organization:u.s. environmental protection agency

#EPA blasted for failing to set drinking water limits for ‘forever chemicals’ | Science | AAAS
▻https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/epa-blasted-failing-set-drinking-water-limits-forever-chemicals

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After intense pressure from politicians and environmental and public health groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today published a plan to tackle industrial chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that are showing up in drinking water supplies across the nation. But critics say the plan is vague and lacks regulatory teeth, and it will do little to reduce health risks.

#corruption #eau #pollution #chimie #etats-unis

97% of Endangered Species Threatened by Two Common #Pesticides
▻http://www.ecowatch.com/endangered-species-pesticides-2201058081.html

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its first rigorous nationwide analysis Wednesday of the effects of pesticides on endangered species, finding that 97 percent of the more than 1,800 animals and plants protected under the Endangered Species Act are likely to be harmed by #malathion and #chlorpyrifos, two commonly used pesticides. Another 78 percent are likely to be hurt by the pesticide #diazinon. The results released Wednesday are the final biological evaluations the EPA completed as part of its examination of the impacts of these pesticides on endangered species.

#organo_phosphorés #espéces_menacées

Texas Wineries Worry EPA Approval of Monsanto, Dow Herbicides Will ’Kill’ Industry
▻http://www.ecowatch.com/wine-monsanto-dow-dicamba-2-4-d-2177053648.html

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Wineries in Texas are worried that federal approval of two highly volatile and drift-prone herbicides used on neighboring genetically modified (GMO) cotton fields will cause widespread damage to their vineyards, The Texas Tribune details.

The herbicides in question are Monsanto’s dicamba-based XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology, which was approved in November by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Dow AgroSciences’ 2,4-D-based Enlist Duo, which the EPA also proposed to register for use on GMO cotton seeds. Enlist Duo is already used on GMO corn and soybean crops in 15 states.

“The approval of these formulations will wind up affecting every vineyard up there,” explained Paul Bonarrigo, a Hale County vintner who believes that his withering grapevines have been damaged by the illegal spraying of dicamba and 2,4-D on nearby cotton farms. Bonarrigo believes that the state’s $2 billion wine industry is in jeopardy.

The debacle is yet another chapter in the expanding issue of herbicide-resistant weeds, or superweeds, that have evolved to resist the herbicide glyphosate, or Roundup. In response to weeds such as pigweed that have infested farms across the U.S., agribusinesses such as Monsanto and Dow have developed ever stronger weedkillers to help farmers.

#brown_tech #débilité_profonde

Illegal Herbicide Use on GMO Crops Causing Massive Damage to Fruit, Vegetable and Soybean Farms - EcoWatch
▻http://www.ecowatch.com/monsanto-roundup-ready-soybean-1983477089.html

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Last year, Kade McBroom launched a non-GMO soybean processing plant in Malden, Missouri, and was optimistic about the potential to serve the fast-growing non-GMO market.

But now McBroom sees a potential threat to his new business from herbicide drift sprayed on genetically modified crops. This past spring, Monsanto Co. started selling GM Roundup Ready Xtend soybean and cotton seeds to farmers in Missouri and several other states. The seeds are genetically engineered to withstand sprays of glyphosate and dicamba herbicides. The problem is that the Xtend dicamba herbicide designed to go with the seeds has not yet been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), leading many farmers to spray their GMO soybeans and cotton with older formulas of dicamba—illegally.

While Monsanto’s GMO crops can tolerate sprays of dicamba, other crops can’t. As a result, dicamba, which is known to convert from a liquid to a gas and spread for miles, is damaging tens of thousands of acres of “non-target” crops in southern Missouri and nine other states, mostly in the South. An estimated 200,000 acres are affected in Missouri alone, though the EPA puts that number at 40,000. Non-GMO and even GMO, soybeans that aren’t dicamba resistant are damaged as well as peaches, tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe and other crops.

“Farmers are so mad,” said McBroom, who has spoken with several farmers in his area about the problem. “I’m assuming there will be lawsuits.”

Two farmers who grow non-GMO soybeans for Malden Specialty Soy told McBroom that they may be forced to grow dicamba tolerant GMO soybeans to protect their farms from dicamba drift.

#ogm #pesticides #destruction #brown_tech il y a un mot pour cela mais il m’échappe #entrer_en_force

Here’s How the New Teslas Stack Up Against Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Ferrari - Bloomberg
▻http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-24/here-s-how-the-new-teslas-stack-up-against-bugatti-lamborghini-and-ferrar

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On Tuesday, Tesla announced new versions of its luxury cars that break major barriers for electric vehicles. But are the upgrades, as Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk claims, enough to hand Tesla the title of fastest car in the world? 
The P100D Model S with Ludicrous mode will propel the car to 60 miles per hour in just 2.5 seconds. Tesla’s Model X sport utility vehicle will get there in 2.9 seconds. The bigger, 100-kilowatt-hour batteries also provide the first official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency range of more than 300 miles on a charge. 
These speeds are crazy fast, matched only by sold-out supercars with tiny production runs: Ferrari’s $1.4 million LaFerrari, Porsche’s $845,000 918 Spyder, and Bugatti’s $2.3 million Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. Tesla’s new Model S, at $134,500, is just as quick as any vehicle on the road. Even its seven-seat SUV beats the McLaren 675LT.

