This story from the Feb. 5, 2010 issue of High Country News says they may have.
And the Denver Post says that biologists are looking for them.
Gray wolves were extirpated from Colorado in the first half of the 20th century and the last confirmed sighting of an individual in the state was in 1943.
However, since reintroduction of the species to Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s populations of the animal have begun to pop around the Rocky Mountain region.
The gray wolf was listed as an endangered species for more than three decades before the administration of President George W. Bush removed it from the list of those species protected by the Endangered Species Act. Current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar re-affirmed that decision in spring 2009.
Environmentalists have challenged it but, in September 2009, a federal judge ruled that hunting of the species in the northern Rockies could continue.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
China releases new water pollution data; annual loads to waterways are four times safe limits
China has released a new report detailing the amount of pollution discharged to its waters, and the results indicate that the country is overwhelming its rivers, lakes and streams with toxins.
According to a report published in today's New York Times, the first-ever Chinese national pollution census shows that, in 2007, the world's most populated country emitted more than 30 million tons of organic pollutants into its waters.
The Times article, quoting a Chinese environmental group leader, says that the annual limit for the country's lakes, rivers and streams is about 7.4 million tons of the organic pollutants that measure chemical oxygen demand.
Nearly half of the pollutants in China's freshwater chemical oxygen demand originate in agricultural operations, the report says.
The new report by the Chinese government also says that water pollution from soot and ammonia nitrogen have increased from previous, less-detailed examinations of the nation's pollution problem and that heavy metal contamination of water, including from mercury and lead, persists.
The World Health Organization estimates that almost 100,000 people in China die each year from water pollution-related causes and that 75 percent of disease in the country results from water quality problems.
A 2007 investigative report by the New York Times indicated that about 500 million Chinese lack access to safe drinking water.
According to a report published in today's New York Times, the first-ever Chinese national pollution census shows that, in 2007, the world's most populated country emitted more than 30 million tons of organic pollutants into its waters.
The Times article, quoting a Chinese environmental group leader, says that the annual limit for the country's lakes, rivers and streams is about 7.4 million tons of the organic pollutants that measure chemical oxygen demand.
Nearly half of the pollutants in China's freshwater chemical oxygen demand originate in agricultural operations, the report says.
The new report by the Chinese government also says that water pollution from soot and ammonia nitrogen have increased from previous, less-detailed examinations of the nation's pollution problem and that heavy metal contamination of water, including from mercury and lead, persists.
The World Health Organization estimates that almost 100,000 people in China die each year from water pollution-related causes and that 75 percent of disease in the country results from water quality problems.
A 2007 investigative report by the New York Times indicated that about 500 million Chinese lack access to safe drinking water.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Oil, trucking industry interests sue to block California low-carbon fuel regulations
California's innovative low-carbon fuel regulations, enacted last year in an effort to lower the state's contribution to greenhouse gas pollution of the atmosphere, are the subject of a lawsuit by oil and trucking interests.
The regulations, which were finalized by the state's Air Resources Board last month, require fuel manufacturers to reduce the carbon intensity of their product by 10 percent by 2020.
They require producers to account for indirect use of carbon in fuels, including during the manufacturing or refining processes. That mandate is controversial because, among other impacts, it may force corn farmers producing ethanol to account for the loss of land otherwise available to grow food and for wildlife habitat.
California Air Resources Board chairperson Mary Nichols condemned the litigation, arguing that the regulations will save consumers money, lower fossil fuel use and reduce air pollution.
"Their actions are shameful," Nichols said in a statement. "Instead of fighting us in court, they should be working with us to provide consumers in California and the rest of the nation with the next generation of cleaner fuels."
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, American Truckers Association, Center for North American Energy Security, and Consumer Energy Alliance.
A spokesperson for the American Truckers Association told the New York Times that the regulations would raise the cost of fuel and equipment too much.
The litigation is pending in the U.S. District Court in Fresno.
A similar lawsuit was filed in December by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, California Dairy Campaign, Renewable Fuels Association and other groups, and a private ethanol company has challenged the regulations in California state court.
The complaint filed by the refiners and truckers interests is here.
The regulations, which were finalized by the state's Air Resources Board last month, require fuel manufacturers to reduce the carbon intensity of their product by 10 percent by 2020.
