This Cute Porpoise Is Threatened With Extinction Due To The Fishing Industry.
The world shouldn’t stand by watching this species go extinct.
Act now on https://t.co/vrqrvQkFw0 & #savethevaquita before it’s too late.
Fishing nets threatening the species One reason behind the possible extinction is drift nets and abandoned fishing nets used by fishermen trying to catch totoabas.
The totoaba is a bass native to the Gulf of California, and their bladders go for up to 10,000 dollars a pound in China, where they are considered to be a luxury medicinal product.
In response, in 2015, Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto decided to protect the marine mammals by banning drift nets over an area of 8000 square miles for a period of two years.
But the measure wasn’t enough.
In addition, other factors such as water pollution from pesticides and genetic defects from interbreeding among the small population could be fatal for the vaquita.
But according to specialists, the animal doesn’t do well in captivity, so the last ditch effort may prove to be counter-productive.
Read More ->Plastic Waste On The Rise Because People Are Too Embarrassed To Ask For Tap Water

PANAJI: Acceding to instructions of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, mining companies engaged in the extraction of iron ore have started presenting bank guarantees with their applications seeking consent to operate. Two companies seeking consent approached the board office with bank guarantees on Thursday. One of them could be Vedanta as the company’s permission to operate in four leases located in Bicholim, Codli, Sankhali and Kolamba (Sanguem) ends on May 19. A senior GSPCB official said that more bank guarantees are expected from companies as the permission to operate has expired for several of the 39 leases, or is due for renewal shortly. Bank guarantee from mining companies seeking consent is a first-time instruction of the pollution board and it has not found favour with the mining industry. Over the past week, companies have…

Environmental groups are crying foul over federal legislation that benefits the shipping industry but which they say would weaken protections against invasive species entering the Great Lakes through ballast water discharges. On Thursday, May 18, the U.S. Senate commerce committee passed a Coast Guard reauthorization bill with provisions that would transfer authority over ballast water from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Coast Guard. The bill passed on a bipartisan voice vote, although several Democrats on the committee, including Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, withheld support over changes to ballast water regulation, saying that the bill as written “does not protect our waters from further incursions from non-native species.” The shipping industry has advocated the transfer for several years, arguing for uniform nationwide discharge pollution rules that would end overlapping state and federal regulations on ballast water, which ships carry in their hulls to provide stability. Because the water can transfer exotic species, bacteria and viruses around the globe, it is regulated as a form of pollution. The shipping industry argues the Coast Guard is a more appropriate authority to regulate ballast water because the service already enforces discharge permit violations and certifies onboard ballast water systems. “The status quo, two federal vessel discharge regulations enforced by two different agencies, plus, at latest count, 25 state regimes, is unworkable,” the Lake Carriers Association said in a 2016 report. Environmental groups counter that provisions in the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, (VIDA), weaken protections against invasive species like the quagga and zebra mussels, which entered the Great Lakes in ballast water. Versions of VIDA have died in committee or been removed from must-pass bills before. The VIDA provisions strip the authority of the Clean Water Act over ballast water discharges and prohibit states like Michigan, which requires saltwater ships calling at Michigan ports to obtain a discharge permit from the state Department of Environmental Quality, from passing their own ballast water rules. Michigan presently has EPA-delegated authority to enforce Clean Water Act rules under a special federal…

For the past several years, about 40 percent of honeybee hives in the United States did not make it through the winter, one of the highest rates of mortality ever recorded.
When people have the knowledge and feel the costs of their actions, they make better decisions – for themselves and for the environment.
Government regulation came with a cost and has its limits.
When regulators moved beyond those obvious sources of pollution, they expanded their authority at the expense of personal freedom and economic growth.
In the same way Uber allowed individuals to use information technology to connect people and provide more choice, smartphones and personal technology allow us to live the stewardship ethic that is so much part of the way conservatives already live.
Now, several companies offer technology to monitor a home’s electricity use in real time.
It doesn’t matter if your goal is to reduce environmental impact, reduce the amount of oil money going to hostile countries like Russia and Iran, or simply to save energy.
These new technologies do what government bureaucracies and politicians cannot – cut electricity demand in ways that honor personal freedom, allowing people to make their own choices using their own information.
While the left’s approach to environmental protection demands we change our lifestyles to conform to their worldview – forcing people onto transit on their schedule – conservatives empower people to make their own decisions, providing options like car sharing.
The conservative approach recognizes that personal incentive and liberty are not only consistent with environmental protection, when combined with technology, they are the most effective tools to promote environmental stewardship.

Putnam selectmen give town administrator OK to be involved with WPCA.
The board had decided before interviewing for the job that the new town administrator would take a hands-off approach to the WPCA.
“I know when I was hired one of the directions from the Board of Selectmen was that I wasn’t going to have any involvement with the WPCA,” Calorio said.
“Ultimately, the town does have some overall responsibility with the WPCA, and I’m asking permission to get involved in some of that overarching higher level support.” Deputy Mayor Alma Morey agreed if Calorio′s primary role is to improve communication and provide oversight for the town, it makes sense for her to get more involved.
Public Works Director Jerry Beausoleil handles the day-to-day management of the effort and will continue to do so, but the town contracted with Suez in early 2016 to run its water and sewer systems.
Calorio said Suez is essentially a vendor and all vendors need to be supervised and that’s something she should be involved with.
Previous Town Administrator Doug Cutler was highly involved with the WPCA during its six-year transformation, which included an $18.8 million upgrade to the sewer treatment plant, $3.8 million invested in drilling eight new wells to ensure adequate water supply, $15.4 million in new water lines and another $5.04 million for a manganese treatment plant.
The water lines are still in the process of being installed and the manganese treatment plant is about a year away from being completed.
Cutler’s oversight of the WPCA was so detailed a small portion of his salary came from the organization.
“Doug was overly involved in the WPCA,” Mayor Tony Falzarano said.

