2013 January Environment & Climate News

The January issue of Environment & Climate News reports six French science academies slammed a study by an anti-biotech activist claiming a link between genetically modified corn and tumors. The European Food Safety Authority and science groups in Australia, Germany, and New Zealand added their own criticism of the agenda-driven study.

Also in this issue:

• While Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama agreed during the 2012 campaign that the U.S. needs to produce more of the energy we use, environmental activists protest every new energy project proposed anywhere in the world – including a proposal for uranium production in Virginia.

• Two wind farms in Maryland, one proposed and the other one already in operation, are running into stiff resistance from local authorities and residents, conservation groups, state officials, and the U.S. Navy.

• California’s recycling program for aluminum cans and plastic containers suffers rampant fraud, with enterprising criminals claiming multiple refunds and bringing in truckloads of containers from out of state.

• Consol Energy announced it will lay off 145 workers because the company is unable to get the permits it needs from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a surface mining project in southern West Virginia.

• Government officials promoting the use of bioenergy feedstocks should be very careful not to unleash a new wave of invasive species on U.S. soil, more than 200 scientists warned in a letter sent to federal officials.