Stephanie Lucas

November 21, 2010

Florida Supreme Court Issues Ruling on Land Purchase from U.S. Sugar

The Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the state to borrow money to purchase 73,000 acres of U.S. Sugar land. The land will be converted from farmland and used for restoring the Everglades. However, the Court ruled against borrowing $ 50 million just to reserve the right to buy land in the future for the Everglades restoration project.

Source:

Andy Reid, Florida Supreme Court Endorses Key Parts of Everglades Restoration Land Buy, Sun Sentinel, Nov. 18, 2010, http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-11-18/news/fl-supreme-court-everglades-deal-20101118_1_everglades-restoration-land-long-stalled-everglades-projects-land-deal.

Halliburton Agrees to More Disclosure of Fracking Fluid Chemicals

Halliburton has agreed to publicly disclose more information about the chemicals currently being used in its fracturing fluids, in compliance with a recent request from the EPA. Additionally, Halliburton announced the development of a new, environmentally safer fracturing fluid. The fluid is comprised solely of chemicals used in the food industry.

Source:

Mike Soraghan, Halliburton Announces Ecofriendly Fracking Fluid, More Disclosure, New York Times, Nov. 15, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/11/15/15greenwire-halliburton-announces-ecofriendly-fracking-flu-80875.html.

Water Pipeline to be Built in Texas

Design and construction of a water pipeline can begin now that Tarrant Regional Water District and Dallas have entered into a formal agreement. The pipeline will stretch 149 miles and cost approximately $ 1.6 billion to construct. Once finished, the pipeline will provide more water to both cities, and will allow the cities to assist each other during droughts.

Source:

Bill Hanna, Tarrant, Dallas to Build Water Pipeline to East Texas, Star-Telegram, Nov. 16, 2010, http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/11/16/2637612/tarrant-dallas-to-build-water.html.

Gazprom Joins List of Companies Set to Drill for Offshore Cuban Oil

Gazprom, a Russian energy company, joins five other companies that have already obtained exploration leases from Cuba. Drilling may occur as close as 50 miles to the United States Coast. Drilling has not started yet, but has caused Florida residents to worry about a potential well blowout.

Source

Andrew E. Kramer, Gazprom of Russia to Drill for Oil in Cuban Waters, New York Times, Nov. 15, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/business/global/16oil.html.

California County Bans Plastic Grocery Bags

Los Angeles County passed a ban on plastic grocery bags that will affect 1,000 stores by January 2012. The ban applies to supermarkets and pharmacies. These stores will not be allowed to provide plastic bags to customers. Additionally, there will be a ten cent surcharge on paper bags. The ban has been prompted by low plastic bag recycling rates, and plastic bag pollution of urban areas as well as the ocean.

Source:

Rong-Gong Lin II, L.A. County Passes Sweeping Ban on Plastic Bags, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 17, 2010, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/17/local/la-me-plastic-bags-20101117.