RSS Feed
Archive for March 11th, 2011
Is That a Banana in Your Water?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2011
National Geographic: Banana peels are no longer just for composting or comedy shows: New science shows they can pull heavy metal contamination from river water.
Metals such as lead and copper are introduced to waterways from a variety of sources, including agricultural runoff and industrial wastes. Once there, heavy metals can contaminate soils and pose health risks to humans and other species. Lead is known to affect the brain and nervous system.
Traditionally, water quality engineers have used silica, cellulose,...
Posted in 
France extends shale oil, gas exploration ban to June
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2011
Reuters: French Prime Minister Francois Fillon extended a moratorium on research and drilling for shale oil and gas until mid-June, pending reports commissioned by the government to establish their impact on the environment.
France has large oil and gas shale reserves, but projects have sparked controversy due to the possible impact on the environment caused by drilling techniques used on such deposits.
The hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, technique involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into...
Pakistan unprepared as monsoon approaches
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2011
Guardian: Pakistan's next monsoon season is still months away, but after the deadly floods last year aid workers and experts are warning that the country is still unprepared for the worst. "Now is the time to build up Pakistan's resilience to disaster," said Neva Khan, director of Oxfam in Pakistan. "The cost of implementing safeguards pales in comparison to the damage to lives and property [that could be caused by the monsoon]."
The monsoon season usually runs from July-September. Last year, more than...
Smile, Crocodile! Up Close With A Predator
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2011
National Public Radio: Didier Noirot films a Nile crocodile in the Okavango Delta. The crocs can grow up to 21 feet and live for 100 years.
Roger Horrocks
Didier Noirot films a Nile crocodile in the Okavango Delta. The crocs can grow up to 21 feet and live for 100 years.
"I grew up watching footage of Nile crocodiles flying out of the water, eating zebras and wildebeest. And the thought of getting in the water with one was completely incomprehensible to me "” just impossible."
Those are the words of photographer...
Japan commits $50 million to water and sanitation
Posted by AllAfrica: Tina A. Hassan on March 11th, 2011
AllAfrica: The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said it would commit $50 million in the review and up date of the National Water Resources Master Plan currently underway in order to improve access to potable water and sanitation.
Speaking at the review and update of the National Water Resources Master Plan by stakeholders in the water sector in Abuja, JICA said it would continue to partner with Nigeria in providing clean water to the people.
While presenting the scope of work for the review...
Delaware river faces threats
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2011
Associated press: Threats ranging from global warming to natural gas drilling could threaten the water quality in the Delaware River, scientists and environmental advocates said Thursday. The state of the river got in-depth attention Thursday at a forum held by the federal Environmental Protection Agency with meetings at six locations in all four states along the river. Many of the presentations focused on the dangers of climate change, which could cause the salt line to shift upriver and threaten drinking water...
Canada: Permafrost thaw shifts land, lives
Posted by Postmedia News: Monique Polak on March 11th, 2011
Postmedia News: In his seven terms as mayor of Salluit, Qalingo Angutigirk has tried to look after his people, and their land. But it's not an easy job when the ground is literally shifting under his feet.
Since 1998 Salluit, the province's second northernmost community, has been hit by a series of landslides. Scientists blame it on the melting of the permafrost, the fragile underground layer of soil and rock that remains frozen year round -or is supposed to.
Though Angutigirk, 72, is familiar with the science...
Tanzania: Kilimanjaro deforestation could impact local weather patterns
Posted by Our Amazing Planet: None Given on March 11th, 2011
Our Amazing Planet: Deforestation around Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro may have as large of an impact on the mountain's local weather and climate as global climate change, according to researchers from the University of Alabama, Huntsville.
Udaysankar Nair, a research scientist at the university's Earth Sciences Center, and doctoral student Jonathan Fairman are using climate models and data from NASA satellites to create a local model that can predict the effects of deforestation on local weather patterns, including...
Gasoline with higher ethanol blend available in U.S. soon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2011
Reuters: Gasoline containing up to 15 percent ethanol should be available for the coming summer driving season as the government moves to finalize labeling and other issues for the new motor fuel.
The Environmental Protection Agency approved in January raising the amount of ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent for newer cars and trucks from 10 percent, a ruling welcomed by the industry and by farmers who supply the corn to make the fuel.
The government will finalize in a few months the labels on the gasoline...
Climate change damaging ancient treasures
Posted by TG Daily: None Given on March 11th, 2011
TG Daily: Climate change is destroying important archaeological remains that have been frozen for thousands of years, a study has shown.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh's Business School looked at examples of damaged remains frozen in permafrost in the Altai Mountains in central Asia, in sea ice in Alaska and in glaciers in the Rocky Mountains.
They found that all three sites were under threat. Thawing represents a risk to the Altai burial mounds, they say, which contain the only frozen tombs...