OSHA Final Rule for Confined Spaces in the Construction Industry

By Mark A. Lies, II, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen

Last week the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced and issued a 161 page final rule to increase protections for construction workers in confined spaces. 80 Fed. Reg. 25366 (May 4, 2015), which is effective on August 3, 2015.

Confined spaces can be loosely defined as manholes, crawl spaces, tanks, and other places that are not intended for continuous occupancy. Confined spaces are also, because of their calculated design for other purposes, difficult to exit in an emergency. People working in confined spaces, without taking proper precautions, can face life-threatening hazards such as toxic substances, electrocutions, explosions, and asphyxiation.

The Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said of the rule that "in the construction industry, entering confined spaces is often necessary, but fatalities like these don't have to happen." "This new rule will significantly improve the safety of construction workers who enter confined spaces. In fact, we estimate that it will prevent about 780 serious injuries every year." OSHA Administrator, Dr. David Michaels, said "this rule emphasizes training, continuous worksite evaluation and communication requirements to further protect workers' safety and health."

The OSHA final rule adds a new subpart to 29 CFR Part 1926 to provide protections to employees working in confined spaces in construction. The new subpart replaces OSHA's one training requirement for confined space work with a "comprehensive standard that includes a permit program designed to protect employees from exposure to many hazards associated with work in confined spaces, including atmospheric and physical hazards." According to the Agency, the final rule is similar in content and organization to the general industry confined spaces standard, but it also incorporates several provisions from the proposed rule to address construction-specific hazards, to account for advancements in technology, and to improve the "enforceability of the requirements."

Members of the regulated community, that is property owners, construction contractors, and sub-contractors, need to timely review this expansive rule, in order to meet the compliance date of August 3, 2015 and avoid OSHA citations. There are now new obligations on the various employers who may have their employees involved with construction site confined spaces.

One important requirement added to the rules relates to the responsibilities of the host employer (the owner of the site containing the confined space), the controlling contractor (who has primary control over the construction project), and the entry employer (whose employees will enter the confined space). The regulation makes the controlling contractor, rather than the host employer, the primary point of contact for information about the permit confined spaces at the worksite. The host employer must provide information it has to the controlling contractor who in turn passes the information to the entry employer.

In addition, the controlling contractor is responsible for making sure that employers outside of the confined space do not create hazards in the confined space, and that multiple entry employers working in a confined space at the same time do not create hazards for each other's employees.

With such a complex and immense rule, employers are encouraged now to review their construction confined space policies, procedures, and training programs to ensure compliance with the new standard.

Please continue reading from: Environmental & Safety Law Update
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Apple Promises To Use 100% Renewable Energy In All China Factories

Apple announced on Monday that it will expand its environmental protection and clean energyplans in China. Its green initiatives' goals will include using 100 percent of renewable energy to operate all of its factories.

Apple's manufacturing facilities in China have recently received much media criticism due to the company's environmental practices and labor practices in the past.

Apple's new environmental initiatives include a 5-year partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to protect 1 million acres (4,046 sq. km) of forests, according to a WWF press release. The tech giant can harvest the trees for materials, but the process must be through sustainable energy.

China is now the largest timber importer in the world, according to Gizmodo. This highlights the importance of boosting Apple's production of sustainable paper products.

Apple has recently attempted to become a leader in environmental protection. One goal is to power all of its worldwide operations with 100 percent renewable energy. Another objective is a "net-zero impact" on Earth's sustainable virgin fiber.

China itself has plans to improve the country's infamous air pollution. It is currently the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gasses.

China has promised that the country's greenhouse emissions will peak by 2030. It also hopes to boost its use of renewable energy to 20 percent by the same year.

Lisa Jackson, an Apple vice president, has stated that forests are renewal resources. The company wants to protect and create enough "sustainable working forest."

However, critics refer to Apple's promises as "greenwashing" methods. Apple is using environmental issues to counter bad public relations regarding its controversial treatment of factory workers.

Still, Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated that fighting global warming is a "core value" of the tech company. In fact, 87 percent of Apple's worldwide operations are powered by renewable energy.

Last month Apple made a forest protection deal in the U.S. similar to the one in China with WWF. It conserves working forestland threatened by real estate development.

