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Unlike Trump, Americans Want Strong Environmental Regulator

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Unlike Trump, Americans Want Strong Environmental Regulator

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Most of America want to a strength in the Environmental Protection Agency during Donald Trumps presidency.
Trump's plan to boost energy development by slashing environmental regulation is something that many citizens disagree with. About 40% of Americans would like to see the EPA strengthened or expanded.
However, 35 % want it to be weakened or eliminated. Some people argue that Trump is just a businessman, therefore that is all he thinks about. This is why he wanted to drastically reduce environmental regulations to create jobs. People believe that this is what will make the economy of America better. Others hope that this will change when it comes to wildlife and the environment.

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NEW YORK - More than 60 percent of Americans would like to see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's powers preserved or strengthened under incoming President Donald Trump, and the drilling of oil on public lands to hold steady or drop, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday.

The results could foretell stronger-than-expected public opposition to Trump's plans to boost energy development by slashing environmental regulations, an agenda shared by some of his top Cabinet picks slated for Senate confirmation hearings later this week. Trump takes office on Friday.

Some 39 percent of Americans would like to see the EPA, the nation's top environmental regulator, "strengthened or expanded," while another 22 percent hope for it to "remain the same," according to the poll. Just 19 percent said they would like to see the agency "weakened or eliminated" and the rest said they "don't know."

Among Republicans, 47 percent wish for the EPA either to "remain the same" or be "strengthened or expanded," while 35 percent want it "weakened or eliminated".

The online poll of 9,935 people was conducted Dec. 16 to Jan. 12 and has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 1.1 percentage points.

"Trump is a businessman, and that's all he thinks about ... what will make money," said Terry Cox, a 61-year-old resident of Tennessee who voted for the New York real estate mogul in November's election. "But I'm hopeful there's a limit to what he can do when it comes to weakening protections for wildlife and the environment."

A Trump transition team official declined to comment.

Trump campaigned on a promise to drastically reduce environmental regulations in order to create jobs and pave the way for more oil, gas, and coal development. He has said he would refocus the EPA on its core mission to protect air and water quality.

He also accused the agency of using "totalitarian tactics" to enforce its regulations under President Barack Obama, who had made the EPA central to his broader effort to combat global climate change by cutting carbon emissions.

According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, just over 60 percent of Americans think it would be wrong to weaken wildlife protections and air and water regulations to bolster the energy industry, while they were nearly evenly split on whether carbon emissions should be softened to help the industry.

The poll also showed that 39 percent of Americans want to see a decrease in coal mining and oil drilling on U.S. federal lands in the coming years, while 23 percent hope for it to stay the same. Just 22 percent said they wanted to see an increase, and the rest said they do not know.

The U.S. government holds title to about 500 million acres of land across the country, including national parks and forests, wildlife refuges and tribal territories, overlaying billions of barrels of oil and vast quantities of natural gas, coal, and uranium. Trump has promised to boost industry access to these reserves.

Trump nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate change skeptic who has repeatedly sued the EPA over its regulations, to head the agency. Pruitt is scheduled for Senate hearings on Wednesday, where lawmakers are expected to ask him about his ties to the energy industry.

Trump also nominated U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, an avid outdoorsman and former Navy SEAL commander who advocates for more coal mining on federal lands, to run the Department of the Interior that oversees public lands. Zinke will face Senate questions on Tuesday.

And Trump chose former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy, a move that would put him in charge of the agency he proposed eliminating during his failed bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Perry will be questioned on Thursday.

(Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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More than 60 percent of Americans would like to see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's powers preserved or strengthened under incoming President Donald Trump, and the drilling of oil on public lands to hold steady or drop, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday.

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Southern Louisiana Pipeline Draws Environmental Opposition

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Southern Louisiana Pipeline Draws Environmental Opposition

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Louisiana environmental groups are still fighting the battle against a proposed 163-mile oil pipeline across south Louisiana. A second hearing is set February 8th for a permit needed from Louisiana's Department of Natural Resources.
The opponents of the pipeline expect to have a big turnout because people are very motivated and passionate about the issue. The pipeline would link refineries to a major oil and gas hub in Texas. This connects to larger pipelines throughout North America. The supporters argue this would boost the economy, yet many think it is still not safe and a major environmental issue.

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BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana environmental groups are gearing up for round two in a battle against a proposed 163-mile oil pipeline that would stretch across south Louisiana from Lake Charles through the Atchafalaya Basin and east to St. James.

A public hearing last week for a required U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit drew more than 400 supporters and opponents. Many of the opponents gathered before the hearing and decried a project they fear will foul the state's wetlands and water.

