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Archive for September 22nd, 2010
Ecuador looks to its own people in the battle against climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Guardian: We left thirsty Peru and have reached Quito in Ecuador on the great Oxfam/Guardian Andean climate journey. First stop is to meet the government and community leaders of a state that stretches from the Pacific coast, over the mountains, and deep into the Amazon forest. The environment minister is the redoubtable Maria Fernanda Espinoza, who is grappling with the contradictions of having a revolutionary new constitution that guarantees the rights of nature and all living entities, yet ...
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Averting the Grimmest Scenarios
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Inter Press Service: The catastrophic floods in Pakistan have added urgency to a high-level United Nations summit this week, with delegates from mostly South Asian nations convening Tuesday to call for increased technology transfer from richer countries and to compare strategies to avert the worst effects of climate change. "Climate change is a reality," said Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed at a side event of the Millennium Development Goals Summit, which concludes Wednesday. "We in South ...
Nigeria gold rush sees 200 children killed in outbreak of lead poisoning
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Guardian: An unprecedented outbreak of lead poisoning linked to a gold rush has killed at least 200 children in northern Nigeria this year, with a further 18,000 people affected. Announcing the figures, the UN said it had sent an emergency team to assess the full impact of the "acute massive lead poisoning" in Zamfara state, where seven villages have so far been confirmed as contaminated. In all cases, villagers had been grinding ore by hand to search for gold when they unwittingly freed lead ...
Obama Admin Rejects Timeout for Natural Gas Drilling in N.Y., Pa
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
New York Times: The Obama administration has decided against pressing for a temporary halt to Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania and New York, a key federal official said. Brig. Gen. Peter "Duke" DeLuca, commander of the North Atlantic Division of the Army Corps of Engineers, last week declined a request from Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) to use the federal government's vote on the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to seek a temporary ban on gas production in the Delaware ...
Oil and Gas Pipeline Disasters Fail to Spur Bill Bolstering Oversight
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Greenwire: The Obama administration's bid to strengthen federal pipeline oversight is raising questions from environmental groups as well as industry, suggesting that safety reforms could fail to reach a legislative fast track despite three recent high-profile ruptures along the 2.3 million miles of U.S. oil and gas lines. The White House proposal unveiled last week would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) while hiking the maximum fine for companies ...