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Archive for September 29th, 2010
James Cameron gets close look at Canada’s oil sands
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
Reuters: Oil sands may not be the black eye on Canada that James Cameron asserted earlier this year, but the director of "Avatar" said after a high-profile visit that the energy resource could become one without more stringent controls on development. Cameron, wrapping up three days of touring oil sands plants and meetings with industry officials, native leaders, scientists and politicians, said Alberta's energy wealth stands to be a blessing or a curse, depending on how it is ...
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Flood Of Support Rises to Save Inle Lake
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
Inter Press Service: Monsoon rains might have brought welcome relief to the inhabitants of Inle Lake, but concerned Burmese groups – both government and non-governmental organisations alike – are rallying to preserve Burma's second largest lake from drying up again, as it did from earlier this year due to prolonged drought. At 900 metres above sea level, Inle Lake is a national heritage site in the southern part of Shan State in Burma, also known as Myanmar, and home to more than 170,000 people in over ...
New Zealand: Recession offers chance to re-think coastal development
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
NZPA: Every cloud has a silver lining and environmental advocates say the recession-driven hiatus in sub-divisions and development offers a chance for a major overhaul of coastal management. The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) today called for re-writing of the Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS) set down in 1994 to provide councils with national direction on coastal management. ``Those policies are now out of synch with public sentiment and need changing,'' said EDS policy analyst ...
Gold rush on the Gulf: Researchers clamor for cash
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
AP: Once a backwater in the world of oceanographic research, the Gulf of Mexico has suddenly become the site of a scientific gold rush, all because of the BP oil spill. The environmental disaster represents a once-in-a-generation research opportunity that has oceanographers salivating. There's big money -- $500 million from BP alone -- up for grabs. And for scientists who usually toil in near-obscurity, there's the prospect of lots of media attention. Researchers are suddenly in ...
How biodiversity is threatened across the world’s rivers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
Guardian: X
How human water security is threatened across the world’s rivers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
Guardian: X
Sewage Overflow in New York? Believe It
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
NYT: This may be the perfect complement to Wednesday`s article about Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's plan to reduce the flow of sewage into the city's water bodies: a video on YouTube showing a sheet of sewage and storm water coating the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn a muddy brown. The video, dated Sept. 16 and already posted on sites like that of Riverkeeper, the environmental group that monitors the city's waterways, is so graphic that viewers can almost smell the stench. But city officials say ...
Liberia’s sea level rises
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
Daily Observer: Liberia's ecosystem is under serious threats and will have devastating consequences if nothing is done to tackle the situation, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned. Madam Anyaa Vohiri named changing rainfall patterns, coastal erosion and flooding and the rise of the country's sea level as three 'climatic hazards' that have been recorded. According to her, some of the effects of these problems include potential loss of ...
NYC to curb water runoff with blue and green roofs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
Reuters: New York City wants to catch and store rainwater temporarily in new roof systems to stop heavy storms sending sewage spilling into city waterways. The catchment systems would consist of "blue" roofs that have a series of drainage pools and "green" or grass- or ivy-covered roofs, under a plan unveiled by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg estimates the city could save $2.4 billion over 20 years if the state allows it to use this kind of green technology instead of relying on ...
‘River crisis’ worsens threat of water scarcity – study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 29th, 2010
AFP: The vast majority of the world's rivers are reeling from pollution, over-development and excessive extraction, and billions of dollars of investment by rich countries to avert water stress have damaged biodiversity, a study released on Wednesday said. "Rivers around the world really are in a crisis state," said one of its authors, Peter McIntyre, a professor of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The investigation, published by the journal Nature, looked at the ...