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Archive for May, 2010
Oil From Spill Threatens Louisiana’s Marshes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 27th, 2010
National Public Radio: The oil spill from the blown-out well off the coast of Louisiana is seeping into marshlands that serve as critical wildlife habitat and as buffers against violent storms. Officials are considering a range of cleanup options -- including burning out the oil, and the marshes with it -- but some of them may do more harm than good. At the Venice Marina in Venice, La., the scene on a recent day was one of summer serenity. It was a stark contrast to the sight of petroleum sliming the ...
Federal Gulf cleanup costs at $87M and rising
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 27th, 2010
Associated Press: Federal officials say cleaning up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has already cost the government $87 million, making it the third-most expensive cleanup effort in the nation's history. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry has distributed that money to state and federal agencies directly involved in the cleanup. Those include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which projects the oil slick's trajectory, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which rescues ...
Gulf Oil Spill Worst in U.S. History; Drilling Postponed
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 27th, 2010
National Geographic: Today federal officials expressed cautious optimism that BP's "top kill" effort to cap the leaking well causing the Gulf oil spill is working. Meanwhile, the true size of the disaster--and its potential to reshape U.S. energy policy--has become clearer. Hours after the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released estimates that affirm the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the worst in U.S. history, President Obama announced new limits on U.S. offshore drilling to allow for ...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Gulf Oil Spill Worst in U.S. History; Drilling PostponedUnited Kingdom: Extreme droughts to be ‘more common’
Posted by Water Conserve: Water Conservation RSS Newsfeed on May 27th, 2010
Independent (UK): Britain is heading for water shortages and crop failures as extreme droughts like that of 1976 become more frequent, experts have warned. A Met Office study on how climate change could affect the frequency of extreme droughts in the UK has found they will become more common by 2100, and to put the droughts in context, conditions seen in 1976 were used as a benchmark -- one of the worst droughts on record. The Met Office climate model was used to run a number of simulations and ...
Feds: La. barrier plan could push oil onto Miss.
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 26th, 2010
Associated Press: Federal officials say Louisiana's request for a coastal sand barrier to block the oil slick pushing in from the Gulf of Mexico could inadvertently funnel oil deeper into unprotected areas and onto neighboring Mississippi. Documents released Wednesday show federal officials are concerned the barrier could alter tides and end up driving oil east -- into Mississippi Sound, the Biloxi Marshes and Lake Borgne. Eager to build the berms before the damage gets worse, Louisiana ...
Japan could be geothermal energy leader: US expert
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 26th, 2010
Agence France Press: A prominent US environmentalist said Wednesday Japan should focus on developing geothermal energy, saying the volcanic island-nation could become the global leader in the field. "Japan could make geothermal energy the centre of its new energy economy just as the US or China will make wind the centre of theirs," Lester Brown, president of the US-based Earth Policy Institute, told a news conference. "There are no leaders in the world today in this field. There is no industrial ...
Lawmakers Question Salazar On Drilling, Oil Spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 26th, 2010
National Public Radio: MELISSA BLOCK, host: And to another hearing on the Gulf spill, this one on Capitol Hill. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told members of a House panel that the Obama administration has been relentless in its response to the blowout. Regarding future oil drilling, Salazar said the administration is trying to move forward with a balanced approach, one that says don't drill everywhere and when you do drill, it must be done in the right places and the right ways. NPR's Brian Naylor ...
Exxon Mobil CEO says company is helping BP
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 26th, 2010
Associated Press: The CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp. says the oil industry's biggest challenge is regaining public trust after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Exxon Mobil's Rex W. Tillerson insisted that deep-water drilling is safe, and he warned against quick decisions to regulate the companies more closely. Tillerson added that his company has advised BP PLC on how to stop the oil flow. He said BP was pursuing the right tactics. Tillerson said he was surprised by the size of the ...
World’s ‘number one frog’ faces extinction from New Zealand government
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 26th, 2010
Mongabay: Archey's frog is a survivor: virtually unchanged evolutionarily for 150 million years, the species has survived the comet that decimated the dinosaurs, the Ice Age, and the splitting of continents. Seventy million years ago New Zealand broke away from Australia, essentially isolating Archey's frog and its relatives from all predatory mammals. Yet, if the New Zealand government has its way this species may not survive the century, let alone the next few decades. The New Zealand ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on World’s ‘number one frog’ faces extinction from New Zealand governmentDams to provide clean energy
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 26th, 2010
Vientnam News: HA NOI "" Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai emphasised the opportunity more than 800 delegates from 90 countries had to ensure water security as well as cope with water deterioration and climate change when he opened the 78th annual meeting of the International Commission for Large Dams in Ha Noi yesterday. The meeting would also provide the chance to promote the development of technology in dam safety, he said. "The Viet Nam Government has given much attention to the use ...