Environment | WPN World People News

On May 10th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published notice that Fairbanks has been reclassified as “serious” non-attainment area. This long-overdue action triggers requirements for the state to adopt the strictest measures available to address Fairbanks’s ongoing pollution problems and bring the area into compliance with national air quality standards.

In a win on May 10th, for oil and gas-patch communities and taxpayers, a procedural vote failed in the Senate, preventing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution from nullifying the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Methane Waste Rule. The vote to proceed to debate on the resolution failed, 49–51. This rule is a common sense standard to limit wasteful methane pollution from oil and gas operations on public lands.

Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark, China

With the onset of warm summer weather, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises New Englanders to be aware of the increased risk of ground-level ozone and fine particle air pollution (when combined, often referred to as smog), and take health precautions when smog levels are high. EPA and states continue to offer free resources for the public to monitor the latest air quality forecasts.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $855,0000 to the Oklahoma Office of the Secretary of Energy to support management of nonpoint-source water pollution. The funding will be used for a variety of projects designed to improve water quality in several priority watersheds.

The WWF International President’s Award acknowledges and encourages outstanding achievements of young people under the age of 30 who are making significant contributions to nature conservation.

Compulsive fashion shoppers regularly overspend on new clothes in spite of not being able to use them, with post-shopping excitement often turning into guilt after less than a day. This is an international phenomenon that is spreading around the world, according to representative surveys commissioned by Greenpeace in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Italy and Germany between December 2016 and March 2017.

Potomac Electric Power Company has agreed to pay a $54,000 penalty to settle alleged violations of hazardous waste regulations at its maintenance facility in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on May 8th.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement with Christensen, Inc., a Grandview, Washington-based petroleum storage and distribution company over their failure to submit important emergency planning information for several years at five facilities in central Washington and one in Seattle.

On May 4th, Oceana, represented by Earthjustice, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for its continued failure to end the overfishing of dusky sharks in U.S. waters and rebuild the depleted population, as required by law. The lawsuit was filed in response to a final rule the federal government issued in April that is supposed to address its failing management of dusky sharks.