![On the back of a Dragonfly [B&W]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6194/6128449851_14ec409b56_s.jpg "On the back of a Dragonfly [B&W]")
TOP STORY
Expansive Energy Bill Advances In Congress
"A Senate energy bill was voted out of committee yesterday, but not before losing the support of two Democrats and a dozen leading environmental organizations...It is rife with controversy over new offshore drilling plans near Florida, the sharing of federal offshore oil and gas royalties, and a mandate for renewable energy that alternative-energy executives and environmentalists say is too weak." [Washington Post]
Related:
Enviros cringe as Senate committee approves energy bill [Grist]
RECOMMENDED READING
EPA to Pay Medical Bills for People Sickened by Asbestos From Montana Mine
"The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday declared its first-ever "public health emergency," saying the federal government will funnel $6 million to provide medical care for people sickened by asbestos from a mine in northwest Montana." [Washington Post]
UN Warns of 'Megadisasters' Linked to Climate Change
"The United Nations on Tuesday raised the prospect of "megadisasters" affecting millions of people in some of the world's biggest cities unless more is done to heed the threat of climate change...Natural and man-made disasters killed nearly a quarter of a million people in 2008 and warnings about looming disasters, particularly climate change, are not being heeded, the Red Cross said." [AFP - TerraDaily]
The Damming of the Mekong: Major Blow to an Epic River
"As China rushes to industrialize, a total of eight hydroelectric dams are planned on the Mekong...This cascade of dams will be able to store half the entire flow of the Mekong as it leaves China and rushes downstream toward Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In the future, the annual flood will be released gradually as turbines are switched on and off to supply year-round electricity. From then on, the river will rise and fall at the whim of engineers rather than nature. In late May, a report from the United Nations Environment Programme warned that these dams are “the single greatest threat” to the future of the river and its fecundity." [Yale Environment 360]