Please continue reading from:
http://en.yibada.com/articles/32307/20150512/apple-promises-use-100-renewable-energy-china-factories.htm
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Free webinar on Utility Short Circuit Current Data, Arc Flash Studies and Change by Jim Phillips, P.E.

It goes up, it goes down, sometimes it is thought to be infinite (although it really isn’t!) and other times it seems impossible to find. “It” refers to the available short circuit current from the electric utility which is one of the more important pieces of information for an arc flash hazard calculation study. Used to help define the severity of an arc flash hazard, it represents the magnitude of current that could flow from the electric utility during a short circuit.

The available short circuit current is one of two main variables used in performing incident energy calculations. Why would the utility short circuit current change? Why would it change? Who’s fault is it if it affects the results of a study? How can you stay one step ahead of the possible changes?

This webinar is based on Jim Philips’ experience in both arc flash studies and his work with the IEEE 1584 working group and also from experience earlier in his career as the head of the short circuit studies group for a large public utility system.
Date:     Thursday, May 21st
Time:     10 AM - 11 AM Pacific
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3799936740991939329

Jim's Bio:
Jim Phillips has taught tens of thousands of people from around the world understand electrical power system design, analysis and safety throughout his 30 plus year career.  He is the founder of  Brainfiller and ArcFlashForum.

Jim is Secretary of IEEE 1584,  Liaison to the International Electrotechnical Commission Working Group 15 based in Geneva, Switzerland for arc flash related standards and active with many other national and international standards.
 
He literally “wrote the book” about arc flash studies with “Complete Guide to Arc Flash Calculation Studies” .  He is also  Contributing Editor for Electrical Contractor Magazine in the subject of Arc Flash.
 
Jim continues to travel the globe typically flying over 150,000 miles a year to work with various U.S. and international standards organizations and speak at many conferences and training events.
 
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.  Interested but can’t attend? Register now and we’ll send you a link to the video recording.

Drug-resistant 'superbug' strain of typhoid spreads worldwide | Reuters

An antibiotic-resistant "superbug" strain of typhoid fever has spread globally, driven by a single family of the bacteria, called H58, according to the findings of a large international study.

The research, involving some 74 scientists in almost two dozen countries, is one of the most comprehensive sets of genetic data on a human infectious agent and paints a worrying scene of an "ever-increasing public health threat", they said.

Typhoid is contracted by drinking or eating contaminated matter and symptoms include nausea, fever, abdominal pain and pink spots on the chest. Untreated, the disease can lead to complications in the gut and head, which may prove fatal in up to 20 percent of patients.

Vaccines are available -- although, due to limited cost effectiveness, not widely used in poorer countries -- and regular strains of the infection can be treated with antibiotic drugs. However, this study found that the H58 "superbug" version, which is resistant to multiple types of antibiotics, is now becoming dominant.

"H58 is displacing other typhoid strains, completely transforming the genetic architecture of the disease and creating a previously under appreciated and on-going epidemic," the researchers said in a statement about their findings.

Vanessa Wong of Britain's Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, who was part of the international team, said that since typhoid affects around 30 million people a year, robust and detailed good global surveillance is critical to trying to contain it.

The research team, whose work was published in the journal Nature Genetics on Monday, sequenced the genomes of 1,832 samples of Salmonella Typhi bacteria that were collected from 63 countries between 1992 and 2013.

They found 47 percent were from the H58 strain.

Please continue reading from: Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/11/us-health-typhoid-idUSKBN0NW1E920150511

on Monday approved petroleum giant Shell's request to begin drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Sea under certain conditions, despite opposition from environmental groups.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - 

US President Barack Obama's administration on Monday approved petroleum giant Shell's request to begin drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Sea under certain conditions, despite opposition from environmental groups.

The decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management granted Shell the right to explore the Chukchi Sea as long as the correct permits are obtained by agencies that regulate the environment and marine mammal health.

"We have taken a thoughtful approach to carefully considering potential exploration in the Chukchi Sea," said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper.

"As we move forward, any offshore exploratory activities will continue to be subject to rigorous safety standards."

Environmental groups have opposed drilling in the Arctic due to the vulnerability of animals that are already struggling to the melting sea ice, and the risk that an oil spill would pose to the region.

"Once again, our government has rushed to approve risky and ill-conceived exploration in one of the most remote and important places on Earth," said Oceana deputy vice president Susan Murray.

