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Archive for April, 2010
Kenyan GM maize shipment blocked
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2010
BBC: A shipment of genetically modified (GM) maize has been blocked at the Kenyan port of Mombasa after protests by environmentalists. The cargo came from South Africa - whose maize exports mainly go to Kenya - and contained maize varieties developed by US multinational Monsanto. Protestors claimed that safety checks had not been carried out on the maize and that it could contaminate the soil. GM imports have been banned in several African countries. The 40,000-tonne ...
Canada: BC Hydro gets environmental OK for Mica Dam upgrade
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2010
Reuters: British Columbia gave environmental approval on Thursday to BC Hydro's plan to add 1,000 megawatts of generating capacity to its Mica Dam on the Columbia River. The provincially owned utility plans to add two turbines to the dam north of Revelstoke, increasing its total production capacity to 2,805 megawatts. The project still requires approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission, but if approved the BC Hydro plans to have the new turbines in operation by 2016.
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Canada: BC Hydro gets environmental OK for Mica Dam upgradeMekong nations join forces on shrinking river
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2010
Agence France-Presse: Southeast Asian nations on the Mekong River pledged Monday to step up cooperation over the shrinking waterway amid fears China's dams are exacerbating a severe regional drought. Leaders of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam - the member-states of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) - convened in the Thai coastal town of Hua Hin to discuss management of the river, on which more than 60 million people rely. "Without good and careful management of the Mekong river as well as its ...
Group Asks Companies to Report Water Use
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2010
New York Times: The Carbon Disclosure Project, an investor-backed nonprofit organization that has persuaded some of the world's largest corporations to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, will announce on Wednesday that it is asking 302 global companies to begin issuing detailed reports on their water use. The move begins a campaign to put water consumption on par with carbon emissions as a concern of company shareholders. Scientists predict climate change will aggravate worldwide water ...
Rising water temperatures found in US streams and rivers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2010
ScienceDaily: New research by a team of ecologists and hydrologists shows that water temperatures are increasing in many streams and rivers throughout the United States. The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, documents that 20 major U.S. streams and rivers -- including such prominent rivers as the Colorado, Potomac, Delaware, and Hudson -- have shown statistically significant long-term warming. By analyzing historical records from 40 sites located ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Rising water temperatures found in US streams and riversMiners Call Off Protests for Talks; Six Killed in Clashes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2010
Inter Press Service: In response to a government promise to negotiate, small-scale gold miners in southern Peru temporarily called off protests Wednesday in which six people were killed and as many as 30 injured when the police attempted to clear a roadblock. The New York-based Human Rights Watch demanded on Tuesday a swift investigation into the deaths, which it blamed on the police. Some 6,000 unlicensed miners were blocking the Pan-American highway and two bridges near Chala in the southern ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Miners Call Off Protests for Talks; Six Killed in ClashesChevron oil line leaks oil into Louisiana refuge
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 6th, 2010
Reuters: An oil pipeline operated by Chevron Pipe Line Co leaked at least 18,000 gallons of oil into the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Tuesday. The leak discovered by a contractor shortly after midnight discharged into a canal 10 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana, and investigative and cleanup teams were on scene, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
About 18,000 gallons of crude spill in La. refuge
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 6th, 2010
Associated Press: Authorities say a pipeline has spilled 18,000 gallons of crude oil into a canal in a wildlife refuge about 60 miles southeast of New Orleans. There was no immediate word about the extent of damage at the Delta National Wildlife Refuge. The Coast Guard says Chevron Pipe Line Co. has closed off the leaking section and investigators are evaluating the spill from a plane. The Coast Guard says it learned about the spill about 1 a.m. Tuesday and is investigating the ...
China rejects Mekong dam claims
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 5th, 2010
BBC: China has rejected claims that its dams on the Mekong River are to blame for record low water levels in downstream nations. Speaking at a summit in Thailand, China's vice foreign minister said drought and not hydropower was to blame for the reduced river flow. More than 60m people from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam depend on the Mekong River for their livelihoods. Parts of the river are at their lowest levels in 50 years. Further downstream drought, salt ...
NASA slated to receive billions to study Earth
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 5th, 2010
National Public Radio: NASA, the agency known for exploring space, will be spending a lot more time studying Earth in the next few years. The Obama administration has proposed a budget for NASA that includes billions of dollars for satellites and other tools to help scientists investigate Earth-bound problems, especially climate change. That represents a major turnaround for NASA's Earth Science Division, which had been allowed to languish during much of the 1990s. Back then, the division had ...