Abison Numangu by the Guam Environmental Protection Agency
Today's EarthDesk Sunday is the official beach warning sign of Guam. During the last two weeks, EarthDesk featured stories about some of the many polluted beaches and swimming areas in states the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not include in its database of...
The Big Sioux River: Its Four Decade Journey from Unswimmable to Unswimmable; EPA Beach Warning Website Silent
Controversy erupted in Sioux Falls, South Dakota yesterday when the East Dakota Water Development District proposed warning signs that would advise swimmers, paddlers and other recreational users about excessive bacterial pollution of the Big Sioux River. Sioux Falls...
12% of Iowa Swimming Beaches Unfit, but not Included in EPA Database
At present, 12% of Iowa's swimming beaches have elevated levels of E. coli bacteria, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Beach Monitoring Progam (locations in yellow below). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not include Iowa beaches in...
Illness, Death and Swimming in Tennessee: E. coli Takes Its Toll; No Advisory from EPA
In Tennessee, where typical daytime summer temperatures are locked in the high 80s and above, “about 176 river miles are posted due to bacterial contamination,” warns the state’s Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC). Causes of the contamination are...
23% of Ohio River Samples Unsafe for Swimming but Absent from EPA Database
53% of Samples Taken at Wheeling, WV Unsafe. 23% of samples taken from the Ohio River tested unsafe for swimming due to bacterial contamination according to analyses conducted by the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) at six sites spread over five...
Local TV Warns of Years-Old Kentucky Swimming Advisories; EPA Does Not
"Swimming advisories that have been in place for several years . . .will remain in effect" on the Kentucky River, Upper Cumberland River and Licking River "because of high levels of fecal coliform bacteria," according to the State of Kentucky Division of Water. If you...
29 Signs of the Times: Making Beach Pollution Routine in South Carolina.
Twenty-nine oceanfront warning signs in the Myrtle Beach area (below) are "a better system than media advisories because beach-goers have a constant reminder of the dangers of swimming," according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental...
President Obama Should Come Clean About the Clean Water Act
During 45 seconds of a 22-minute, June 25 speech about the environment before the League of Conservation Voters, President Obama spoke in surprisingly unsophisticated language regarding his water agenda: I’m going to stand with sportsmen and conservationists against...
The 31st Anniversary of the Clean Water Act’s Failure to Achieve Its First Policy Goal
The quality of American waterways continues to worsen. According to the most recent data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: States have issued 223 new fish advisories, bringing the total advisories recognized by EPA to 4,821. Approximately 17.7...
EarthDesk Vacation 6/22 – 7/1
Governor Corbett and Gas Tax by John Cole
Pennyslvania Governor Tom Corbett said he would never impose a gas extraction tax on fracking companies. He also promised he would not increase state income tax. Odds makers are placing their bets on a gas tax to fill the state's $1.4 billion budget gap. More after...
Wildlife Collision App Records Roadkill
Nadya Hall is a Pace University student, member of Pace Academy's Environmental Policy Clinic and Pace Academy summer intern. This post also appears at ePolicy, the Clinic's blog. Recent Utah State University wildlife biology graduate and Quinney Fellow, Daniel D....