In April 2010, the explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people and spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the sea.

Please continue reading from: 
http://www.france24.com/en/20150512-obama-approves-drilling-arctic
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Liberia is free of ebola, World Health Organization declares.

The World Health Organization declared Liberia free of Ebola on Saturday, making it the first of the three hardest-hit West African countries to bring a formal end to the epidemic. 
Please continue reading from: Environmental Health News

Earthquakes Predicted Algorithmically

Slashdot
A company called Terra Seismic says that earthquakes can be predicted 20-30 days before they occur, by sifting data for thermal, ionic, and other abnormalities in areas where quakes are considered likely. Says the linked article: "The company claims to have successfully predicted a number of earthquakes. For example, on 5th of April 2013, the firm issued a forecast for Japan. On 12th April 2013, an earthquake hit the identified area and 33 people were injured. On 4th June 2013, the firm again made a prediction for an earthquake in North Italy. On 21st June, an earthquake hit the identified area. On 3rd March 2013, the firm issued a forecast for an earthquake in Iran. Again, after 35 days, an earthquake hit the identified area."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Oil leaked into Hudson River after fire at nuclear reactor near NYC | Reuters

REUTERS - Reporting by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Chris Reese

Oil leaked into the Hudson River on Sunday after a transformer fire and explosion a day earlier at the Indian Point nuclear plant north of New York City, and Governor Andrew Cuomo said he was concerned about environmental damage.

Cuomo visited the plant for a briefing on Sunday. The governor, who in the past has called for the plant to be shut down because of its proximity to densely populated New York City, also visited the plant on Saturday.

When the transformer exploded, it released oil into a holding tank, which then overflowed, sending oil onto the ground and into the river, Cuomo told reporters on Sunday after he was briefed by emergency and plant officials.

He said crews were working to contain and clean up the oil spill but it was not clear yet how much oil had been released.

"If you are on site, you see an oil sheen all over the area where the transformer went on fire, and it was a significant area that was covered by oil, foam and water," Cuomo said.

The transformer explosion and fire at the nuclear power reactor 40 miles (65 km) north of New York City was quickly put out. The fire triggered the closure of the plant's Unit 3 reactor, while the other Unit 2 reactor continued to operate.

Entergy Corp (ETR.N), which runs the facility and is one of the largest U.S. nuclear power operators, said the plant was stable and there was no danger to the public or to employees.

"Anything that happens at this plant obviously raises concerns," due to the proximity to the largest U.S. city, Cuomo said.

"The transformer fire in and of itself was not dangerous.

But the fear is always that one situation is going to trigger another. If something goes wrong here, it goes very wrong for a lot of people."

Cuomo said emergency crews thought the fire was out but it reignited and had to be extinguished again.

The transformers are located around 300-400 feet away from the reactor.

The plant, which dates back to the 1960s, has around 1,000 employees.

It is one of 99 nuclear power plants licensed to operate in the United States and which generate about 20 percent of U.S. electricity use, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's website.

(Reporting by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Chris Reese)
Please continue reading from: 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/10/us-usa-nuclearplant-incident-idUSKBN0NV0UE20150510
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34 percent of Americans financially carry the country: Those not in the labor force hits another record at 93,194,000.

34 percent of Americans financially carry the country

The number of Americans not in the labor force has hit another new record.  The latest figures show that 93,194,000 Americans are not in the labor force.  How big is this figure?  How about the populations of our three most populated states in California, Texas, and Florida combined and you would still need to find millions more.  To be exact, add all three up and you would still need another 8 million people to add up to this figure.  This is about a third of the entire United States that is not in the labor force, and this is excluding the 69 million that can't work (i.e., mostly children).

The trend itself doesn't seem to be letting up.  Plus you have a large number of added jobs coming from low wage employment.  The trend for those not in the labor force is unmistakable:

Another problematic aspect of this transition is that you have 34 percent of the country supporting the rest financially.  Does that come as a shock to you?  I'm sure the media doesn't bother going into this because they are too caught up in the narrative that money is flowing into all corners of the United States.  That is simply not true.  Sure, the stock market is near a peak.  But very few Americans actually own stocks out right.