A second hearing is set Feb. 8 for a permit needed from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. That permit is for the roughly 16 miles that will pass close enough to the coast to receive special attention under the state's Coastal Zone program.

The Advocate reports ( http://bit.ly/2jLGgzo ) the proposed Bayou Bridge Pipeline project is being jointly pursued by subsidiaries of Phillips 66, Sunoco Logistics and Energy Transfer Partners, all three of which have a stake in the Dakota Access Pipeline.

"I expect we will have a bigger turnout, because people are fired up," said Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade environmental group. "... This opposition is really unprecedented."

The proposed pipeline would cross 11 parishes. It would link Louisiana refineries to a major oil-and-gas hub in Texas that connects to larger pipelines throughout North America, including the Dakota Access pipeline between North Dakota and Illinois that has been the subject of intense and ongoing protests.

Supporters argue that the $750 million project would boost the Louisiana economy and offer a safer alternative to moving crude oil with trucks, trains and barges.

The subject of next month's hearing is the DNR permit needed for portions of the pipeline that would pass through state-designated Coastal Zones in St. James and Assumption parishes, said DNR Communications Director Patrick Courreges.

He said DNR will assess the potential impact the project might have on coastal wetlands.

"The whole goal of the program is no net loss," Courreges said.

DNR began reviewing the permit early last year and initially closed the public comment period in May, but Courreges said the agency decided to hold a public hearing based on the increasing amount of attention the project has received in recent months.

"When this project was originally being looked at, there wasn't that much interest," he said.

There is no firm timeline for a decision on either the Corps permit or the DNR permit.

Rolfes said the pipeline company can expect continued protests to block the project, even if it receives the required approvals from regulators who she accused of generally doing "big oil's bidding."

"They will not lay this pipeline," she vowed.

The DNR public hearing is set for 6 p.m. on Feb. 8 at the Assumption Parish Public Library in Napoleonville.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com

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Louisiana Department of Natural Resources

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Sunoco Logistics and Energy Transfer Partners

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Southern Louisiana Pipeline Draws Environmental Opposition

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BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana environmental groups are gearing up for round two in a battle against a proposed 163-mile oil pipeline that would stretch across south Louisiana from Lake Charles through the Atchafalaya Basin and east to St. James. A public hearing last week for a required U.S.

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Southern China Is Blanketed in Smog as Beijing Gets Slight Reprieve

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Southern China Is Blanketed in Smog as Beijing Gets Slight Reprieve

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The Hong Kong government has warned its residents of very high health risks within the atmosphere. There are currently very dangerous levels of smog push bad air into their region. The pollution particles that pose the greatest danger to their health exceed 190 micro grams per cubic meter. Levels  above 150 are considered unhealthy.
The Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong blames the weather patterns for the high amounts of pollution. The shifting of weather from sunny to dry has essentially trapped haze over the area. The sun enhances the photochemical smog while the light wind disperses air pollutants.
However, air quality in Bejing has generally improved, yet it is a slow process.

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HONG KONG - With pollution levels receding in Beijing, parts of southern China, including Hong Kong, experienced dangerous levels of smog Monday as weather patterns pushed bad air into the region.

The worsening conditions caused the Hong Kong government to warn of a "very high" health risk, particularly for the elderly, children and those with existing respiratory conditions.

The level of PM2.5 pollution, the fine particulates that pose the greatest danger to health, exceeded 190 micrograms per cubic meter on Sunday in Hong Kong, and the high levels continued into Monday. The World Health Organization recommends daily exposure of no more than 25 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter, and levels above 150 are considered "unhealthy."

HongKong chokes as #China smog threatens Pearl River Delta https://t.co/OlWH6h6u5q #Pollution pic.twitter.com/jA5Rvs6Fb4
- MȺŧŧɨȺs WȺȼħŧmɇɨsŧɇɍ (@mattiaswac) Jan. 9, 2017

Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department blamed shifting weather patterns for the pollution, as sunny and dry conditions on Sunday essentially trapped haze over the region.

"Hong Kong is being affected by an airstream with higher background pollutant concentrations," a department spokesman said. "The light wind hinders effective dispersion of air pollutants. The sunshine enhances photochemical smog activities and the formation of ozone during the daytime, resulting in high pollution in the region."

Nearby Chinese provinces Guangdong and Hainan also had unhealthy levels of pollution.

