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This page lists 2014 news articles related to the environment or the outdoors (page references from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper unless otherwise indicated). Refer to the indicated source for more information.
Northwest Arkansas Razorback Regional Greenway (12/27/14)
Firms restart poultry plants (12/14/14)
Nuclear Safety - The Cost (12/14/14)
Boeing make 1st flight using green diesel, petroleum mix (12/14/14)
Oil Spills (12/14/14)
Water Plan Jelling (11/30/14)
Ozone Rules (11/17/14)
Whaling (11/17/14)
Wildfire Risk (7/31/14)
Northwest Arkansas Razorback Regional Greenway
12/27/14 page1A - 28 miles of the trail should be completed this year with the final 8 miles from Springdale to Lowell scheduled for completion by mid-2015.
Firms restart poultry plants
12/14/14 page 1G - Buoyed by the increasing profitability of the poultry industry, new buyers are giving shuttered facilities across Arkansas a second look.
Nuclear Safety - The Cost
12/14/14 page 7G - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) values a life at $3 million when considering safety upgrades for nuclear power plants. They compare the cost of improvements with the number of lives potentially saved. (In contrast, the U.S. Transportation Department values a life at $9 million when considering safety upgrades for highways.) Nuclear plants are not required to add safety systems that the NRC deems too expensive for the value of the lives they could save. Rules now require a cost-benefit analysis to justify any NRC action. The NRC has been reviewing its statistical model since August 2012 as the European Union tries to get the U.S. to agree to tighter regulations.
Boeing make 1st flight using green diesel, petroleum mix
12/14/14 page 7G - Boeing has completedthe first test flight using green diesel, a fuel blend of oils and fats already used in trucks and other ground transportation.
Oil Spills
12/14/14 page 1A - On December 9, a tanker hit by a cargo vessel sank spilling 92,500 gallons of oil, creating a slick that has spread 45 miles in the Shela River (Bangladash).
Water Plan Jelling
11/30/14 page 1G - The Arkansas Water Plan indicates the state will demand 4.6 trillion gallons per year by 2050 with a deficiency of 2.3 trillion gallons. ...Because farming accounts for 80 percent of Arkansas' water use, the plan calls for farmers to find ways to conserve. If nothing changes, the plan forecasts the alluvial aquifer - the Delta's supply of underground water - will be mostly dry by 2050. ...From 1984 to 2008, 173 wells recorded an average decline of 4.5 inches per year in the state's main underground water source.
...Arkansas produces more than half the rice grown in the United States, using 1.8 trillion gallons of water in 2010 - or 55% of all irrigation water
The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission is recommending that the legislature require nutrient-management plans - which measure crop need against risk- for the application of poultry litter and animal manure throughout the state. Poultry litter contains equal parts nitrogen and phosphorus while plants generally require more nitrogen than phosphorus ...excess phosphorus runs off into streams and can cause algae blooms and oxygen depletion, which harm aquatic life.
Ozone Rules
11/17/14 page 11A - The EPA said it prefers a new, lower threshold for ozone pollution of 65 to 70 parts per billion but left open the possiblity it could enact an even lower standard of 60 parts per billion sought by environmental groups.
Whaling
11/17/14 page 1A, 7A - Japan defends plan to resume whaling
Wildfire Risk
7/31/14 - Arkansas Forestry Commission joined the Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal ...www.southernwildfirerisk.com