Take a look at the raw numbers of the entire United States:

Let us go through the categories one by one:

Government workers:  Government workers are paid via tax revenues collected from the private sector.  While many of these are legitimate jobs, the revenue for paying for these come from tax dollars collected from the private sector.  That is simply a fact.

Not in the labor force:  This is the black box of it all.  These are able-bodied people that can work but choose not to do so.  Some are old and some are in college, but this figure has to be examined closely.  With more Americans going to college and more diving deep into debt, how many in this group should be working but are not?  The growth here is not explained by old age trends or disability growth with the population.  Something else is going on here.

Cannot work:  This group is mainly made up of children so probably needs no further investigation.

Unemployed:  This is the headline calculating group.  These are Americans looking for work but are unable to do so.  We keep hearing how great things are but we have 17 million Americans ready and wanting to work but not being able to do so.

Private sector:  In terms of tax revenues, this is really the group that is supporting the rest of the country.  Their tax revenues fuel and fund the government.  But even their tax revenues are not enough as we go deeper into debt as a country.

Now maybe all of the above doesn't fit in conveniently in a one minute television segment.  But don't you think this is important to think about when one-third of the country is supporting the rest financially?  And isn't it troubling that many new private sector jobs are also in the low wage segment of the economy?

Please continue reading from: 
http://www.mybudget360.com/not-in-labor-force-one-third-americans-carry-rest-of-country-financially/

What Humans Are Really Doing to Our Planet, in 19 Jaw-Dropping Images

Source: Peter Essick/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Electronic waste, from around the world, is shipped to Accra, Ghana, where locals break apart the electronics for minerals or burn them. 

Source: Pablo Lopez Luz/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Mexico City, Mexico, one of the most populous cities in the Western Hemisphere.

Source: Digital Globe/Foundation for Deep Ecology

New Delhi, India, where many landfills are reaching a breaking point. The surrounding population of Delhi totals some 25 million people. 

Source: Mike Hedge/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Los Angeles, California, which is famous for sometimes having more cars than people.

Source: Mark Gamba/Corbis/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Kern River Oil Field, California, USA.

Source: Daniel Dancer/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Former old-growth forest leveled for reservoir development, Willamette National Forest, Oregon, per the Population Media Center.

Source: Jason Hawkes/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Coal power plant, United Kingdom.

Source: Cotton Coulson/Keenpress/Foundation for Deep Ecology

North East Land, Svalbard, Norway, where rising global temperatures are fundamentally changing the ecology.

Source: Digital Globe/Foundation for Deep Ecology

The world's largest diamond mine, Russia.

Source: Daniel Beltra/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Amazon jungle burns to make room for grazing cattle, Brazil.

Source: Garth Lentz/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Tar sands and open pit mining in an area so vast, it can be seen from space. Alberta, Canada.

Source: Daniel Dancer/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Tires discarded in Nevada.

Source: Garth Lentz/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Vancouver Island, Canada.

Source: Yann Arthus Bertrand/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Industrial agriculture in Almeria, Spain, stretches for miles.

Source: Garth Lentz/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Tar sands, Alberta, Canada.

Source: Lu Guang/Foundation for Deep Ecology

A man turns away from the smell of the Yellow River in China.

Source: M.R. Hasasn/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Bangladesh, where much of the world's clothing and goods are manufactured.

Source: Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/Foundation for Deep Ecology

Black Friday, Boise, Idaho.

Source: Zak Noyle/Foundation for Deep Ecology

A remote bay in Java, Indonesia, where local residents, without infrastructure for waste disposal, discard waste directly into streams and rivers.

Please continue reading from: 
http://mic.com/articles/117312/you-ve-never-seen-our-impact-on-the-planet-quite-like-this-before

Heartbeat Radar Saves 4 Men Trapped Under Rubble In Nepal

Heartbeat Radar Saves 4 Men Trapped Under Rubble In Nepal that is still reeling from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near Kathmandu on April 25. The quake has flattened three quarters of the city's buildings and killed…

Firefighters' union says new oil-by-rail rules fall short.

The largest union representing firefighters in North America said Tuesday that a new Department of Transportation rule for transporting oil by rail does not go far enough to enable firefighters to respond effectively in the case of an accident. 
Please continue reading from: 1Environmental Health News

Probe takes aim at US methane plume mystery.

