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Archive for June 18th, 2010
Wind in the willows ‘ratty’ making a comeback in the UK
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 18th, 2010
BBC: The critically endangered water vole is showing signs of a comeback, according to a UK survey. Water voles were once common on waterways across the country, but their numbers began to decline in the 1990s and, by 2005, 90% had disappeared. The Environment Agency, which carried out the survey, said this makes it the UK's fastest declining mammal. The agency added that its recovery had been stimulated by an improvement in river water quality. It also cited success ...
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New Film Investigates ‘Fracking’ For Natural Gas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 18th, 2010
National Public Radio: IRA FLATOW, host: You're listening to SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. I'm Ira Flatow. What would be your reaction if you opened up your tap for a drink of water and discovered not only was the murky fluid that came out unsafe to drink, but if you held a match to the tap, you could make the rushing water catch fire? That's exactly what happened to people across the country who say they were victims of a process of drilling for natural gas called fracking. Fracking is short for ...
Farmers Push Comeback of ‘Cereal of the Poor’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 18th, 2010
Inter Press Service: Eshwarappa Banakar has been a farmer most of his adult life, but these days he has also turned banker – banker of seeds, that is, and especially of millet strains. Yet while his is Karnataka's first seed bank to be set up by an individual farmer, it is only one of the signs of the millet's creeping comeback in the agricultural sector of this southern Indian state. The welcome trend is partly due to the efforts of Sahaja Samrudha (Bountiful Nature), an organisation working ...
United States: Chevron vows to pay for Salt Lake City oil spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 18th, 2010
Associated Press: Salt Lake City attorneys expect Chevron Corp. will quickly agree to a financial settlement related to last weekend's pipeline spill that dumped 33,000 gallons of crude oil into city waterways, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ralph Becker said Friday. Becker has vowed to make Chevron pay for the cleanup, and the company has repeatedly pledged to cover the city's expenses, as well as damage or reimbursement claims from others. A deal could be announced next week, said Lisa Harrison ...
Conservationist: Rescuing Birds Puts Many At Risk
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 18th, 2010
National Public Radio: Melissa Block talks with Melanie Driscoll, director of Bird Conservation at the National Audubon Society's Louisiana Coastal Initiative, about her efforts to help oil-soaked birds along the Gulf Coast and the dilemmas faced by chasing oiled birds into their habitats.
Federal approval still flowing for flawed Gulf drilling plans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 18th, 2010
McClatchy Newspapers: Despite President Barack Obama's promises of better safeguards for offshore drilling, federal regulators continue to approve plans for oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico with minimal or no environmental analysis. The Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service has signed off on at least five new offshore drilling projects since June 2 , when the agency's acting director announced tougher safety regulations for drilling in the Gulf, a McClatchy review of public ...
Argentina: Turning Wasteland into Woodland
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 18th, 2010
Inter Press Service: In Santiago del Estero, one of the Argentine provinces hit hardest by deforestation and desertification, an oasis of native tree species is being created to restore the soil and entice back farmers who were forced to leave their land. "It's not easy, it's very costly and takes time, but it's possible to rehabilitate degraded land," Sonia RamÃrez, head of the reforestation project underway around the village of Colonia El Simbolar, tells IPS. In that area, 1,150 km northwest of ...