Daily Archives: July 11, 2012

Fracking debate reaches Alabama with forest drilling plan

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CBS 42 TV (Birmingham)  7/10/2012
Excerpt:   ” HEFLIN, Ala. (WIAT) – Plans by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to lease 43,000 acres of the Talladega National Forest for oil and gas development have people in surrounding counties voicing their opposition.

Heflin is one community where some people are frightened about hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”

The Southern Environmental Law Center issued notice of intent to sue the Bureau of Land Management and the National Forest Service under the Endangered Species Act.  Keith Johnston with the SELC says they are concerned about the lack of specific information about how interested companies would access the oil and gas reserves under the forest land.   ……”

Read entire story and see video news clip at http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/Fracking-debate-reaches-Alabama-with-forest/YWljqeiVTUifL-lR6yNGlg.cspx?rss=1659

Lawsuit Launched to Protect Rare Alaskan Wolf

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Environmental News Network 7/11/2012
Excerpt:   ” ANCHORAGE, Alaska— The Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tuesday of their intent to file suit against the agency for delaying Endangered Species Act protection for the Alexander Archipelago wolf, a rare subspecies of gray wolf found only in the old-growth forests of southeast Alaska. In August 2011 the groups filed a petition to protect the wolves, which are at risk of extinction because of the U.S. Forest Service’s unsustainable logging and road-building practices in the Tongass National Forest. The Service, which was required by the Endangered Species Act to determine whether listing may be warranted within 90 days of the filing, has not yet responded to the petition.

Read entire CBD news release at http://www.enn.com/press_releases/4041

Obama orders health insurance for government’s seasonal firefighters

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Chicago Tribune 7/11/2012
Excerpt:   ” WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has ordered his administration to offer health insurance to seasonal firefighters employed by the U.S. government, after an outcry over the lack of affordable coverage available to thousands of such workers.

Obama’s directive, confirmed by the White House on Tuesday, capped a 2-month-old electronic petition drive started by a member of a U.S. Forest Service “hot-shot” crew based in South Dakota that has drawn more than 125,000 signatures.   ….”

Read entire story at  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-obama-firefightersbre86a03q-20120710,0,4845063.story