery pack — the most expensive part of an electric car — can be determined based on the commuting needs of the vehicle owner/driver, he noted.

via cmu.edu

Posted via email from noahdavidsimon's posterous

unfortunately you can only convert one kind of Honda... but they hope to expand models that are possible 

EPA’s New Mercury Controls

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new regulations governing emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants.  This rule has been a long time coming.  In the waning moments of the Clinton Administration, the EPA made a finding that would trigger mercury emission controls on power plants under the Clean Air Act.  The finding had been in the works for some time, but the Clinton EPA had been reluctant to pull the trigger until December 2000.   The Bush Administration did not appreciate the house-warming gift, and tried to undo the Clinton Administration’s handiwork with an alternative approach.  They first tried legislation, but when Congress wouldn’t bite they pushed through regulations.  The only problem was that the Bush EPA disregarded the Clean Air Act’s plain text in the process, earning a well-deserved rebuke from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  The new rules, once finalized, may well trigger litigation, but I doubt we’ll see the same result.  From what I’ve looked at so far, this is a fairly traditional regulatory approach.

This EPA fact sheet gives some background on the rule, stressing the anticipated reductions of mercury emissions.  What the fact sheet does not mention is that, the lack of meaningful federal mercury controls notwithstanding, mercury emissions have declined since 1990.  As the EPA’s Report on the Environment shows between 1990–93 and 2005, mercury emissions declined by 58 percent.  Coal-burning facilities — which are covered by the new rule — represent the lion’s share of the rest.
The emission trends are positive.  So, too, are trends in blood mercury levels.  As the same EPA report shows blood mercury levels in women have declined, particularly among those at the 90th and 95th percentiles. From the EPA report: “during the 1999–2000 survey, 10 percent (i.e., 90th percentile value) of surveyed women age 16 to 49 had blood mercury levels of 4.9 µg/L or higher. In the 2007–2008 survey, however, the 90th percentile value had decreased to 2.7 µg/L.”  That’s a significant drop for those with among the highest levels in the country.
These positive trends do not mean additional mercury controls are unnecessary, but it does put their urgency in perspective. It also suggests that the Bush Administration’s approach, which would have utilized a more flexible cap-and-trade approach instead of facility-specific limits, may have been good policy after all, even if it was horribly bad law.

via volokh.com

Posted via email from noahdavidsimon's posterous

EPA Expands Its Reach: New Air Pollution Standards Will Require Action From Hundreds More Jurisdictions

Stricter rules proposed Thursday by the Obama administration could more than double the number of counties across the country that are in violation of clean air standards. That would likely have a big impact on other parts of the nation since California already sets stringent standards for cars, ships and trucks.

via cnsnews.com

As if the femanazi stimulus bill wasn't enough to kill jobs... now we have the EPA jumping in to grab the money. How is it do people wonder why there are 80,000 job losses this month when we borrowed this much money?

I am not suggesting that Smog is a hoax like man-made global warming. But we are still in the midst of a bad economy, one that the POTUS himself called the worst since the great depression. And now the EPA has decided that its the time for counties in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, the Dakotas, Kansas, Minnesota and Iowa to join counties in Texas, California, and the northeastern coast in spending tens of billions of dollars conforming to stricter regulations. These new rules if enacted, will put new downward pressure on an already weak economy.

Gee I guess that means as I fill out my unemployment forms, I can at least enjoy cleaner air. Why thank you, EPA!

via yidwithlid.blogspot.com

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at the climate conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. (AP Photo)

via cnsnews.com

you wonder who is wearing the pants in this country? those are your jobs dhimmis!

"This kind of levels the playing field," said Leo Kay, spokesman for the California Air Resources Control Board. "In California we've set pretty tough air pollution standards for a long time now and this brings the rest of the country to the same level."

More than 300 counties -- mainly in southern California, the Northeast and Gulf Coast -- already violate the current, looser requirements adopted two years ago by the Bush administration.

oh wait... aren't those the places most effected by the present economy?

For the first time, counties in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, the Dakotas, Kansas, Minnesota and Iowa might be forced to find ways to clamp down on smog-forming emissions from industry and automobiles, or face government sanctions, most likely the loss of federal highway dollars.

phew... glad it isn't just the Blue State dhimmis that are footing the bill

The tighter standards will be costly but will ultimately save billions in avoided emergency room visits, premature deaths, and missed work and school days, the EPA said.

wait a second... I thought we were going to save millions from the socialist health insurance that would give us a lower standard of medicine?

The proposal presents a range for the allowable concentration of ground-level ozone, the main ingredient in smog, from 60 parts per billion to 70 parts, as recommended by scientists during the Bush administration. That's equivalent to a single tennis ball in an Olympic-sized swimming pool full of tennis balls.

that's a big twinkie... oh wait... that's Ghostbusters.

EPA plans to select a specific figure within that range by August. Counties and states will then have up to 20 years to meet the new limits, depending on how severely they are out of compliance. They will have to submit plans for meeting the new limits by end of 2013 or early 2014.

so now there is an opportunity to get chummy with the new fascists and hope they are lenient. power to the top like usual. just asskiss your way to stardom

Former President George W. Bush personally intervened in the issue after hearing complaints from electric utilities and other affected industries. His EPA set a standard of 75 parts per billion, stricter than one adopted in 1997 but not as strict as what scientist said was needed to protect public health.

thanks George... way to stick to your principles

Parts of the country that have already spent decades and millions of dollars fighting smog and are still struggling to meet existing thresholds questioned what more they could do.

"This EPA decision provides the illusion of greater protectiveness, but with no regard for cost, in terms of dollars or in terms of the freedoms that Americans are accustomed to," said Bryan W. Shaw, chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Texas, with its heavy industry, is home to Houston, one of the smoggiest cities in the nation.

did someone ask for freedom?

Even in California, easily the country's smoggiest state, regions that have not had to worry about reducing air pollution could face penalties under tough new clean-air standards.

Should the Environmental Protection Agency adopt the strictest measures, the new rules would go beyond California's own tough smog standards causing nearly three-quarters of the state's 58 counties to be in violation.

This would include less-populated areas known for their natural beauty or crisp coastal air such as Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

The new rules would also push parts of the state already defined by smog -- including Southern California, the smoggiest region of the U.S. -- to find additional ozone emission reductions.

"Here in Los Angeles it's not going to be a radical change, but we're going to have to look at adopting additional measures," said Sam Atwood, spokesman for the state's South Coast Air Quality Management District, which regulates Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties. "We're going to have to go back to the well."

EPA estimates meeting the new requirements will cost industry and motorists from $19 billion to as much as $90 billion a year by 2020. The Bush administration had put the cost of meeting its threshold at $7.6 billion to $8.5 billion a year.

Some industries reiterated their opposition to a stronger smog standard.

"We probably won't know for a couple of years just what utilities and other emissions sources will be required to do in response to a tighter ozone standard," said John Kinsman, a senior director at the Edison Electric Institute, an industry trade group. "Utilities already have made substantial reductions in ozone-related emissions."

Smog is a respiratory irritant that has been linked to asthma attacks and other illnesses. Global warming is expected to make it worse, since smog is created when emissions from cars, power and chemical plants, refineries and other factories mix in sunlight and heat.

Environmentalists endorsed the new plan.

"The fact is every time a standard is set, it appears difficult," said Martin Schlageter, interim executive director for the Coalition for Clean Air. "Until you're on that path it just seems scary ... but then we get on the path and start doing it and pretty soon we're nearing our goal."

via cnsnews.com