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Archive for March 8th, 2011
Rich plant diversity leads to increased productivity, ecosystem services
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2011
Mongabay: Rich plant diversity leads to increased productivity, ecosystem services
Gunung Leuser Rain Forest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world.
A new study finds that diversity of plant species matters--big time. Analyzing nearly 600 research studies, the meta-study in the American Journal of Botany found that productivity in biodiverse plant ecosystems was 1.5 times higher than in monocultures. In other words, a prairie is more productive...
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EPA adds 2 wells in Puerto Rico to Superfund list
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2011
Associated Press: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it has added two water wells in Puerto Rico to its list of most contaminated sites.
The agency says chemical solvents that can damage the liver and cause cancer were found at sites in the southwestern town of Cabo Rojo and the northern city of Caguas. Communities in those areas are not relying on the wells for potable water.
The EPA said Tuesday that adding those sites to its Superfund National Priorities List makes them eligible to receive funds...
Ecuador: Chevron Wins Injunction Against Ecuadorean Plaintiffs
Posted by Greenwire: Lawrence Hurle on March 8th, 2011
Greenwire: Chevron Corp. scored a major legal victory last night when a federal judge ruled that plaintiffs who won an $8.6 billion judgment for pollution in Ecuador cannot seek to collect damages in the United States or in other countries.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York issued a 131-page opinion explaining in detail his reasoning for granting a preliminary injunction.
Kaplan raised serious concerns about the legitimacy of the judgment against Chevron issued by a...
Natural Gas Companies Send Workers to Hill to Make Case for Fracking
Posted by Greenwire: Anne C. Mulkern on March 8th, 2011
Greenwire: Natural gas company workers plan to lobby lawmakers today on the safety of drilling techniques amid controversy over exploration for the fuel.
Eighteen workers from six states will visit House and Senate members in an event organized by industry influence group American Petroleum Institute. It started yesterday and continues today. Workers yesterday talked to the White House's Council on Environmental Quality.
"It's critical for our elected officials to hear from their own constituents about...
India plans to aid dwindling Ganges River dolphin
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2011
Mongabay: India plans to aid dwindling Ganges River dolphin The Indian government has announced that it plans to develop a program to raise the population of its native Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gagnetica), a subspecies of the South Asian river dolphin. During a question and answer session Jairam Ramesh, India's Environment and Forests Minister, said that the dolphin's current population was estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 individuals in the Ganges. However, other estimates have placed it lower....
Advocates reach invasive species deal with EPA
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2011
Associated Press: Advocacy groups said Tuesday they had reached a legal settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requiring tougher federal regulations for ships that dump ballast water in U.S. harbors, a leading way in which invasive species are spread.
Cargo ships often carry millions of gallons of water and sediments in ballast tanks to help keep vessels upright in rough seas. Ballast water teems with fish, bacteria and other organisms that are released into U.S. harbors as freight is taken on....
Disappointing rains fall in Plains wheat belt
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2011
Reuters: Overnight rains in the U.S. Plains wheat belt were disappointing, with more moisture needed especially in the far western areas to boost development this spring, a forecaster said on Tuesday.
Rains were 0.25 inch (6.3 mm) or less with the exception being south central Kansas to north central Oklahoma which received 0.25 to 0.75 inch of rainfall.
"I was expecting to see more," said Mike Palmerino, ag meteorologist with Telvent DTN. "Overall the moisture was disappointing with the exception of...
Ecuador: US judge halts damages enforcement against Chevron
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2011
Reuters: A U.S. judge on Monday halted enforcement of an $18 billion award against Chevron Corp., siding with the oil company against Ecuadorean plaintiffs in a long-running dispute over Amazon rain forest pollution. The move comes three weeks after an Ecuadorean court's ruling against Chevron in what has become an international test case, watched closely by private-sector oil companies wary of potential damages claims elsewhere. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan, extending a Feb. 8 temporary restraining...
EPA asks Pa. to boost monitoring of gas well waste
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2011
Associated Press: The Environmental Protection Agency has asked Pennsylvania regulators to begin testing drinking water for radium in some places to make sure it isn't being contaminated by wastewater from the state's booming natural gas industry.
In addition to producing gas, the thousands of wells now being drilled into the Marcellus Shale rock formation produce large amounts of ultra-salty water tainted with metals like barium and strontium, trace radioactivity, and small amounts of toxic chemicals injected...
Eco-farming could double food output of poor countries, says UN
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2011
Guardian: A move by farmers in developing countries to ecological agriculture, away from chemical fertilisers and pesticides, could double food production within a decade, a UN report says.
Insect-trapping plants in Kenya and ducks eating weeds in Bangladesh's rice paddies are among examples of recommendations for feeding the world's 7 million people, which the UN says will become about 9 billion by 2050.
"Agriculture is at a crossroads," says the study by Olivier de Schutter, the UN special reporter...