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Archive for January 24th, 2011
United States: Battles Over Mountaintop Coal Mining Rage in Wake of EPA Veto
Posted by New York Times: Paul Quinlan on January 24th, 2011
New York Times: Before blocking one of Appalachia's largest-ever mountaintop coal-mining projects this month, U.S. EPA agreed to allow blasting to start on a half-a-dozen other mountaintop mines. Last July, for example, five months before EPA's landmark veto of Arch Coal Inc.'s permit for the 2,200-acre Spruce No. 1 mine in West Virginia, the agency greenlit plans from an Arch subsidiary, Coal-Mac Inc., to dynamite a third as many acres for the Pine Creek, W.Va., mine. And last January, EPA signed off on plans...
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Supreme Court Stays Out of Okla. Water Fight
Posted by Greenwire: Lawrence Hurley on January 24th, 2011
Greenwire: The Supreme Court today declined to take up a dispute between six water districts and the state of Oklahoma.
The water districts had challenged whether they should have to pay the state to use water drawn from the Grand River. The failure of the court to intervene means that the legal battle the water districts have fought since 2007 is now over.
Although the state Grand River Dam Authority, formed in 1935, claims title over the river, the water districts argued that they take water from a...
Industry Group’s Self-Depiction Raises Eyebrows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2011
New York Times: At first glance, the Waters Advocacy Coalition could be mistaken for a typical environmental group. The home page of its Web site, protectmywater.org, features a banner reading "Protect the Clean Water Act" across a photo slide show of flowing streams and clear mountain lakes.
On Facebook and Twitter, where the group`s handle is @ProtectCWA, its bio reads: "Our coalition is made up of diverse organizations that have an interest in and actively protect our nation`s waters and wetlands resources."...
Crematorium could help heat council swimming pool
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2011
Guardian: A council is proposing to save money – and combat global warming – by heating a leisure centre and swimming pool using heat generated by the crematorium next door.
Redditch council in Worcestershire says it can save £14,500 a year by warming its new Abbey Stadium sports centre with heat from the crematorium's incinerators that would otherwise be lost.
The council, which says it is the first project of its kind in the UK, is holding briefings later this week with faith groups, funeral directors...
Santos calls on G-20 to tackle climate change
Posted by Colombia Reports: None Given on January 24th, 2011
Colombia Reports: Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos calls on the G-20 to help deal with the devastating effects of Colombia's rainy season and to implement policies to combat climate change.
Santos was received by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, with whom he discussed the bilateral diplomatic agenda, reports Caracol.
"I sent a signal to the G-20 countries and the industrialized world because there is an enormous financial cost and reconstruction will cost us at least COP12 billion [$6.5 million]....
Agric workers brainstorm to minimise effects of climate change
Posted by Modern Ghana: None Given on January 24th, 2011
Modern Ghana: Ghana's 0.05 contribution to greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, has been described as minimal, yet, it is one of the countries to suffer the greatest impact of climate change.
This is due to the fact that the effect of the phenomenon on tropical countries was higher.
GHG are responsible for the warming of the earth, and scientific evidence indicates that due to the activities of humans, it had greatly increased over the years, impacting negatively on agriculture,...
Lawmakers Gear Up to Drill Commission on Oil Spill Report’s Findings
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2011
Greenwire: This week the leaders of the presidential commission that investigated last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will take their case for increased funding and offshore drilling safety reform to Capitol Hill, but their specific legislative recommendations may reach deaf ears. The seven-member commission's widely anticipated 280-page report and recommendations for offshore drilling reform released to the president earlier this month included several recommendations directed to industry and the...
Food prices could double without GM foods, scientists warn
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2011
Telegraph: The Government-commissioned report said the current system of food production is not working as farms are focused on mass production that is destroying the environment.
While billions of people around the world are hungry and malnourished, more than a billion others are suffering health problems because of obesity.
This problem is likely to get worse as the population rises and agricultural land becomes increasingly scarce because of climate change and environmental degradation.
The authors...
Ten tweets for and against GM
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2011
Telegraph: 10 reasons we need GM crops
1. Over 2 trillion meals containing some GM ingredients have been consumed worldwide without one substantiated health impact.
2. GM technology is currently (2009 figures) being used by over 14 million farmers on 134million hectares of land (the equivalent land mass of the UK and Ireland, France and Germany put together)
3. GM can dramatically improve yields in crops on the same amount of land (depending on local conditions and the type of crop).
4. GM crops...
Food system must transform on scale of industrial revolution, says report
Posted by Guardian: Damian Carrington and John Vidal on January 24th, 2011
Guardian: The world will not be able to feed itself without destroying the planet unless a transformation on the scale of the industrial revolution takes place, a major government report has concluded.
The existing food system is failing half of the people on Earth, the report finds, with 1 billion going hungry, 1 billion lacking crucial vitamins and minerals from their diet and another billion "substantially overconsuming", leading to obesity epidemics. Stresses on the food system are reflected in price...