They require producers to account for indirect use of carbon in fuels, including during the manufacturing or refining processes. That mandate is controversial because, among other impacts, it may force corn farmers producing ethanol to account for the loss of land otherwise available to grow food and for wildlife habitat.
California Air Resources Board chairperson Mary Nichols condemned the litigation, arguing that the regulations will save consumers money, lower fossil fuel use and reduce air pollution.
"Their actions are shameful," Nichols said in a statement. "Instead of fighting us in court, they should be working with us to provide consumers in California and the rest of the nation with the next generation of cleaner fuels."
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, American Truckers Association, Center for North American Energy Security, and Consumer Energy Alliance.
A spokesperson for the American Truckers Association told the New York Times that the regulations would raise the cost of fuel and equipment too much.
The litigation is pending in the U.S. District Court in Fresno.
A similar lawsuit was filed in December by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, California Dairy Campaign, Renewable Fuels Association and other groups, and a private ethanol company has challenged the regulations in California state court.
The complaint filed by the refiners and truckers interests is here.
Friday, February 5, 2010
AP: USFWS denies ESA listing for pika
The Fish and Wildlife Service has refused to list the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a small diurnal herbivore that is found in Western mountains, on the nation's endangered species list.
The Obama administration's decision comes despite ample evidence that the tiny mammal's habitat is disappearing rapidly due to global warming.
The story is here.
The Obama administration's decision comes despite ample evidence that the tiny mammal's habitat is disappearing rapidly due to global warming.
The story is here.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Leak at Vermont nuclear plant causes angst about new reactor construction
A leak of radioactive water from a nuclear power plant in New England is causing the industry some worries as a renewed focus on the energy source gains prominence.
According to the Boston Globe, the leak from the Vermont Yankee facility in Vernon, Vermont, about 10 miles from the Massachusetts border, do not pose a threat to the water quality or ecology of the Connecticut river.
The radioactive isotope that leaked, tritium, can cause cancer in humans if consumed in drinking water.
The incident has caused a long-time supporter of the Vermont Yankee facility, the Green Mountain State's governor Jim Douglas, to ask the state legislature to withhold, at least temporarily, support for the facility's re-licensing by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The NRC has extended the permits for 59 nuclear reactors in recent years and is expected to consider whether to extend permits for 37 more during the next several years.
President Obama called for an increase in the country's nuclear power plants during his State of the Union address last week. The NRC has also seen an upsurge, for the first time in decades, in proposals to build new facilities.
According to the Boston Globe, the leak from the Vermont Yankee facility in Vernon, Vermont, about 10 miles from the Massachusetts border, do not pose a threat to the water quality or ecology of the Connecticut river.
The radioactive isotope that leaked, tritium, can cause cancer in humans if consumed in drinking water.
The incident has caused a long-time supporter of the Vermont Yankee facility, the Green Mountain State's governor Jim Douglas, to ask the state legislature to withhold, at least temporarily, support for the facility's re-licensing by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The NRC has extended the permits for 59 nuclear reactors in recent years and is expected to consider whether to extend permits for 37 more during the next several years.
President Obama called for an increase in the country's nuclear power plants during his State of the Union address last week. The NRC has also seen an upsurge, for the first time in decades, in proposals to build new facilities.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Alaska to mount legal challenge to Endangered Species Act
Alaska's legislature is considering a request by the state's attorney general to appropriate $1 million for a lawyer to mount a challenge to the Endangered Species Act.
That's according to a report in the Juneau Empire today.
Alaska officials have repeatedly complained about the application of the ESA within their state, most recently in connection with the polar bear.
The state has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior, arguing that the listing of that species as threatened is not justified.
That's according to a report in the Juneau Empire today.
Alaska officials have repeatedly complained about the application of the ESA within their state, most recently in connection with the polar bear.
The state has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior, arguing that the listing of that species as threatened is not justified.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Environmentalists challenge off-road vehicle use plan in Idaho national forests
Environmentalists have sued to block plans for allowing off-road vehicles in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, the largest in the 48 contiguous states, arguing that regulations issued by the USDA Forest Service fail to protect the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.
The Idaho Statesman has a report here.
The Idaho Statesman has a report here.
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