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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: The First Lady goes to Haiti; Earthquake in Tibet; Volcano in Iceland; Climate scientists cleared of wrongdoing — AGAIN … PLUS: A War on Coal? Coal industry in the hot seat on Capitol Hill… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 4/15/2010

‘Green News Report’ – April 15, 2010  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – April 15, 2010  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: Biotech crops create pesticide-resistant weeds; March 2010 hottest on record; US South could save billions with energy conservation; FDA to study popular sanitizer ingredient triclosan; EU satellite to check climate impact on ice; Last US sardine cans being packed in Maine; GAO again faults interior for royalty collection efforts; Europe generates electricity from trash, U.S. lags … PLUS: Offshore Drilling: How much oil really is off the Atlantic Coast? …

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today’s episode follow below…

• Earthquake in China Kills Over 600:
• Low supplies slow China earthquake rescue efforts (AP)
• Rescuers battle roadblocks, high altitude to reach survivors in China earthquake: The death toll in China’s earthquake topped 600 on Thursday, as rescue teams pulled 1,000 survivors from the rubble but struggled with the high altitude and lack of heavy equipment. (Christian Science Monitor)
• China earthquake: Prime minister visits ruins as focus turns to schools: Wen Jiabao pledges help as 10,000 rescuers rush to stricken Yushu area in Qinghai (Guardian UK)
• So Many Earthquakes! The End is Nigh! (Discovery)
• Iceland Volcano Erupts, Hundreds Evacuated, Air Travel Suspended:
• Iceland’s volcanic ash halts flights across Europe (AP)
• Q & A: Volcanic ash poses major flight hazard to airlines (AP)
• Volcano: Main Paris airport closing within hours due to ash (LA Times)
• Climate Scientists Cleared — AGAIN:
• Inquiry Clears ‘Climate-gate’ Researchers of Scientific Malpractice: The “Climate-gate” scandal isn’t tarnishing global warming research the way that climate skeptics ““ including several Capitol Hill lawmakers ““ might have hoped. (The Hill)
• Climategate: Officially a Fake Scandal (Kate Sheppard. Mother Jones)
• Coal Industry in the Hot Seat:
• Obama Assigns Responsibility for Mining Blast, Outlines Strategy for Reform: President Blames Failure of Management, Oversight and Laws (Washington Independent):
  “We owe them more than prayers. We owe them action.”

  Those were the words of President Obama, who spoke from the White House Rose Garden this morning on steps he plans to take in the wake of last week’s explosion that took the lives of 29 West Virginia coal miners. And he didn’t mince words when it came to assigning fault for the calamity.

  “There’s still a lot that we don’t know,” he said. “But we do know that this tragedy was triggered by a failure at the Upper Big Branch mine “” a failure first and foremost of management, but also a failure of oversight and a failure of laws so riddled with loopholes that they allow unsafe conditions to continue.”

• Congressional Hearing: The Role of Coal in a New Energy Age (House Subcommittee on Energy and Global Warming)
• Coal: Back to the Future? (Mother Jones)
• U.S. mine safety agency faulted on choice of man to lead probe into explosion (Washington Post):
  After a coal mine explosion that killed five people in 2006,
  an internal review by the Mine Safety and Health Administration sharply criticized its own inspection process.
  …
  Now the MSHA district manager who oversaw that mine’s inspections has been named to lead the investigation.
  …
  Former regulators and industry experts said MSHA should have chosen someone else to investigate last week’s accident in West Virginia, the deadliest in a quarter-century.
  …
  Other experts said MSHA should convene a public hearing, which is the only way for the agency to use subpoena power. MSHA has only held one public hearing about coal mine safety, and that was in 1977.
• OP-ED: Coal Has Been Bad for West Virginia (Charleston Gazette) [emphasis added]:
  Here’s the truth: Coal has not been good for West Virginia. Coal has been good for corporations. After more than a century of extracting this valuable resource from the earth, the considerable profits it has generated have gone elsewhere. West Virginia is not known for a robust economy or a prosperous citizenry.
• OP-ED: Massey Energy Bought Workers’ Comp Insurance Shortly Before Mine Blast (Truthout)
• The Hazards of Using Toxic Coal Ash for Land Development (Facing South)

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: More green news not covered in today’s audio report…

• Farmers Who Plant Biotech Crops Grow Pesticide-Resistant Weeds (Environmental News Service)
• Bye-bye, global cooling myth: Hottest March and hottest Jan-Feb-March on record (Climate Progress)
• Energy conservation in south could save billions, create jobs (E! Science News)
• FDA says studies on triclosan, used in sanitizers and soaps, raise concerns (Washington Post)
• EU satellite to check climate impact on ice (AP)
• Last US sardine cans being packed in Maine (AP)
• GAO Again Faults Interior for Royalty Collection Efforts (The Hill)
• Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags (NY Times)
• You Can’t Always Get What You Want: Obama’s decision to open the Atlantic Ocean to drilling may not yield the results everyone imagines. (Newsweek)