Carbon dioxide releases into the atmosphere fall to a 20-year low in the U.S. The surprising disclosure, which came from a little-noticed Energy Department report, was attributed by government officials to power plant operators switching to cheap and plentiful natural gas from dirtier-burning coal. Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, apparently because it happened due to market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas. “There’s a very clear lesson here. What it shows is that if you make a cleaner energy source cheaper, you will displace dirtier sources,” said a University of Colorado climate expert. The Associated Press
International study finds “alarming patterns” of tobacco use. The study, published in The Lancet medical journal, reported today that two-fifths of men in developing countries still smoke or use tobacco, and women are increasingly starting to smoke at younger ages. It said that, despite years of anti-smoking measures across the world, most developing countries have low quit rates. Smoking rates vary dramatically, however, around the world. The percentage of men who smoke ranged from about 22 percent in Brazil to more than 60 percent in Russia. Female smoking rates ranged from 0.5 percent in Egypt to almost 25 percent in Poland. U.S. women had a relatively high rate, 16 percent. Reuters
Aerial spraying of pesticide in Dallas to stop West Nile virus spurs backlash. Dallas’ mayor authorized the city’s first aerial spraying of a pesticide since 1966 to combat the mosquito-borne disease amid the nation’s worst outbreak of West Nile on record. Officials said the Texas death toll is 17, the most West Nile-related fatalities of any state. “The disease poses an immediate public health threat to Dallas County,” said the state’s health services chief. “We need to use all possible tools, including aerial spraying, to fight this outbreak.” But more than 1,700 people signed an online petition calling on Dallas officials to stop the spraying, describing it as ineffective, unsafe and harmful to insects like honeybees and ladybugs. The New York Times
Kentucky mine foreman pleads guilty to federal charges over workplace hazards. The foreman, Bryant Massingale, admitted in federal court that he failed to note hazardous conditions in inspection reports and failed to correct hazardous conditions at a Manalapan Mining site in Harlan County, Ky. He faces sentencing in January. A grand jury this year charged Manalapan, Massingale and two other company officials with exposing miners to the risk of injury or death in June 2011 by, among other things, allowing them to work under sections of the mine roof that weren’t properly supported. Weeks later a worker was killed in a mine collapse. The company and two other officials have pleaded not guilty. Lexington Herald-Leader, The Associated Press
Construction firm on Massachusetts bridge project accused of four safety violations. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration charges followed an investigation into a March accident in which a worker on the project in Amesbury, Mass., was hurt when a crane struck an overhead power line. The charges against Barletta Heavy Division of Canton, Mass., included a willful violation, the agency’s most serious offense. “We issued a citation for a willful violation due to the fact that the employer knew of the power line hazard and did not take steps to correct it,” an OSHA official said, adding that the same crane struck the same line two other times within a year. OSHA proposed $91,000 in penalties. OSHA, The (Newburyport, Mass.) Daily News
Regulators charge asbestos removal contractors in Illinois and West Virginia with safety violations. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration accused Sodexho Inc. with 13 violations related to asbestos removal at Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, W. Va. The agency is seeking fines of up to $81,000 due to the alleged violations, which include failing to provide respirators, protective clothing and training for asbestos work. Separately, OSHA cited Johnson Controls for five violations at an AT&T site in Kankakee, Ill. The charges included one repeat violation of failing to provide an asbestos removal training program. Proposed fines total $59,400. OSHA
Recalls: 2003-4 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans, Dodge Durango SUVs, Beadboard bunk beds, Babylicious crib fringes, El Torito Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad kits
Compiled by Stuart Silverstein