NASA and NOAA scientists identify and measure man-made and natural sources of a vast methane plume billowing over the hydrocarbon-soaked San Juan Basin, more commonly known as the Four Corners area of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. 
Please continue reading from: Environmental Health News

Memristor brain mimicking chip, with digital logic circuits but with elements that mimic, in simplified form, the neurons and synapses of biological brains

Next Big Future

An all memristor chip, built by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Stony Brook University, processes data not with digital logic circuits but with elements that mimic, in simplified form, the neurons and synapses of biological brains. When a network like that is exposed to new data, it "learns" as the synapses that connect neurons adjust the neurons' influence on one another.

Robert Legenstein, an associate professor at Graz University of Technology in Austria, wrote: "If this design can be scaled up to large network sizes, it will affect the future of computing … Laptops, mobile phones and robots could include ultra-low-power neuromorphic chips that process visual, auditory and other types of sensory information.

Brain-inspired—or "neuromorphic"—chips have been made before, and IBM is trying to commercialize them. They generally use the same silicon transistors and digital circuits that make up ordinary computer processors. But those digital components are not suited to mimicking synapses, says Dmitri Strukov, an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who led work on the new memristor chip. Many transistors and digital circuits are needed to represent a single synapse. By contrast, each of the 100 or so synapses on the UCSB chip is represented using only a single memristor.

"A [biological] synapse is an analog memory device, and there is really no good way of implementing that in a compact, energy-efficient way with conventional technology," says Strukov. "Memristors by themselves are an analog memory device; it's a perfect match."

The UCSB group's simple chip is just a proof of concept, but the researchers believe their techniques can be scaled up to make larger, more powerful devices. Strukov says the technology could get a helping hand from the efforts companies such as HP and SK Hynix are making to commercialize memristors for data storage.

HP should be able to scale memristor chips to billions and even trillions.

This circuit can learn to recognize simple black-and-white patterns, thanks to devices called memristors located at each place the wires cross.

Nature - Training and operation of an integrated neuromorphic network based on metal-oxide memristors

Read more »

IBM’s Watson Will Make Decisions About Cancer Care in 14 Hospitals in the U.S. and Canada

Via: BBC:

IBM's supercomputer Watson will be used to make decisions about cancer care in 14 hospitals in the US and Canada, it has been announced.

Using computers to trawl through vast amounts of medical data speeds up the diagnosis process.

The system will help assess individual tumours and suggest which drug should be used to target them.

Doctors have welcomed the new computer which will learn from each case it examines.

"When you are dealing with cancer, it is always a race," said Dr Lukas Wartman, assistant director of cancer genomics at the McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, one of those signed up to use the Watson system.

"As a cancer patient myself, I know how important genomic information can be.

"Unfortunately, translating cancer-sequencing results into potential treatment options often takes weeks with a team of experts to study just one patient's tumour and provide results to guide treatment decisions. Watson appears to help dramatically reduce that timeline," he explained.

Please continue reading from: BBC

Wisconsin's quality drinking water cause for celebration during National Drinking Water Week

WDNR - Wisconsin communities enjoy safe drinking water and continue to make steady progress in improving drinking water quality, offering cause for celebration during National Drinking Water Week.

More than 95 percent of the state's public water systems meet all health-based standards and during the three year period from 2011 to 2013, municipal community water systems invested a total of $134.9 million in upgrades through the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, a fund administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

"Clean water plays a fundamental role in human health and remains essential to a strong economy," said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp. "In Wisconsin, we're fortunate to have abundant groundwater supplies and the continued reinvestment in municipal water systems ensures this water is delivered safely to the public from the tap."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, many improvements in the health, prosperity and longevity of the U.S. population can be attributed to improvements in water quality. A century ago, the average life expectancy in the United States was 47 years compared with 78 years today and experts say a significant reduction in water borne diseases has contributed to the increased longevity.

Wisconsin is home to 11,400 public water systems--more than any other state--and from state fiscal years 2012 to 2014, DNR's Safe Drinking Water Loan Program provided funds for 93 projects statewide. DNR also conducted more than 2,200 engineering plan reviews for new facilities, wells, facility upgrades and other projects during the period. All the state's public water systems also get inspected regularly.