#Smog travels fast! This is Guangzhou this morning. Will go to #HongKong &amp; further S very soon! #airpocalypse #AirPollution #livinghell pic.twitter.com/5S5l2f7FkE
- Fenella Sung (@FenellaSung1) Jan. 5, 2017

By contrast, Beijing was starting to get a slight reprieve after an extended bout of filthy air, although pollution levels there and in other northern Chinese cities remained high.

On Friday, the Chinese minister for environmental protection, Chen Jining, told reporters in Beijing that air quality had generally improved but that it would take a while to wean the Chinese economy from relying on heavy industry and fossil fuels that cause the smog. He also said that the unusually static air across northern China recently had contributed to the buildup.

"Cleaning up atmospheric pollution can't be done in an instant," Mr. Chen said, according to his ministry's website. "Cleaning up atmospheric pollution is a war of offense, but it's also a war of endurance."

The pollution in Hong Kong includes emissions from China's industrial heartland in the Pearl River Delta, as well as coal burning in the winter and vehicle emissions from heavy traffic. Recent measures have helped reduce pollution levels over the last year, including minimizing the number of diesel-powered commercial vehicles and requiring ships docked in the city to rely on low-sulfur fuel while berthed there.

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Southern China Is Blanketed in Smog as Beijing Gets Slight Reprieve

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HONG KONG - With pollution levels receding in Beijing, parts of southern China, including Hong Kong, experienced dangerous levels of smog Monday as weather patterns pushed bad air into the region. The worsening conditions caused the Hong Kong government to warn of a "very high" health risk, particularly for the elderly, children and those with existing respiratory conditions.

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Scientists Map Vast Peat Swamps, a Storehouse of Carbon, in Central Africa

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Scientists Map Vast Peat Swamps, a Storehouse of Carbon, in Central Africa

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Scientists have recently found one of the largest peat lands in the tropics. Located in Central Africa in the Congo Basin it is larger than New York State.
The vegetation of a peat land is a natural storehouse of carbon taken from the atmosphere. This particular peat contains 30 billion metric tons of carbon and is about 20 feet deep. Peat's store carbon over a long period of time and are mostly located in northern regions including Alaska, Canada, and Russia. The drainage of peat's for oil-palm can cause rapid carbon release and fires. Fortunately, the Congo Basin peat's are relatively inaccessible.

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Scientists have mapped what they say is the largest peatland in the tropics, an area larger than New York State in the Congo Basin in Central Africa.

The peat, which consists of slowly decomposing vegetation in swamp forests, has been accumulating for more than 10,000 years. As in all peatlands, the vegetation is a natural storehouse of carbon taken from the atmosphere - in this case, about 30 billion metric tons of carbon, or roughly equivalent to the carbon in two decades of fossil fuel emissions in the United States.

"It's astonishing to me that in 2017 we can be making these kinds of discoveries," said Simon Lewis, a professor at the University of Leeds in England and an author of a study on the peatlands being published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Dr. Lewis and his colleagues first discovered the peatlands several years ago, working on a hunch that in the wetlands known as the Cuvette Centrale, which straddle the border of the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, they would find peat in layers under the swamps. The vegetation, which is waterlogged year-round, lacks oxygen and other nutrients that would lead to its quick decomposition.

The current study used satellite imaging and analysis to determine the extent of the peat, which is about 55,000 square miles. Field work across the wetlands - which Dr. Lewis said were the most difficult expeditions he had undertaken in 15 years of research in Africa - revealed the depth of the peat, up to 20 feet, allowing a calculation of the amount of stored carbon.

Peat covers only about 3 percent of Earth's land surface, but because it stores carbon over a long time, it contains as much carbon as all of the world's plants and trees, and almost as much as the atmosphere.

Most peatlands are in northern regions, including Alaska, Canada and Russia. But tropical peatlands, especially, are highly vulnerable to land-use changes and climate warming, both of which can lead to the peat drying out and decomposing quickly, which would release the carbon back into the atmosphere.

Vast tracts of peat in Indonesia, for instance, have been drained for oil-palm production, leading to fires and rapid carbon release. In the fall of 2015, Indonesia peat fires released more carbon per day than the European Union.

The Congo Basin peatlands are in a relatively inaccessible area and are largely undisturbed. But scientists and environmentalists fear that the same kinds of pressures affecting Indonesia could eventually affect the Cuvette Centrale peatlands, which store about 30 percent of the carbon found in tropical peatlands worldwide.

Emma J. Stokes, who directs the Central Africa program for the Wildlife Conservation Society, said that protecting the peatlands was crucial, as the swamp forests that overlie them are home to many animals, including some of the highest densities of lowland gorillas anywhere.

The area's inaccessibility was "one of the reasons it's been afforded natural protections over the years," said Dr. Stokes, who was not involved in the study.