It may be the end of the road for 12 iron-ore mines in Sonshi village of North Goa, if they fail to furnish a bank guarantee here tomorrow before the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), which has deferred renewal of their leases for this mining season over rising air pollution. Mining operations in Sonshi have been suspended since April 28 after these mine lease holders were found to be involved in violation of environmental norms. Also, the GSPCB has kept on hold the renewal of leases of these mines under the Air and Water Pollution (control) Act, following protests by locals complaining about severe air pollution in the village. The Board, in its last meeting, had asked the mining firms to furnish a bank guarantee which would be forfeited if they indulge…

City trees may worsen air pollution in hot weather.
Hotter summers and more frequent heatwaves due to global warming are likely to worsen urban air pollution from the greenest of all city features: trees and other vegetation.
While many studies have highlighted the multiple benefits of urban greening – it reduces temperatures, controls storm water, sequesters carbon, and improves physical and mental wellbeing – a team of German researchers suggest that future greening programs need to more fully account for the exposure of vegetation in urban areas to the urban heat-island effect as well as human sources of air, soil, and water pollution.
In particular, the researchers, led by Galina Churkina of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, in Potsdam, warn of pollution stemming from the higher quantities of volatile organic compounds (VOC) released by vegetation during hotter weather.
When these VOCs interact with human-caused nitrogen oxides – such as the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emitted by the combustion of fossil fuels in motor vehicle engines – the chemical reactions can lead to ozone and particulate matter, both associated with breathing difficulties and aggravating conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.
While plants release hundreds of different VOCs, the researchers note in their study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, that only a few have a substantial effect on air quality.
“The most important reactive biogenic VOCs are isoprene, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes.
Emissions of isoprene mostly contribute to the formation of ground level ozone, while monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes can lead to an increase in particle number and mass.” The paper also notes that while the new results align with other studies (covering Asia, Europe, and North America) pointing to the potential of urban trees worsening air pollution through VOC emissions, “other studies of the same phenomenon complicate the picture”.
The results don’t amount to a call to cut down trees, or indeed to halt urban-greening initiatives.
Rather, the researchers note that tree-planting campaigns simply need to be accompanied by traffic reduction in order to truly benefit urban dwellers.

Airway Heights water contamination to last at least 10 days.
AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — Airway Heights city officials said Wednesday night the water that has been contaminated in their city system will not be cleared for at least 10 days.
The acids are classified by the EPA as emerging contaminants and are present in common household items and heat and fire resistant products, including aqueous film forming foam formulations that were used by the Air Force in fire trucks from 1970-2016 including those at Fairchild AFB.
The air force is validating the findings and they expect to provide final results to the city within two to three weeks.
So far, 40,000 gallons of water has been distributed both at a pickup point and delivered to those who can’t leave their homes.
Albert Tripp, the Airway Heights city manager, said the reason for the delay in getting the water cleared is because they must treat the water before discharging it from the system.
“We do consider that constituent will need to be treated before it is discharged to the ground or the environment and so we’re working with the city to identify ways to proceed cleaning the distribution system.” City leaders said Tuesday bottled water will be given out behind the Yokes at 12825 W. 17th.
Officials ask that you bring a driver’s license or a piece of mail to verify your address.
City leaders said they will be taking steps to remove the contaminants from the water.
They hope to reduce the levels of the contaminants from the city’s water system to safe levels within the next three to four days.

New Book Outlines Comprehensive Solutions on the Environment.
Steve Goreham, Climate Science/Energy Economics Expert, Weighs In Today, businesses are trapped in the green box of sustainable development.
Academics, government leaders, public opinion, and thousands of laws and regulations demand the adoption of sustainability.
However, one man who has studied these claims asserts that sustainable policies have negligible positive effect on the environment.
Steve Goreham, author of Outside the Green Box: Rethinking Sustainable Development, offers firms a prescription for a sensible and evidence-based corporate environmental policy.
“None of the four foundations of sustainable development — overpopulation, rising pollution, climate destruction, or resource depletion — are supported by societal trends or scientific evidence,” writes Goreham, the executive director of the Climate Science Coalition, an independent, non-political association of scientists, engineers, energy experts, and concerned citizens.
Environmental damage, as measured by air and water pollution levels, is dropping in developed nations.
He shows, through studies, facts, and government data that the world is misallocating its resources to fight a problem it can’t change or, in certain cases, need not try to change.
“Trends show that nations reduce pollution as they modernize and become wealthier.” Goreham outlines a sensible green environmental policy for Corporate America and citizens.
He is author of two books on energy and climate change with over 100,000 copies in print.

Robotic Fish With Biosensors Scours The Ocean For Water Pollution Data.
Water pollution isn’t that easy to detect and the safety of the fishes isn’t well ensured due to the technology today.
Luckily, a team of researchers has created a robotic fish that could successfully monitor the water’s PH level and gather data regarding the changes that occurred.
It was then identified that the fish is made up of biosensors to keep track of water quality.
The acquired signal is then transformed into an electronic signal to be used in robot electronics control,” Giovanna Marrazza, an associate professor of analytical chemistry explained.
The robotic fish is then enabled to detect areas of acidity or pollutant concentration through its special PH sensors.
The robotic fish was described to be 30 cm long (12 in) with not measuring the tail.
The fish was also designed to be bio-mimetic.
In which meant that it would swim like a fish so it would reduce stress in aquatic animals.
Moreover, the robotic fish was also described to have a latex-based skin.