Radioactive tuna from Fukushima? Scientists eat it up

Marine biologist Dan Madigan stood on a dock in San Diego and considered some freshly caught Pacific bluefin tuna. The fish had managed to swim 5,000 miles from their spawning grounds near Japan to California's shores, only to end up the catch of local fishermen.  http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-fukushima-radiation-20130225,0,3785100.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Eryn Brown

Report: CDC not properly securing bioterror agents

Laboratories at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been repeatedly cited in private government audits for failing to properly secure potential bioterror agents such as anthrax and plague and not training employees who work with them, according to “restricted” government watchdog reports obtained by USA Today.

“These weaknesses could have compromised (the CDC’s) ability to safeguard select agents from accidental or intentional loss and to ensure the safety of individuals,” according to a 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/20130225report-cdc-not-properly-securing-bioterror-agents.html

Article courtesy of AZCentral.com by Alison Young /USA Today

Cuomo Seeking Home Buyouts in Flood Zones

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is proposing to spend as much as $400 million to purchase homes wrecked by Hurricane Sandy, have them demolished and then preserve the flood-prone land permanently, as undeveloped coastline.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/nyregion/cuomo-seeking-home-buyouts-in-flood-zones.html?_r=3&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1361370143-PLi5ctogCefM9dPOP+cSPA

Article courtesy of Smart Growth Online by Thomas Kaplan New York Times

 

Increasing Parking Space may Decrease Downtown Businesses, People

New research results from the University of Connecticut suggest that increasing car parking space in cities may lead to more cars, less people, and less economic development. In cities that significantly increased parking, the number of people and jobs dropped by as much as 15 percent and the median family incomes fell by 20 to 30 percent. However, in cities that limited parking, the number of people and jobs climbed upward, as did incomes. Less parking has meant more space for shops, restaurants, and jobs, according to the research study authors. http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/02/cars-and-robust-cities-are-fundamentally-incompatible/4651/

Article courtesy of Smart Growth Online by chris McCahill and Norman Garrick

 

In-state oil fields don't all met standard

Environmentalists often call oil from Canada's tar sands the dirtiest fuel on Earth, because the complex process of extracting it spews huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.

But by that standard, some of the crude oil pumped in California is just as dirty. In a few cases, it's even worse.

Several California oil fields produce just as much carbon dioxide per barrel of oil as the tar sands do, state data show. A handful of fields yield even more.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/In-state-oil-fields-don-t-all-meet-standard-4267131.php#ixzz2Kz78CKjM

Article courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle by David R. Baker

Boxer's push is a twist on carbon tax

Washington -- Sen. Barbara Boxer plans Thursday to co-sponsor a radical plan to control carbon dioxide emissions modeled on Alaska's rebates of oil royalties to residents.

The California Democrat is a marquee draw for an otherwise obscure bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont liberal and independent. Called "fee and dividend," the legislation is an unusual variant on a carbon tax. It would impose a fee on carbon emissions at their source, such as coal mines, raising the price of fossil fuel

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Boxer-s-push-is-a-twist-on-carbon-tax-4277210.php#ixzz2Kz5ywmYf

Article courtesy of The San Francisco Chronicle by Carolyn Lochhead

Obama vows action on greenhouse gases

An emboldened second-term President Obama made it clear Tuesday that if lawmakers don't tackle climate change, he will do an end run around Congress and use his executive powers to curb greenhouse gas emissions, which are linked to global warming.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Obama-vows-action-on-greenhouse-gases-4273678.php#ixzz2Kz1OFB3T

Article courtesy of The San Francisco Chronicle by Jennifer a. Dlouhy

500 injured by blasts as meteor falls in Russia

The Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that the meteor over the Chelyabinsk region entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of at least 54,000 kph (33,000 mph) and shattered about 30-50 kilometers (18-32 miles) above ground.

The fall caused explosions that broke glass over a wide area. The Emergency Ministry says more than 500 people sought treatment after the blasts and that 34 of them were hospitalized.  http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/2013/02/15/injured-blasts-meteor-falls-russia/3AmzS7cxfntDkpWrCo8i7I/story.html

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Jim Heintz of the Associated Press

Durham speed limit change decision due

DECISION DUE: Councillors are set to decide whether to reduce the speed limit on a road where a teenager died next month. Durham County Council consulted the public on cutting the speed limit on the A690 between Durham City and the A1(M) at Carrville last year, after 13-year-old Brandon Nugent, of Gilesgate, was hit by a car as he crossed the road in March 2011. Brandon was knocked over on a crossing point on the busy dual carriageway. A council highways committee is set to discuss proposals to reduce the speed limit from 70mph to 50mph during a meeting at County Hall, Durham, on Friday, March 8, at 10am. http://www.durhamtimes.co.uk/news/10229941.Durham_speed_limit_change_decision_due/

Article courtesy of Durham Times by Mark Tellentire

NJ Transit customers' days of getting dollar coins back as change to end

New Jersey Transit customers won't need to worry about getting a pocket full of dollar coins back when they buy their transit tickets.

The agency is installing bank note recycler technology starting with its ticket vending machines at Newark's Penn Station that will dispense change in paper bill form. It will be available at all 674 terminals system wide by the end of the year.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/nj_transit_customers_days_of_g.html#incart_river

Article courtesy of New Jersey News by Associated Press by The Star Ledger

USC research on cold sensitivity could help control pain in future

Researchers at USC have made mice insensitive to near-freezing temperatures by deactivating select neurons, a development that could one day lead to new treatments for pain in humans.

In a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers used a bacterial toxin to kill neurons equipped with so-called TRPM8 channels, cellular structures that help relay sensations of cold. (The pathway is also responsible for sensing menthol, the cooling component of mint.) Neurons that sense heat and mechanical pain were left intact, however

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-cold-sensation-20130212,0,5137235.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angels Times-Science Now by Monte Morin

Some plastics should be classified as hazardous, scientists say

Less than half of the 280 million metric tons of plastic produced each year ends up in the landfill.  A fair bit of the rest ends up littering the landscape, blown by the wind or washed down streams and rivers into the sea.

So far Americans spend $520 million a year to clean up plastic litter washing up on West Coast beaches and shorelines. Efforts to clean up the oceans' enormous swirling gyres of garbage has an incalculable cost. Thus, much of the focus has been on how to stop the river of trash from entering the ocean. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-some-plastics-should-be-classified-as-hazardous-scientists-say-20130212,0,7219100.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times-Science Now by Kenneth R. Weiss

A Silver Lining

A bold transit experiment over at Logan International Airport seems to be working.

Starting last June, the MBTA stopped collecting fares from arriving air passengers boarding Silver Line buses at the airport. The change had two positive impacts at Logan:  Passengers could board buses at the airport much more quickly and they could get to South Station and other points on the MBTA system for free. As a result, ridership on Silver Line buses traveling from the airport to Boston is up about 18 percent.

Article courtesy of Commonwealth Magazine

Sunlight stimulates release of carbon dioxide in melting permafrost

Ancient plant and animal matter trapped within Arctic permafrost can be converted rapidly into climate-warming carbon dioxide when melted and exposed to sunlight, according to a new study. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-carbon-sunlight-permafrost-20130211,0,5550833.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times –Science Now by Monte Morin