Mesmerizing Photos of People Lying in a Week’s Worth of Their Trash

The United States has a trash problem. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces more than 4 pounds of garbage per day. That’s more than double the amount produced in 1960, and it’s 50 percent more than the amount produced by Western Europeans. In January, photographer #Gregg_Segal decided to put some imagery to those numbers. His ongoing series, “#7_Days_of_Garbage,” shows Californian friends, neighbors, and relative strangers lying in the trash they created in one week.

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▻http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2014/07/08/gregg_segal_photographs_people_with_a_week_s_worth_of_their_trash_in_his.html
#photographie #poubelle #portrait #déchet
cc @albertocampiphoto

Detail Audio | FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
▻http://www.fao.org/news/audio-video/detail-audio/en/?uid=10794

17 October 2014, Rome--- Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, host of Food Sleuth interviews #Raymon_Seidler, Ph.D., formely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and author of ’’Pesticide Use on Genetically Engineered Crops’’. Seider describes the risks of GMO seeds/crops.

#OGM

Mesmerizing Photos of People Lying in a Week’s Worth of Their Trash
▻http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/mesmerizing-photos-of-people-lying-in-a-weeks-worth-of-their-trash

The United States has a trash problem. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces more than 4 pounds of garbage per day. That’s more than double the...

Fracking Boom Leaves Texans Under a Toxic Cloud
▻http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-20/fracking-boom-leaves-texans-under-a-toxic-cloud.html

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The regulation of oil and gas extraction falls primarily to the states, whose rules vary dramatically. States are also responsible for enforcing the federal Clean Air Act, an arrangement that is problematic in Texas, which has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 18 times in the last decade.

#fracturation_hydraulique #pollution

New Study Finds Higher #Methane Emissions from Fracking « naked capitalism
▻http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/12/new-study-finds-higher-methane-emissions-from-fracking.html

A major new study finds that methane emissions from the production of shale gas may in fact be higher than previously thought. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [▻http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/11/20/1314392110.abstract] on November 25, casts into doubt the notion that natural gas produces half as much greenhouse gas pollution as coal. Natural gas has been embraced by many, including President Obama, as a centerpiece of America’s climate change plan.

Methane can be released from natural gas wells during the drilling process. Scientists have thus far had difficulty measuring these “fugitive methane emissions” precisely, with competing studies stirring controversy. The latest report, published by a group of 15 scientists, found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is significantly underestimating the amount of methane released during natural gas production. Specifically, the report concludes that fugitive methane emissions could be 50% higher than EPA estimates.

(...)

If the latest figures are accurate, it could mean that the greenhouse gas advantage that natural gas has over coal could be a mirage. The Energy Information Administration estimates that U.S. carbon dioxide emissions declined 12% since 2007, citing natural gas supplanting coal as a major reason. That number does not account for methane emissions however.

#pollution #réchauffement_climatique #fracturation_hydraulique #gaz

Pa. Man’s Working 1938 Fridge Wins Contest - ABC News
►http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/10/pa-mans-working-1938-fridge-wins-contest

Pa. Man’s Working 1938 Fridge Wins Contest
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ht mike ansel tom stathos ll 121005 wblog Pa. Mans Working 1938 Fridge Wins Contest

(Image credit: Courtesy PPL Electric Utilities)

Mike Ansel of Lancaster County, Pa., (pictured left) may have known his refrigerator was old but he was still pleasantly surprised to learn his working 1938 General Electric model won the Oldest Refrigerator Contest hosted by utility firm PPL Electric.

The statewide contest was the first of its kind coordinated with appliance recycler JACO Environmental. From April 1 through August, the contest collected 7,000 refrigerators.

PPL Electric Utilities has collected more than 44,000 older, inefficient refrigerators and freezers since launching its appliance recycling program in late 2009.

Ansel acquired the refrigerator from a family member in 1974.

Tom Stathos, director of customer strategy at PPL Electric Utilities, gave Ansel the prize on Tuesday: a $250 Sears gift card. That was in addition to the $35 incentive PPL Electric Utilities gives to all customers who recycle their older refrigerators and freezers.

Joseph Nixon, a spokesman for the company, said the unit was working until the day it was picked up for recycling, according to the rules for the contest.

ht 1938 ge refrigerator ll 121005 vblog Pa. Mans Working 1938 Fridge Wins Contest

(Image credit: Courtesy PPL Electric Utilities)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that of the 170 million refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers currently in use in the country, more than 60 million are over 10 years old. The agency estimates that costs consumers $4.4 billion a year in energy costs. Over 26 million of the old refrigerators are second units in a home.

Replacing an inefficient fridge that is about 20 years old with one that is Energy Star qualified will save a household roughly 550 kWh per year, or about $65 a year.

The EPA states that an Energy Star qualified fridge is about 15 percent more energy efficient than models that meet the federal minimum energy efficiency standard.

If everyone purchasing a refrigerator this year chose a model that has earned the Energy Star, the country would save 715 million kWh per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from about 100,000 cars, according to the EPA.

The agency estimates the following costs to run an Energy Star qualified appliance:

– A fridge costs around $50 on average a year to run.

– A top-freezer refrigerator uses about 350 kWh or $40 a year to run on average.

– A bottom freezer users about 460 kWh or $50 a year to run on average.

– A side-by-side refrigerator uses about 530 kWh or $60 a year on average to run.