"Wisconsin's public water systems have the capacity and technology to safely deliver 1 ton of clean water, on average, to each house every day," said Steve Elmore, DNR's public water supply section chief. "Through regular monitoring, we know more about what's in our water than ever before and this allows us to adopt strategies that address emerging issues. In Wisconsin, we also make a point of sharing this information publicly--the results of water testing at all the state's public water systems are available online."

Consumers interested in learning more can search the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, for "Wisconsin drinking water data." For more resources on National Drinking Water Week, May 3-9, visit the American Water Works Association (exit DNR).

To celebrate National Drinking Water Week, join DNR's drinking water and groundwater experts for an online chat at noon on Thursday, May 7. To participate, visit the DNR home page, dnr.wi.gov, and click on the graphic or search the phrase "ask the experts." You can also join the conversation via our Facebook page at facebook.com/WIDNR by clicking the "Ask the Experts Chat" tab at the top of the page.

Wisconsin approves changes to state invasive species law

WDNR - A state law aimed at preventing the spread of invasive species and reducing their statewide impacts has been updated and following legislative approved went into effect May 1, 2015.

Revisions to Chapter NR 40 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code include the listing of additional species and delisting or down listing of some of currently regulated species under the state's Invasive Species Identification, Classification and Control rule. In total, listings of more than 100 different species were updated and revised to respond to changing conditions and statuses of invasive species around the state.

"Invasives like the emerald ash borer, Eurasian water-milfoil and garlic mustard harm our environment, cost billions of dollars annually across the nation and threaten core Wisconsin business sectors such as agriculture, tourism and forestry," said Paul Schumacher, chair of the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council. "These revisions to the invasive species rule are an adaptive approach to tackle the threats from invasive species and meet the department's charge from the legislature to address these challenges."

The updates to the invasive species rule were a result of several partnerships with the Department of Natural Resources including the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council, Department Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Wisconsin Green Industry Federation, the University of Wisconsin, and input from species experts, stakeholders and the public.

A major update includes revising the status of species that have become established in Wisconsin since they were first listed as prohibited in 2009, such as emerald ash borer, a beetle responsible for the destruction of tens of thousands of ash trees in Wisconsin. Under the rule, prohibited species are those that are not well established in the state and whose spread can be prevented or limited to certain areas using eradication methods. Since being listed, EAB has spread to 37 counties prompting a proposal to change the beetle's regulatory status to restricted.

Restricted species are those already found in the state and may be more widespread; eradication is improbable but the spread can still be managed. When this happens, measures to manage the spread of invasives like EAB apply, such as DATCP quarantines and DNR firewood transportation restrictions.

Other revisions include changes to plants species like non-native phragmites, Japanese hedgeparsley and forest pests like jumping worms [PDF]. A full list of the new invasive species rule changes and literature reviews are available by going to the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, and searching keyword "NR 40."

"The Wisconsin Invasive Species Council is appreciative of all the hard work from our partners and stakeholders who helped make these changes possible," said Schumacher. "Wisconsin is one of the first states to have an identification and listing rule like NR40, which goes a long way in our efforts to reduce the impacts of invasives."

People can learn more about the changes to NR40 during an online chat at noon on Thursday, May 28. To participate, visit the DNR home page, dnr.wi.gov, and click on the graphic or search the phrase "ask the experts." You can also join the conversation via our Facebook page at facebook.com/WIDNR by clicking the "Ask the Experts Chat" tab at the top of the page.

Wisconsin celebrates Clean Air Month this May, and reminds us that, "It all adds up to cleaner air"

WDNR- It is May and once again time to celebrate Clean Air Month. The Department of Natural Resources is celebrating our state's clean air and the part we all have played in improving our air quality.

The DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, has tips for reducing air emissions, the opportunity for the public to sign-up for air quality notices and information on the department's annual poetry contest for third, fourth and fifth grade students in Wisconsin by searching Clean Air Month.

"At your DNR, we continue to work hard so Wisconsin citizens can enjoy some of the cleanest air in the nation." said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp.

Stepp noted that the state's air quality has been improving since the 1980's. Other successes from the past year include:

• the department's use of social media tools such as Twitter to inform the public when Air Quality Advisories are announced; and
• increased outreach to businesses through the department's new LinkedIn account. Businesses can more easily tap into DNR air updates, and LinkedIn users can follow @WisconsinDNR to see posts related to Wisconsin business.

