Tag: Featured News
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FrackGate Comes to Illinois? Media Blackout on Fracking Vote
As the national media puts the spotlight on the “FrackGate” public relations scandal in Ohio, where state officials worked to “marginalize opponents of fracking by teaming up with corporations—including Halliburton—business groups and media outlets,” Illinois residents behind a ballot initiative to ban fracking in rural Johnson County are facing a similar campaign of misinformation and…
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Could Vapors From Coniferous Trees Help Slow Global Warming?
By Hannah Hickey Pine forests are especially magical places for atmospheric chemists. Coniferous trees give off pine-scented vapors that form particles, very quickly and seemingly out of nowhere. [caption id="attachment_323433" align="alignnone" width="500"] Forests are thought to emit many more of these scented compounds as temperatures rise, potentially slowing effects of global warming. Photo courtesy of…
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MSNBC Weighs in on Controversy Surrounding Exxon CEO’s Fracking Lawsuit
Last week, as reported on EcoWatch the Wall Street Journal broke a story about ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson joining a lawsuit that cites the consequences of fracking operations as reason to block the construction of a 160-foot water tower next to his Texas home. The tower would supply water to nearby fracking operations and the plaintiffs argue the project could lead to increased…
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DOT Issues Emergency Order for Stricter Standards to Transport Crude Oil by Rail
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) yesterday issued an Emergency Order requiring all shippers to test product from the Bakken region to ensure the proper classification of crude oil before it is transported by rail, while also prohibiting the transportation of crude oil in the lowest-strength packing group. [caption id="attachment_323339" align="alignnone" width="500"] The fireball that followed…
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Slideshow: Celebrating Denali National Park’s 97th Birthday
Today marks Alaska’s Denali National Park—originally called Mount McKinley National Park by Congress—97th birthday. The wildlife and rugged terrain that first made it a cause celebré for the conservation movement remain as striking as ever. [blackoutgallery id=”323202″] Modern-day Denali National Park and Preserve draws around 400,000 visitors per year, and it isn’t hard to see why.…