In The News / Feb 5

• Harmful particles go unmeasured.

  Maricopa County maintains an inventory of the major pollution sources across the metropolitan area, tracking dust from dirt roads and construction sites, fuel exhaust from highways and industrial operations, and organic compounds from industrial plants and landfills. And the US EPA says the inventory is inaccurate. Phoenix Arizona Republic, Arizona

• Climate in DC doesn't favor clean-air rules.

  In February 1998, the Governor's Air Quality Strategies Task Force delivered a thick report recommending actions that could reduce air pollution in metropolitan Phoenix. Since then, almost nothing has happened to address the threat of traffic-related pollution sources along major roads and freeways or to help children or adults with respiratory illnesses aggravated by air pollution. Phoenix Arizona Republic, Arizona

• Air pollution worse than smoking mother.

  Exhaust fumes and ground-level ozone increase the risk for premature birth, according to a study by a team of researchers at Umea University in northern Sweden. The Local Sweden, Sweden

• Gulf oil spill's 'trial of the century' could end before it begins.

  BP and negotiators for federal and state governments are frantically working to confect a settlement so they won't have to leave the fate of billions of dollars in potential pollution fines and spill damage payments in the hands of U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier. The trial is set to being in three weeks. New Orleans Times-Picayune, Louisiana

• Could drought threaten South Africa's rooibos tea?

  South Africa's rooibos tea only grows in a small area and erratic weather patterns - blamed by some on climate change - mean the plant and the new industry are now under threat. BBC

• Sacrificing the desert to save the Earth.

  Industrial-scale solar development is well underway in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The federal government has furnished more public property to this cause than it has for oil and gas exploration over the last decade — 21 million acres, more than the area of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties put together. Los Angeles Times

• Mexico drought chokes cattle, crops.

  The worst drought on record in various parts of Mexico has destroyed millions of acres of cropland and left millions of livestock without food, leading to fears about potential food shortages at a time when U.S. states like Texas are also suffering unusually dry weather. Wall Street Journal

• Planes, trains, automobiles; but bicycles?

  Today, less than 13 percent of US kids use the old foot-mobile, or ride their two wheelers to class. Making children more mobile was what the Federal Safe Routes to School program was all about. It could soon come to a screeching halt. It’s one of the programs on the chopping block as Congress considers a new federal transportation bill. Living On Earth

• New transportation bill proposes big changes.

  The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has proposed a sweeping, new transportation bill. The legislation would encourage private companies to build their own toll roads and pay for infrastructure with money from oil companies. Living On Earth

• Environment agency becomes crunch issue in Rio talks.

  The UN Environment Programme is emerging as a hot issue in preparations for June's Rio conference, styled as a once-in-a-generation chance to restore a sick planet to good health. Agence France-Presse

• Colorado may restrict shale fracturing at former bombing range.

  Proposed drilling on a former bombing range that contains unexploded munitions and a landfill prompted Colorado lawmakers this week to introduce a bill that would require rules for fracking near toxic-waste sites. Bloomberg News

• Outdoor groups urge Corbett to uphold moratorium on state forest gas leases.

  Pennsylvania's 20 state forests encompass more than 2.2 million acres, giving residents year-round access for pursuits such as hiking, snowmobiling, boating, hunting and fishing. But with a budget shortfall looming in Harrisburg and the Marcellus Shale fracking industry expanding in the region, sportsmen say they are worried. Altoona Mirror, Pennsylvania

• Cleanup may put wildlife at risk.

  A federal agency is reviewing whether DuPont's plan to dredge mercury-laced sediment from a corner of Pompton Lake is comprehensive enough to prevent dangerous levels of mercury from contaminating fish downriver. Bergen County Record, New Jersey