RSS Feed
Archive for March, 2010
Arctic animals doing better, but not close to pole
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 17th, 2010
Associated Press: The overall number of animals in the Arctic has increased over the past 40 years ago, according to a new international study. But critters who live closest to the North Pole are disappearing. The report by the United Nations and other groups released Wednesday at a conference in Miami concludes that birds, mammals and fish have increased by about 16 percent since 1970. That's mostly because of decades-old hunting restrictions. The number of geese have about doubled. Marine mammals, ...
South Korea green growth to hurt environment: report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 17th, 2010
Reuters: A massive river restoration project at the center of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's green growth strategy will harm globally threatened bird species and destroy critical habitat, a conservation group's report said. Lee's government intends to spend 22.2 trillion won ($19.68 billion) to dredge, dam and beautify four major rivers with golf courses and bike trails in a plan that is supposed to increase the supply and quality of fresh water and prevent flooding. "(It) will ...
More regulation needed for Canada oil sands: report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 17th, 2010
Reuters: Steam-driven projects to extract crude from Canada's oil sands, often held up as more environmentally friendly than mining, have major drawbacks of their own that require more stringent regulation to fix, an environmental think tank said on Wednesday. The Alberta-based Pembina Institute compared nine projects that employ "in situ" extraction methods -- where steam is pumped into the earth to liquefy the extra-heavy crude so it can be pumped to the surface -- and found all need to make ...
China investigating child lead poisoning cases
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 17th, 2010
Associated Press: Chinese officials said Wednesday they are investigating heightened lead levels among hundreds of children in Hunan province thought to be linked to local smelters -- one of many cases underscoring the toll pollution is taking on the health of rural Chinese. Health checks last month showed excessive levels of lead in the blood samples of 254 out of 397 children under age 14 living in three villages closest to the factories in Hunan's Jiahe county, a county government spokesman ...
United States: Underwater cable an alternative to electrical towers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 17th, 2010
New York Times: Generating 20 percent of America's electricity with wind, as recent studies proposed, would require building up to 22,000 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines. But the huge towers and unsightly tree-cutting that these projects require have provoked intense public opposition. A blog about energy, the environment and the bottom line. Go to Blog Enlarge This Image <h6 class="credit">Eric Harger/Pattern Energy A worker guiding cable from a barge during the Trans Bay ...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United States: Underwater cable an alternative to electrical towersKenya: Farming feels like ‘gambling,’ but insurance helps cut risks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 17th, 2010
Reuters: After two years of drought, the rains now falling in Kenya are not bringing the expected relief for Kenya's farmers. Why? Erratic weather means no one knows when to put in a crop anymore. "We are confused. It rains in the dry season. Has the rainy season of April and May shifted to now, or is this extra? It's hard to decide when to plant," remarks Rose Wanjiru while she inspects the maize in her field near Nanyuki, at the foot of Mount Kenya. Overhead, dark rain clouds - once a rarity ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Kenya: Farming feels like ‘gambling,’ but insurance helps cut risksParched California to get more water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 16th, 2010
Reuters: California's drought-baked cities and farms will get considerably more water this year than last from federal officials, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Tuesday, making good on forecasts issued in February after a series of strong winter storms. Irrigation districts south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which represent farmers on the west side of the state's Central Valley, will get 25 percent of their contracted water allotment from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, ...
Uganda: 100 Encroachers Face Eviction From Lutoboka Forest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 16th, 2010
Monitor: The parliamentary Committee on Commissions and Statutory Authorities has given a go ahead to the National Forestry Authority to evict the over 100 encroachers in Lutoboka Forest Reserve in Kalangala District. The members led by their chairperson, Mr Reagan Okumu, who were on Friday in the district to inspect the status of the forest reserves, observed that encroachment on the forest reserve, which acts as a water catchment for Lake Victoria, has not only degraded the reserve but also ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Uganda: 100 Encroachers Face Eviction From Lutoboka ForestHabitat loss wiping out Europe’s butterflies
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 16th, 2010
Agence France-Presse: The destruction of natural habitats in Europe is wiping out butterfly, beetle and dragonfly species across the region, the updated European "Red List" of endangered species showed Tuesday. "When a Red List like this raises the alarm, the implications for our own future are clear. This is a worrying decline," said EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik. Scientists examining Europe's 435 butterfly species found that the populations of one in three species are falling and nine ...
Asian carp: how one fish could ruin the Great Lakes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 16th, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: The Asian carp's presence is highly contentious in the Midwest, with ramifications that could affect the economy as well as the environment. Here's a primer on the Asian carp and why this invasive species poses such a threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem. What is the Asian carp?It's a collective term that describes four species of fish that originated in China but have shown up in the United States: the silver, bighead, grass, and black carp. The bighead and silver carp are the ones ...