RSS Feed
Archive for September, 2010
Rising energy demand hits water scarcity ‘choke point’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
IPS: Meeting the growing demand for energy in the U.S., even through sustainable means, could entail greater threats to the environment, new research shows. The study was carried out by Circle of Blue, a network of journalists and scientists dedicated to water sustainability, and could have implications not just for the relationship between energy demand and water scarcity in the U.S. but elsewhere in the world, as well. "It is not just that energy production could not occur without using ...
Nigeria gold rush: toxic quarry
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Guardian: In recent years a mini gold rush has swept through remote parts of Zamfara state, in the arid Sahel region just south of the Sahara, encouraging entire communities to abandon their traditional farming and herding activities. Crushed ore from quarries was typically transported in sacks back to villagers' homes, where the men and women ground it down by hand to search for tiny pieces of gold as their children played at their feet. Returns from selling the gold to traders were modest, but ...
Vulnerable Arab world lags on climate change action
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Reuters: The Arab world will be one of the regions worst hit by climate change but still lacks any coordinated response to its potentially devastating effects, experts said at a conference this week. With hotter, drier and less predictable climates, the amount of water running into the region's streams and rivers is set to fall 20 to 30 percent by 2050, worsening desertification and food insecurity, the United Nations Development Programme says. Arab states, many rich in petroleum and ...
‘Lost’ amphibian species rediscovered
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Guardian: A team of scientists have discovered three species of amphibian previously thought to be extinct. Their finds include a cave-dwelling salamander last seen in 1941 – the same year that it was discovered – and two species of frog that dwell in west Africa. In total, the scientists hope to rediscover roughly 100 species of amphibian. Conservation International, in conjunction with the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group, has organised a string of international expeditions to search for ...
Cocaine, ecstasy found in waters of Spanish nature reserve
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
AFP: Spanish scientists said Wednesday they have detected cocaine, ecstasy and six other drugs in the waters of a nature reserve, and warned of a possible risk to wildlife and public health. Investigators from the University of Valencia analysed the water in canals and irrigation channels of eastern Spain's Albufera Natural Park, a major wetlands region, for the presence of 14 kinds of drugs, Spain's Scientific Information and News Service (SINC) said. The scientists looked for the ...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Cocaine, ecstasy found in waters of Spanish nature reserveEcuador 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 ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ecuador looks to its own people in the battle against climate changeAverting 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 ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Nigeria gold rush sees 200 children killed in outbreak of lead poisoningObama 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 ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Obama Admin Rejects Timeout for Natural Gas Drilling in N.Y., PaOil 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 ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil and Gas Pipeline Disasters Fail to Spur Bill Bolstering Oversight