"But I don't think we can sit back and relax and say that everything's going to be fine," she said. "We definitely need to be proactive in avoiding any kind of land-use decisions that will risk impacting on these forests and peatlands."

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: Scientists Map Vast, Carbon-Rich Peatlands in Congo Basin. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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Scientists Map Vast Peat Swamps, a Storehouse of Carbon, in Central Africa

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Scientists have mapped what they say is the largest peatland in the tropics, an area larger than New York State in the Congo Basin in Central Africa. The peat, which consists of slowly decomposing vegetation in swamp forests, has been accumulating for more than 10,000 years.

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Iraqi Sheep, Locals, Environment Suffer Islamic State Oil Fires

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Iraqi Sheep, Locals, Environment Suffer Islamic State Oil Fires

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The Islamic State left oil fires after fleeing forces in August. These fires are still raging across northern Iraq while people are wheezing under the massive cloud. This cloud has been over the town of Qayyara for months. More than 155 square miles were covered in smoke for almost a month. These fires release toxic and sometimes deadly substances into the air, water sources, and soil. Local doctors have seen many more patients with respiratory problems recently.The fires are even harming farm animals and have caused many to die. The United Nations as well as many environmental groups and charities have pushed for the fires to be extinguished.
Other environmental issues are harming residents in Qayyara including a gas leak in October. A further toxic cloud formed as sulfur dioxide nearby caught fire.

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QAYYARA, Iraq - Shepherds herd blackened flocks through the Iraqi desert. Locals cough and wheeze under vast clouds of smoke, and NASA images show oil threatening to encroach on the Tigris River, a major water source.

Lit by Islamic State as they fled Iraqi forces in August, huge oil fires are still raging across northern Iraq, bringing a litany of problems in their wake.

A toxic cloud has hung for months over the town of Qayyara, just 60 km (40 miles) from Mosul where Iraqi forces are battling to defeat the militant Sunni group. It is an eerie reminder of the group's rule of the area as traumatized residents begin to rebuild.

More than 250 square km (155 square miles) were covered in smoke for more than 21 days, according to satellite images published in November. Follow-up photos this month show oil "very close" to a tributary of the Tigris though a little less smoke as some fires have been extinguished.

Oil fires release deadly substances into the air, soil and water sources, as seen when retreating Iraqi forces lit more than 650 oil wells in Kuwait in 1991 causing a major environmental disaster.

"The smoke hurts our children, hurts us and, as we get older, it's only going to cause us more problems," said Sarhan Misin, 20, who works in a sweet shop just off Qayyara's main road, adding he has begun suffering coughing fits and shortness of breath.

A doctor at the local hospital, asking not to be named for fear of reprisal by Islamic State, told Reuters he had seen many more patients with respiratory problems in recent months, though was not able to give numbers.

A shepherd herding sheep near a military checkpoint and bombed-out bridge said the oil fires were to blame for the deaths of 10 of his once-60-strong flock. The wool of the remainder turned an oily black.

"When it started, we washed them and they came back to this dark color immediately," said Hamid Achman, 40, a former policeman turned shepherd after his brother, also a policeman, was killed by Islamic State.

'JUDGEMENT DAY'

The United Nations as well as many environmental groups and charities have used strong language and pushed for the fires to be extinguished and more serious testing to take place.

"This ongoing ecocide is a recipe for a prolonged disaster," said Erik Solheim, head of the United Nations' Environment Programme, in October.

On top of the burning oil wells, Qayyara, home to roughly 15,000 people, suffered a chlorine gas leak in October originating from a water plant. A further toxic cloud rolled across the land as sulphur dioxide stockpiled nearby caught fire.

"Qayyara clearly shows that environmental damage in conflicts is a humanitarian issue, with acute and potentially long term consequences," said Doug Weir, a manager at the U.K.-based Toxic Remnants of War Project.

Known for their sulphur-rich, heavy crude, the Qayyara area's two main oil fields produced 30,000 barrels per day before the area was taken over by Islamic State, which then itself profited from the wells.

The district's name is derived from the Arabic for tar, qatran.

A few kilometers away, one well of around 20 initially lit by Islamic State - of which half are still burning - spews flames dozens of meters high into the cold Iraqi air. Thick smoke swirls for kilometers around.

Around 100 firefighters and engineers are working to put out the fire in extremely difficult circumstances, though there is no indication as to when their work will be done.

Blackened diggers, trucks and hoses litter charred earth near the flaming wellhead, amid temperatures high enough to burn skin.

