ENVIRONMENTAL HEADLINES, JANUARY 6 – 12

2006 WARMEST ON RECORD IN UNITED STATES – NOAA
Reuters 1/10/07
SALT LAKE CITY – The year 2006 was the warmest in the contiguous United States since record keeping began 112 years ago, due in large part to an unusually warm December, US government weather forecasters said on Tuesday.

’06’S AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ONE OF HIGHEST EVER
AGENCY AFFIRMS HUMAN INFLUENCE ON CLIMATE
New York Times 1/10/07
President Bush has said it. A lot of government scientists have said it. But until yesterday, it appeared that no news release on annual climate trends out of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Bush White House had said unequivocally that a buildup of greenhouse gases was helping warm the climate.

STUDIES FIND NORTHEAST MERCURY HOTSPOTS
Environmental News Network 1/10/07
CONCORD, NH — Mercury levels near some coal-burning power plants are five times higher than previous government estimates, calling into question how the Environmental Protection Agency identifies biological hotspots and prompting a Maine senator to propose a national monitoring system.

STATE FARM IN TALKS TO SETTLE GULF CLAIMS
New York Times 1/9/07
The nation’s biggest home insurer is close to settling hundreds of lawsuits over its payments for homes hit by Hurricane Katrina.

NATIONWIDE TO LIMIT EXPOSURE ALONG COAST

PLAN EASES LAND CLEANUP RULES
Galveston County Daily News 1/10/07
GALVESTON – The city is considering adopting a new designation that would grant developers a pass on groundwater contamination cleanup.

CHEMICAL CLOUD CREATES A SCARE
Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster 1/8/07
A chemical leak that originated from a tanker truck at the Nalco Company in Sugar Land gave the city quite a scare Monday afternoon, particularly those close to the plant.

THREE HOSPITALIZED AFTER SUGAR LAND CHEMICAL RELEASE

ROAD DISTRICT FOCUSES ON AREA’S APPEARANCE
Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster 1/10/07
Growth is coming to the area west of the Brazos River, but it doesn’t have to be at the expense of the area’s natural beauty. That’s the message that came out of a joint meeting of the Richmond and Rosenberg city councils Tuesday night where landscaping and beautification plans were approved for the US 59 corridor.

LAWSUIT MIGHT CUT FUNDING
Brazosport Facts 1/7/07
A lawsuit pending in a federal appeals court could end up pulling the plug on federally funded highway construction in Brazoria County.

URBAN RANCHER SERIES TO BEGIN JAN 23
Brazosport Facts 1/8/07
The Brazoria County office of Texas Cooperative Extension sponsors a program called the Urban Rancher Program.

SPRING CREEK BIRD COUNT REVEALS 90 SPECIES
Houston Chronicle 1/1/07
They saw 19 yellow-bellied sapsuckers and one bald eagle, 2,561 American robins, and one rare Wilson warbler.

BUYING THE LEAST HARMFUL GAS
Sierra Club Insider 1/9/07
In the United States, drivers consume nearly 400 million gallons of gasoline per day. Many of them are committed environmentalists who are well aware of the true cost of fossil fuel. They drive fuel-efficient cars and carpool but wonder if they could also send a message through where they choose to buy their gas. Sierra reviewed the records of the eight largest US oil companies, and here’s what we found:

SOME NORTHWEST RESIDENTS SEE TREES DIFFERENTLY AFTER STORM
New York Times 1/8/07
Some experts have begun a campaign to restore trust in trees after winds slammed them into property around Puget Sound last month.

ROBBER ESCAPES ON BIKE AFTER HITTING HOUSTON BANK
Houston Chronicle 1/10/06
The FBI Bank Robbery Task Force is seeking assistance in identifying a man who escaped on a bicycle after robbing the Wachovia Bank on West 20th Street, Tuesday afternoon.