Mercury, pills and school buses

Wednesday’s nature news digest has arrived!

• Who’s the highest mercury polluter in Bay Area? A Cupertino lime mine, which released 260 lbs into air in 2011. Air regulators are cracking down. [KQED News Fix]
• If you believe the birds – who doesn’t? – this year will bring an early winter and plenty of rain and snow. [San Francisco Chronicle]
• Dangers to wildlife from pharmaceuticals that are flushed into waterways has become part of new campaign to collect leftover pills. [Contra Costa Times]
• A back to school problem. California’s aging school buses are spewing lots of bad air because state doesn’t require retirement of buses. [California Watch]
• Treasure Island residents are worried about the recent radiation scare, after the U.S. Navy revealed highly contaminated sites. [San Francisco Examiner]
• SF Rec & Park claims that a renovated Sharp Park Golf Course would count as a “natural” area. [SF Weekly]
• Drake’s Bay Oysters in West Marin gets state clearance to reopen following illnesses that were linked to bacteria in waters. [Marin Independent Journal]