The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended in December that states enact bans on all nonemergency use of mobile phones and portable electronic devices by motorists while driving. The NTSB made its recommendation after investigating a multivehicle crash in Gray Summit, Missouri that involved a driver who was texting. The crash, which occurred
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The EPA released its annual national analysis of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2010 on January 5, 2012. The TRI program publishes information on toxic chemical disposals and other releases into the air, land, and water, as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention activities in neighborhoods across the country. Total releases including disposals for the latest reporting year, 2010, are higher than the previous two years but lower than 2007 and prior year totals . . .
The first-ever Carbon Management Technology Conference will be held 7–9 February 2012 in Orlando, Florida, USA. Eight engineering societies are sponsoring this conference, bringing together all disciplines to share the latest technologies, strategies and systems related to the management and containment of carbon production. The three-day technical program will feature more than 200 presentations on
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Failure of a cement barrier in the production casing string was identified as a central cause of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to the Report Regarding the Cause of the April 20, 2010 Macondo Well Blowout released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
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A recent report from market research firm Environment Analyst indicates that the environmental consulting sector in the United Kingdom (UK) contracted by 8.4 percent in 2010, to stand at slightly less than US$ 2 billion (GB£ 1.2 billion). [1] This is the market’s second consecutive decline after more than two decades of unbroken growth. This
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Market research firm Environment Analyst reports that the environmental consulting sector in the United Kingdom achieved nearly US$ 2 billion (GB£ 1.2 billion) in revenue in 2010, an 8.4 percent decrease from the previous year. In order of market share, the top environmental consulting firms in the UK are …
This fall, colleges across the United States can compete to see which schools reduce, reuse, and recycle the most waste as part of the U.S. EPA’s 2011 Game Day Challenge. The challenge is for schools to design a waste reduction plan for one 2011 regular season home football game. Registration for the competition is now open, and champions will be crowned this December…
Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) was formed in 2010 when Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell committed US$1 billion to develop a containment response system that could operate in the Gulf of Mexico in 10,000 feet of water and process up to 100,000 barrels of fluid and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day. In May 2011, MWCC opened its headquarters in Houston [...]
The surprising thing about Canada’s May 2, 2011 federal election is not so much that the Canadian electorate returned a majority at last for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government but that it deserted the Liberal Party in droves to catapult the National Democratic Party (NDP) into second position, making the NDP Canada’s official opposition party for the first time in its history. Politically polarized to the right and to the left, the Conservatives and the NDP are also at odds in their approach to the environment [...]
A global oil and gas company was found liable for soil and ground water contamination associated with historic drilling operations that impacted Ecuador’s northern jungle. The company was ordered to pay US$ 8.6 billion in remediation and restoration costs. The amount was far below the $27.3 billion recommended by a court-appointed expert. Plaintiffs allege that their hunting and fishing grounds near the headwaters of the Amazon River were contaminated by toxic wastewater [...]