"Sometimes the weather changes suddenly and the fire burns the workers and damages the equipment," said Ayyad Al-Jiburi, the engineer leading the project.

Standing some 20 meters from the flames, smoldering cigarette in hand, he remarks that the ground beneath them could collapse at any moment.

"We're dealing with a natural force... as if preparing Judgement Day and what hell could be like."

(Addtional reporting by Mahmood Zaki; editing by Ralph Boulton)

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Iraqi Sheep, Locals, Environment Suffer Islamic State Oil Fires

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QAYYARA, Iraq - Shepherds herd blackened flocks through the Iraqi desert. Locals cough and wheeze under vast clouds of smoke, and NASA images show oil threatening to encroach on the Tigris River, a major water source. Lit by Islamic State as they fled Iraqi forces in August, huge oil fires are still raging across northern Iraq, bringing a litany of problems in their wake.

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Gadget Mountain Rising in Asia Threatens Health, Environment

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Gadget Mountain Rising in Asia Threatens Health, Environment

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Discarded electronic waste has reached dangerous and concerning levels in East Asia. China is the biggest culprit, yet nearly every country has had an increase in electronic waste from 2010 to 2015. It has increase by about two thirds for 12 countries in the past five years. Many factors influence this ongoing threat to the environment including changes in fashion, illegal global trade in waste, and rapid obsolescence of products due to technological changes. Overall consumers, especially in Asia, replace their electronic products more frequently.  However, there are not necessarily easy methods of recycling in many areas. Only Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan  have established recycling methods. In other countries there have been open dumping of of lead and mercury components and open burning of plastics which release encased copper and unsafe fumes.

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JAKARTA, Indonesia - The waste from discarded electronic gadgets and electrical appliances has reached severe levels in East Asia, posing a growing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm.

China was the biggest culprit with its electronic waste more than doubling, according to a new study by the United Nations University. But nearly every country in the region had massive increases between 2010 and 2015, including those least equipped to deal with the growing mountain of discarded smartphones, computers, TVs, air conditioners and other goods.

On average, electronic waste in the 12 countries in the study had increased by nearly two thirds in the five years, totaling 12.3 million tons in 2015 alone.

Rising incomes in Asia, burgeoning populations of young adults, rapid obsolescence of products due to technological innovation and changes in fashion, on top of illegal global trade in waste, are among factors driving the increases.

"Consumers in Asia now replace their gadgets more frequently. In addition, many products are designed for low cost production, but not necessarily repair, refurbishment or easy recycling," said the study. It urges governments to enact specific laws for management of electronic waste or rigorously enforce existing legislation.

Only South Korea, Taiwan and Japan have long established recycling systems based on laws introduced in the 1990s. Open dumping of lead- and mercury-laden components, open burning of plastics to release encased copper and unsafe backyard operations to extract precious metals are the norm in most countries including Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, which also lack laws governing the treatment of electronic and electrical waste.

The study said open burning and unsafe recycling is associated with a slew of health problems for workers and communities near recycling operations They include infertility, childhood development problems, impaired lung function, liver and kidney damage, inheritable genetic damage and mental health problems.

Backyard recyclers are after gold, silver, palladium and copper, mainly from printed circuit boards, but the crude acid bath extraction process releases toxic fumes and is also inefficient, recovering only a portion of the valuable material.

Asia as a whole is the biggest market for electronics and appliances, accounting for nearly half of global sales by volume, and produces the most waste.

Guiyu, a heavily-polluted rural town in China that specializes in dismantling consumer electronics, some of it exported from rich countries, has become synonymous with the costs of a throwaway high-tech world.

China has cleaned up Guiyu and other centers like it but the Basel Action Network, which brought Guiyu to international attention, said most of the dangerous practices continue in Guiyu albeit concentrated within a new industrial park on its outskirts.

Ruediger Kuehr, one of the study's authors, said the amount of waste being generated is higher than governments estimate, partly because of their narrower definitions, and should be a wake-up call to policymakers and consumers.

"We are all benefiting from the luxury of these electrical and electronic products to a certain extent, it makes our lives easier, sometimes more complicated," he said. "However if we want to continue like this we must be reusing the resources contained in electronic and electrical equipment."

A smartphone, for example, uses more than half the elements in the periodic table, some of which are very rare, and in the longer-run will be exhausted without recycling, said Kuehr.

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Gadget Mountain Rising in Asia Threatens Health, Environment

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JAKARTA, Indonesia - The waste from discarded electronic gadgets and electrical appliances has reached severe levels in East Asia, posing a growing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm. China was the biggest culprit with its electronic waste more than doubling, according to a new study by the United Nations University.