10,000 gallon of oil spill in Michigan. A mysterious spill has sent more than 10,000 gallons of oil into the Rouge River near Detroit in the last five days, baffling officials who have been unsuccessful in pinpointing its source. The river, which flows east into the Detroit River, was closed for a second straight day on 14 April as cleanup work continued, creating potential problems for industries that rely on the waterway to transport goods. The Coast Guard hoped the river would be reopened Monday. (Associated Press, 15 Apr) Fact sheet: ANWR debate at a glance. President Bush wants the Senate to approve an energy bill that would authorize oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Many conservationists and preservationists oppose the move, citing threats to wildlife and arguing that the amount of oil obtained by drilling will not be significant enough to warrant possible damage to the area. Alaskans are split on the issue, although the majority supports the move. The oil industry buoys the state's economy, providing jobs, education funding and salaries for civil servants. The House of Representatives approved the broad energy bill permitting ANWR drilling in August. The bill faces stiff opposition in the Senate, where the Democrats have initiated a filibuster preventing a vote on the bill. (CNN.com, 12 Apr) Blackouts may be headed back. Hot temperatures and a hotter economy could combine to put Silicon Valley dangerously close to blackouts this summer, predicts a California Energy Commission study of the local power transmission grid. However, local business leaders are hoping that conservation efforts and a mild summer will keep the lights on while Northern California utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. puts the finishing touches on plans to increase the amount of energy it can draw from the grid. Silicon Valley has been described as the "most energy deficient area in the state", by the California Energy Commission. Only 15 percent, or 300 megawatts, of ongoing local demand is produced in the area, which means the rest must be imported from as far away as Washington state and Arizona. PG&E is proposing to build a third substation in North San Jose ?? PG&E is calling it Los Esteros ?? as well as a host of new transmission lines in that area to boost its ability to draw power from the state electricity grid. The project would expand Silicon Valley's current capacity by 800megawatts, or more than 30 percent. "We don't have enough transmission lines into Silicon Valley," says Jeff Smith, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesman. "Los Esteros gives us another vital link to the state's grid system." (San Jose Business Journal, 15 Apr) Fish guard Army post's water supply. Eight sentries are on constant guard against the poisoning of Fort Detrick's water supply. Each is three inches long. Like canaries in a coal mine, baby bluegills swimming in clear plastic chambers are being carefully monitored for signs of contamination in the Army post's drinking water. Since October, the fish have been living in a white trailer next to the Monocacy River, near the water intake for Fort Detrick and its biological warfare defense laboratory. The bluegills swim in the same water that is piped to the treatment plant next door, and a computer linked to electronic sensor charts every gill pulse and body movement. If they act strangely, it could mean something bad is in the water ?? maybe something poured in deliberately, Col. Donald P. Driggers said. If the computer detects at least six of them acting oddly, it alerts the system's human managers and starts a machine filling sample bottles with water for testing. A gallon of river water spends nearly two days at the treatment plant before being piped four or five miles to Fort Detrick, so any contamination can be stopped long before reaching the post, Driggers said. (Associated Press, 15 Apr) Energy Secretary OK's plutonium shipments. US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham gave notice on 15 April in a letter to Governor Jim Hodges that he is ready to begin shipments of plutonium into South Carolina by mid-May. Abraham said it was "essential" to begin the shipments around 15 May to meet a schedule for closing the Rocky Flats weapons facility in Colorado by 2006. The Bush administration wants to transport the excess plutonium to the DOE's Savannah River weapons complex near Aiken, S.C., where it will be made into mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, for commercial power reactors. The plutonium disposition plan is part of an agreement with Russia for each country to dispose of 34 metric tons of plutonium. (Las Vegas Sun, 15 Apr) FTC files scam charges against 11 companies. The Federal Trade Commission is charging 11 companies with running scams that promised easy riches. Some promised loans or credit cards that never materialized, while others offered to help consumers set up their own medical-billing or envelope-stuffing businesses that had long odds of success. They all shared common methods of advertising which ranged from Internet banners, classified ads in newspapers, or notices tacked to telephone poles that urged consumers to call a telephone number to get more information. (Reuters, 15 Apr) Dutch teen prankster called in bomb scare. A bomb scare on 15 April, prompted the temporary closing of some banks in Washington, DC was the work of a Dutch teenager. A spokesman for The Netherlands public prosecutor's office said police questioned a 13-year-old boy who admitted he called in the threat as a joke. The caller told DC police there was a plot to bomb a national bank in the center of Washington at noon. According to sources, the caller was asked several questions and provided specific information regarding the type of explosive that was going to be used. Despite misgivings about the validity of the call, the information was distributed to banks because of the "specificity of information provided". The FBI recommended bank personnel follow "normal security and notification procedures," but the warning prompted some banks to close their Washington offices. The teenager is not in custody and has not been charged. (CNN, 15 Apr)
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