"We are breathing healthier air and continuing to see positive trends in air quality thanks to the partnership among businesses, citizens and the department," said Bart Sponseller, DNR Air, Waste and Remediation and Redevelopment deputy division administrator. "Businesses and citizens across our state continue to support our clean air mission by the voluntary actions they take each and every day."

To learn more about voluntary actions we can take to reduce air emissions visit the Do A Little Save a Lot page of the DNR website.

Lake Huron nuclear waste burial report expected this week

A Canadian environmental assessment of a proposal to bury nuclear waste deep underground near the shores of Lake Huron is expected this week amid fierce opposition to the idea from home and abroad.

Ontario Power Generation argues that storing the radioactive material in a huge underground bunker set in rock -- the deep geological repository or DGR -- is the safest way to deal with waste that is potentially dangerous for centuries.

For decades, the waste has been stored above ground at the Bruce nuclear power plant near Kincardine, Ont., and OPG says it could continue doing so safely but says a long-term solution is needed.

The proposed facility would be about 680 metres deep and close to the Bruce reactors and house hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of what is considered to be low- and intermediate-level waste from facilities across Ontario.

Stable bedrock and shale would essentially seal the facility, protecting both the surface and nearby lake for thousands of years, proponents say.

"Very favourable geologic features make the Bruce site in Kincardine one of the best possible locations," OPG states.

"Experts agree, it's the responsible choice and reflects international best practices."

Opponents say proposal is dangerous

Opponents, however, argue no system is foolproof and any problems - especially with a facility about one kilometre from a major water source for millions of people - could be catastrophic.

While the municipality, where many jobs and the economy are closely tied to the power generator, is officially a "willing host community" for the repository, grassroots groups have sprung up in the area to give voice to those concerns.

One of them, Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump, has collected almost 75,000 signatures on an online petition and is already pledging to keep fighting the plan if the review panel green-lights it.

Group spokeswoman, Bev Fernandez, argues the intermediate-level waste -- components from within the reactors -- is almost as dangerous as spent nuclear fuel for which authorities are also seeking a permanent storage solution.

"This Kincardine waste dump is really the Trojan horse," Fernandez says. "There is absolutely nothing stopping OPG from putting the high-level waste, the nuclear spent fuel, into this (repository); all it would take is a stroke of the pen."

U.S. senator opposes underground storage of nuclear waste

Opposition has also been heard much farther afield. More than 150 communities, many in Michigan and Illinois, have passed resolutions opposing such underground storage.

Earlier this month, for example, Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate calling on the Canadian government to ban any nuclear waste repository within the Great Lakes basin.

"A spill of nuclear waste into the Great Lakes could have lasting and severely adverse environmental, health, and economic impacts," the resolution states.

Please continue reading from:  - CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/lake-huron-nuclear-waste-burial-report-expected-this-week-1.3059419

California Drought Killed 12 Million Forest Trees Since Last Year | KPBS

An estimated 12 million trees across California's forestlands have died over the past year because of extreme drought conditions, according to an aerial survey conducted April 8-17 by the U.S. Forest Service.

In San Diego County, 82,528 trees, mostly Jeffrey pines across Mt. Laguna, have succumbed to a lack of rainfall, with many more struggling to survive, said Jeffrey Moore, interim aerial survey program manager for the U.S. Forest Service.

DOCUMENT

Tree Mortality In Southern California Forests

The extent and severity of tree mortality, which occurred after the 2014 aerial surveys in Southern California Forests.

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DOCUMENT

Southern Sierra Tree Mortality

Recently dead or injured trees were mapped visually by a surveyor using a digital aerial sketch-mapping system flying in a light fixed-wing aircraft approximately 1,000 feet above ground level.

Download

There is "very heavy mortality, a lot of discoloration in the pine trees that probably will expire sometime during this growing season, as well as oak trees that are suffering," Moore said.

Moore was part of a team that surveyed the trees visually, using a digital mapping system while flying in a fixed-wing aircraft 1,000 feet above ground.

A tree's survival often depends on its proximity to other trees, he said.

"A lot of trees are competing for whatever available moisture there is in a drought situation," Moore said. "When you have too many trees in an area, it makes it hard on all of the trees."

