GAO Report Finds EPA Library Closures Undercut Agency’s Mission; UCS Research Concludes Closures Impede Fed Scientists’ Work

GAO Report Finds EPA Library Closures Undercut Agency’s Mission; UCS Research Concludes Closures Impede Fed Scientists’ Work: "GAO Report Finds EPA Library Closures Undercut Agency’s Mission;
UCS Research Concludes Closures Impede Fed Scientists’ Work
EPA library closures undercut agency, impede research"

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today criticizes the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to close five of its libraries around the country in 2006. The report concluded that the closures may have hindered EPA staff work and curtailed public access to information. Meanwhile, an independent investigation by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) found that hundreds of EPA scientists maintain the closures hampered their ability to do their jobs. -from Union of Concerned Scientists

Controlling Nature

Controlling Great Lakes and the difficulty of coming up with a level suitable to all presents humanity with major conundrum.

First, are we really in control, or are we merely fiddling with a complex system we barely understand? For, besides homeowner values and other economic considerations, there are other factors to consider.

The Great Lakes are a part of the global ecology and when we tweak lake levels here there are effects on the planetary environment as a whole. Also, as Global Warming takes affect in our area, over time the glacial sheets which supply the Great Lakes with water will rise as the ice melts and then fall as the major source for the water in the system dries up.

So, shouldn’t we also be adjusting the lakes levels in anticipation of this major long-term effect on water levels—perhaps trying to shore up as much water as possible before dramatic shortages to the system occur? Isn’t the problem of lake level controls one of priorities?


If we are a responsible people to our children and our way of life, shouldn’t our priority be a sustainable future?

Read from the Democrat & Chronicle

1. Sailing far from clear for new lake-level plan democratandchronicle.com Democrat and Chronicle An international panel floated a new plan on Friday for regulating water levels in Lake Ontario, but whether the proposal will sink or swim remains very much an open question. The plan, written by the International Joint Commission to replace decades-old rules, would benefit some of the lake's diverse user groups more than others. (March 29, 08) Democrat & Chronicle and

2. Shoreline property owners look to benefit from new water level proposal democratandchronicle.com Democrat and Chronicle As details emerged about a new proposal to regulate Lake Ontario water levels, it appeared that shoreline property owners may be clear winners. Under the plan released this morning by the International Joint Commission, a U.S.-Canada treaty organization, levels would be adjusted to provide some benefit to shoreline wetlands, though not nearly as much as environmental advocates would like. (March 28, 08) Democrat & Chronicle

Chunk of Antarctic Ice Collapses - New York Times

Chunk of Antarctic Ice Collapses - New York Times: "A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said. Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for perhaps as many as 1,500 years. The rest of the Wilkins ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice. Scientists worry that it too may collapse."

Latest Press - American Lung Association site

Latest Press - American Lung Association site: EPA Ozone Standards: Half Measures and Compromises Are Not Good Enough

"Washington, DC (March 12, 2008). Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a critical tightening of the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. We wish we could be happier about this decision, but we cannot. The standard announced today, although an improvement, falls far short of the requirements of the Clean Air Act. We are unable to celebrate half measures when the risks are so evident, when the science and the scientists are so united about what is needed and when the missed opportunity means that thousands will suffer more and die sooner than they should. Furthermore, we reject the suggestions made by the Administrator to weaken and undermine the Clean Air Act itself. Coming from the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, such suggestions are truly outrageous."

Bats Perish, and No One Knows Why - New York Times

Bats Perish, and No One Knows Why - New York Times: "In what is one of the worst calamities to hit bat populations in the United States, on average 90 percent of the hibernating bats in four caves and mines in New York have died since last winter."