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Archive for August 18th, 2010
Iceland: Magma defies protests, strengthens grip on Icelandic geothermal gold mine
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
Business Green: Magma Energy Corp yesterday increased its holding in Icelandic geothermal firm HS Orka hf, despite on-going protests at its proposed takeover of the firm. The company announced that its subsidiary Magma Energy Sweden had shelled out around $87m in cash and Magma subscription receipts to acquire a 38.03 per cent stake in HS Orka from Geysir Green Energy ehf. The deal is the third tranche of HS Orka shares acquired by Magma, taking its overall holding to 84.21 per ...
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Poor to benefit from global fire monitoring system
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
SciDev.Net: People in developing countries are expected to be able to speed up their response to threatening blazes, following the launch last week (11 August) of the first global system for monitoring fires. The Global Fire Information Management System (GFIMS) offers almost real-time detection of emerging fires, and alerts users through an online portal or via email. Soon it will also provide updates in the form of text messages, allowing anyone with a mobile phone to use the ...
United States: Enbridge Inc sees oil spill costs of C$6.6 million
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
Reuters: Enbridge Inc expects its costs as a result of the pipeline break and oil spill that fouled a Michigan river system last month will be about C$6.6 million ($6.4 million) after insurance recoveries, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The amount, which would exclude any fines related to the July 26 spill near Marshall, Michigan, reflects its 27 percent stake in U.S. affiliate Enbridge Energy Partners LP, said Gina Jordan, spokeswoman for Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. Enbridge Energy ...
When will Canada stop tar sands damage?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
Guardian: If you're still planning your summer holiday, don't be fooled by Canada's green image and Alberta's famed Rocky Mountains. Canada is the surprising home to the most destructive project on Earth, the Alberta tar sands. Today, Corporate Ethics International is launching an advertising campaign to encourage the British people to scrutinise what's going on in Alberta. Tar sands are a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen, which can be processed into synthetic crude oil at great ...
Kit to treat water pollution goes on sale in China
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
AFP: Japanese trading giant Itochu Corp. will start selling water-processing equipment in China to help combat the country's serious problems with water pollution, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. ITC Green and Water Corp., a water-processing unit of the Tokyo-based trading house, will later this year market a new water-treatment system developed by Japanese contractor Matsue Doken, the spokesman said. The system will be priced between 40 million and 100 million yen (470,000 ...
Russia: Baikal soil pollution not critical – watchdog
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
RIA Novosti: Pollution levels in soil samples taken from the bed of Lake Baikal in the area near a controversial pulp and paper mill are not above the permitted level, Russia's environmental watchdog said on Wednesday. The Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill is the only industrial enterprise that dumps waste water directly into the world's deepest freshwater lake, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In June, the Mir-1 and Mir-2 mini-subs, involved in research in the lake, took samples of soil in ...
Environmental group fights US-Canada bridge construction
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
AFP: An environmental group sought on Wednesday to stop construction of a new bridge at the Windsor-Detroit border that aims to boost Canada-US trade, saying the span poses a risk to endangered wildlife. The bridge project "would result in the permanent degradation of a sensitive ecosystem and the destruction of threatened species," said Sierra Club Ontario director Dan McDermott. Specifically, a new highway network to be built on the Canadian side leading to the new Detroit River ...
Louisiana turtle hospital treats oil spill victims
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
Reuters: Mayonnaise, cod liver oil, organic broccoli, squid, vitamin B, kiddie pools and constant observation are all part of the treatment regimen for endangered turtles injured by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. "We had to write the book on how to treat the oiled sea turtles," said Michele Kelley, an expert at the non-profit Audubon Nature Institute. "People already knew how to clean birds, even otters, so we've had to try a lot of techniques." Audubon's facility, the only one in ...
Oil Plumes May Be More Toxic Than Thought, Scientists Warn
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
NYT: Undersea plumes of microscopic oil droplets extending dozens of miles from the BP wellhead may be more toxic to marine microorganisms in the Gulf of Mexico than previously believed, according to preliminary experimental results from Florida researchers. Scientists from the University of South Florida, working from a research vessel northeast of the wellhead, found oil droplets scattered in sediment along the gulf floor and in the water column, they said in a report on Tuesday. The ...
First oiled turtles released in Gulf after rehab
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2010
AP: The first rehabilitated turtles oiled by BP's massive leak were released back into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, with scientists saying that animals taken in by rescuers -- including birds -- appear more resilient than first feared. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who is overseeing the oil crisis for the government, helped release the 22 oiled sea turtles about a mile off the coast of Cedar Key, Fla., an area unaffected by the spilled crude. They were the first oiled turtles ...