In Southern California, the researchers tracked more than 4.2 million acres in Cleveland, San Bernardino, Angeles and Los Padres National Forests, where they found an estimated 2 million perished trees. They combed another 4.1 million acres in the Southern Sierra Nevada, where they documented approximately 10 million dead trees. Their findings were compared to similar surveys taken in July 2014, Moore said.

In San Diego County, Moore said they found substantial pine mortality near Descanso Road in the Cleveland National Forest, and throughout Mt. Laguna.

The team did not attempt to map gold-spotted oak borer beetle-related mortality in this survey, he said. Nor did they track black oak trees, since it's unclear whether those without leaves are dead or just "leafing out"—bare but in the process of growing their new leaves for the spring.

The county's forests are already reeling from the 2003 Cedar Firethat devoured 280,000 acres, including in the Cuyamaca Mountains. The region was formerly blanketed by a coniferous forest, but recovery has been poor, Moore said.

"Most of those areas aren't even coming back into trees at all," Moore said. "They're kind of being switched over now into Chaparral plants because they burned so hot the seed source is gone."

Please continue reading from: 
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/may/04/california-drought-kills-12-million-forest-trees-l/
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Can Elon Musk's battery really cut your power lines?

Computerworld: To eliminate the world's dependency on fossil fuel-generated power, all you need is two billion of Tesla's new commercial-grade battery systems.

That was part of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's message last week, when he announced a new line of batteries for households and businesses, which will allow distributed electrical storage from renewable sources like solar power.

Sounds crazy, right? However, as Musk pointed out, the area needed to power the entire globe with photovoltaic panels would be less than 1% of the U.S.'s total land mass, and most of that could be deployed on rooftops.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Chernobyl fire radiation hazard as 'hot particles' of plutonium go up in smoke

Forest fires raging near the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear disaster site in north Ukraine are releasing a surge of airborne plutonium particles as radioactive twigs, branches and leaf litter burn.

The dominance of plutonium in the smoke is especially worrying since it is hard to detect using Geiger counters owing the very short range of the alpha radiation it emits. Yet even small particles embedded in lung tissue can cause cancer.

The Ukrainian National Guard has been put on high alert due to worsening forest fires around the crippled Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to Ukraine Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.

"The forest fire situation around the Chernobyl power plant has escalated", a statement onAvakov's Facebook page says.

"The forest fire is heading in the direction of Chernobyl's installations. Treetop flames and strong gusts of wind have created a real danger of the fire spreading to an area within 20 kilometers of the power plant. There are about 400 hectares [988 acres] of forests in the endangered area."

He added that there was "reasonable suspicion of intentional arson" since fires had been ignited on both sides of the river.

Police and National Guard units are on high alert. Ukraine's Prime Minister personally went to the affected area to oversee the firefighting. He says the situation is under control, "but this is the biggest fire since 1992."

However, in comments to Russia's Moscow Speaks radio, a representative of Greenpeace Russia said that the situation is much worse:

"A very large, catastrophic forest fire is taking place in a 30-km zone around the Chernobyl power plant. We estimate the real area of the fire to be 10,000 hectares; this is based on satellite images. This hasn't been officially acknowledged yet."

Serious radiation risk from re-suspended 'hot particles'

The potential danger in this fire comes from the radioactive contaminants the burning plants have absorbed, Christopher Busby, scientific secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, told RT.

Please continue reading from - The Ecologist

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/2851033/chernobyl_fire_radiation_hazard_as_hot_particles_of_plutonium_go_up_in_smoke.html

Large ocean dead zones found off Africa

Independent UK - Swathes of oxygen-deprived water up to 100 miles long, unable to sustain any form of animal life, have been found in the Atlantic, scientists have said.

Researchers of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany discovered the unexpectedly low oxygen environments several hundred kilometres off the coast of West Africa.

A paper, published in Biogeosciences, describes 100-mile-long eddies of swirling water spinning their way across the Atlantic for months at a time. 

Dead zones are usually found in shallow bodies of water, such as lakes and shallow coastlines.

However, the swirling movement of the eddies found in the Atlantic ensures that no water can escape, so the oxygen supply is quickly used up 
Please continue reading from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/animal-life-at-risk-as-oxygenstarved-dead-zones-discovered-in-the-atlantic-ocean-10221983.html