President Obama signs climate change memorandum

On September 21, 2016, President Obama signed a memorandum addressing national security concerns posed by variations in Earth’s climate.

President Obama designates the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean

September 15, 2016

California Court Orders Obama Administration to Conduct Fracking Review

On September 6, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued an order to the Obama Administration calling for further environmental review of the effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in California.

Interactive map of geothermal resources in the United States

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Geothermal Prospector provides a huge amount of information about geothermal energy in the United States. The interactive map includes:

Interactive map of environmental monitoring and management in Utah

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality provides a large amount of environmental monitoring and management information in interactive map form. The Utah Environmental Interactive Map includes information on:

Interior Department recommends states move away from self-bonding

The Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) has issued guidance suggesting that states move away from self-bonding, or the act of putting aside cash, bonds, or other securities for mining reclamation using their current financial health as collateral.

AGU: New Open Access Journal GeoHealth Announced

American Geophysical Union

Hearing to revise Superfund implementation for first time since enactment

The House Environment and the Economy Subcommittee held a hearing to examine implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund.

Interactive map of coastal and marine geoscience features in the United States

The Marine Cadastre National Viewer is a joint product of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The viewer contains an enormous amount of information relevant to marine and coastal issues in interactive map form. Over 275 different map layers are available on a wide range of topics. The geoscience-related layers include:

EARTH: Bringing Geoscience to Bear on the Problem of Abandoned Mines

Last summer, while the abandoned Gold King Mine in Colorado was being studied for acid mine drainage, the earthen plug blew out, releasing millions of gallons of acid mine water into the Animas River, which eventually drains into the San Juan and Colorado rivers and ultimately Lake Powell. The images were startling, but this event added momentum to the national dialog on remediating abandoned mine lands. EARTH Magazine explores the role geoscience plays in this process.

American Geosciences Institute

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