Scorecard Rates Emission Reductions of Hybrid Vehicles

U.S. Forest Service Examines Fire Retardant Policy As fire season in the western United States peaks, the U.S. Forest Service is incorporating public comments into a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) published earlier this year.1 The DEIS was developed in response to a July 2010 ruling by Montana’s Federal District Court that U.S. Forest Service protocols for aerial application of fire retardants to fight wildfires violated the Endangered Species Act. Although aerial application in remote areas is not considered a direct threat to human health—the smoke from wildfires is deemed a greater hazard2—it does carry the risk of inadvertent contamination of waterways and traditional food sources. A final EIS is expected by the end of 2011.