TOP STORY

Supreme Court Limits Superfund Liability

In a decision that limits polluters' liability under the Superfund law, "the Supreme Court made it harder on Monday for the government to recover the often enormous costs of environmental cleanups from companies with only minor or limited responsibility for toxic spills."  The decision limits "both the kinds of companies subject to liability and the situations in which partly culpable companies can be made to bear the entire cost of cleanups."
[New York Times]

VISUALIZATION

 "Today CBO released a paper presenting an overview of the current understanding of the impacts of climate change in the United States. CBO cannot independently evaluate the relevant scientific research, so our paper draws from numerous published sources to summarize the current state of climate science and provides a conceptual framework for addressing climate change as an economic concern." [Congressional Budget Office Director's Blog]

RECOMMENDED READING

House Republicans Blow Off Climate Wary Biz Leaders

"On Tuesday, a group of key Republicans hosted a summit on Capitol Hill to bash the Waxman-Markey bill as an 'energy tax'...Representatives from industry groups that oppose the climate bill, like the National Association of Manufacturers, spoke at the summit, but there were no panelists from companies and business groups calling for a carbon cap, like the U.S. Climate Action Partnership."  [Grist]

New Coal in Kansas

"In a stunning reversal from his predecessor, Gov. Mark Parkinson on Monday signed an agreement ending a two-year fight over plans to build coal-fired power plants in western Kansas.  The compromise allows Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build one 895-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Holcomb, instead of two 700-megawatt plants that were repeatedly blocked by Kathleen Sebelius when she was governor."   [Kansas City Star]

Texas Wind Farm First to Protect Birds

"It could be considered an air traffic control system for birds who have flown perilously off course. A wind farm in southern Texas, situated on a flight path used by millions of birds each autumn and spring, is pioneering the use of radar technology to avoid deadly collisions between a 2,500lb rotating blade and bird." [The Guardian]