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Archive for April, 2010
Namibia: Banking Water for the Future
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 16th, 2010
Inter Press Service: In the driest capital city south of the Sahara, water engineers are "banking" ground water to meet future demand, but the enormous costs might sink the project before water can be harvested. Albertina Hameva lives in a "kambaschu", a corrugated iron dwelling in an informal settlement on the outskirts of Windhoek. There is no power, no water and no sanitation. Asked where she goes to the toilet, she points to the little veld meandering through the hundreds of shacks that perch uneasily ...
Ice cap thaw may awaken Icelandic volcanoes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 16th, 2010
Reuters: A thaw of Iceland's ice caps in coming decades caused by climate change may trigger more volcanic eruptions by removing a vast weight and freeing magma from deep below ground, scientists said on Friday. They said there was no sign that the current eruption from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier that has paralysed flights over northern Europe was linked to global warming. The glacier is too small and light to affect local geology. "Our work suggests that eventually there will ...
Solar-powered geese to tackle offshore wind risks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 16th, 2010
Business Green: Migrating geese at risk of crashing into offshore wind turbines have been tagged as part of a project designed to help guide the positioning of the UK's next wave of offshore wind farms. The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) has fitted five migrating barnacle geese with solar-powered GPS backpacks, which can store enough battery power to keep the device running at night. The data will show the birds' altitude and whether they spend time resting on the sea. It will then be used ...
Brazil: Judge overturns Amazon dam decision
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 16th, 2010
Telegraph: The judge in the capital of Brasilia reversed a decision to suspend contract bidding scheduled for next week and also overturned the suspension of the environmental license for the 11,000-megawatt Belo Monte dam, according to a statement from Brazil's solicitor general. A spokesman for Brazil's electricity regulator, known as Aneel, said that plans were being made to hold the auction as planned for Tuesday but that the latest decision could be appealed. She spoke on condition of ...
EPA seeks to cut mercury from gold production
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 16th, 2010
Reuters: The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed rules to cut mercury air emissions from U.S. gold ore processing and production facilities. The proposal would affect about 20 facilities in the United States that extract gold ore, the EPA said. Mercury can damage children's developing brains and nervous systems. The agency's proposal would slash annual mercury emissions to about 1,390 pounds a year - a 73 percent reduction from 2007 levels. The federal policy will build ...
Army Corps of Engineers Said to Err on Flooding Risk
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 15th, 2010
New York Times: An attempt by the Army Corps of Engineers to correct old data on water flows in the Mississippi may have led to underestimates of the current risk of flooding along the river, scientists argue in a new study. The study argues that a change in the way water flows were measured, dating from the 1930s, mistakenly led the corps to make downward adjustments in data from the 1800s and early 1900s. That in turn is leading to underestimates of the risk of flooding today on the Mississippi ...
Modified plant clears up deadly water toxin
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 15th, 2010
SciDev.Net: Plants may be a useful tool in clearing water of harmful toxins produced by blue-green algae, new research indicates. Some blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) -- which grow in warm, nutrient-rich waters -- produce toxins that can severely damage the liver or nervous system. The effects of the toxins range from a mild illness to rapid death. They can remain in water supplies after the algae have been killed. A team at St George's Medical School, part of the UK-based University of ...
Why water is the next carbon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 15th, 2010
Edie: Water has been quietly climbing its way up the agenda for some time now, but is it set to eclipse carbon as the most talked-about environmental issue? While the carbon emissions contributing to the changing climate are undoubtedly a serious concern, as extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity it is likely to be water - too little and too much of it - that is a more immediate concern. edie caught up with David Symons, director of consultancy WSP Environment & ...
The peak oil crisis: China’s latest drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 15th, 2010
Energy Bulletin: We all need to pause for a minute and consider the possible implications of the droughts that are engulfing China. One of these is in the north -- Inner Mongolia, and the second more serious one covers most of southwestern China. If the weather patterns revert to normal and the May monsoons come on schedule in the next month or so, then all should be well and we, along with 60 million or so Chinese farmers, can stop worrying. But these are not normal times and even the disappearance ...
US geothermal sector heats up as new projects come online
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 15th, 2010
Business Green: The US geothermal power industry enjoyed strong growth in 2009, according to new figures from the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) that will alleviate fears that the nascent sector would stall as a result of the recession. The report showed that during 2009 geothermal developers completed seven new projects, adding around 176MW of geothermal energy capacity in five different states - a significant increase on the 61MW added during 2008. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed ...
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