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Archive for March, 2011
Activist says phony oil bid meant to cause delay
Posted by Reuters: James Nelson on March 3rd, 2011
Reuters: A Utah activist testified on Wednesday that he meant to delay a U.S. government oil lease auction and show his opposition to the process, when he submitted phony bids on over $1.7 million of land.
Tim De Christopher, 29, faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $750,000 fine, if found guilty of fraud and violations of the U.S. Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act.
He has admitted that at a public auction held in December 2008, the month before President Barack Obama took office, he posed as an...
China says it wants green growth within five years
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Boris Cambreleng on March 3rd, 2011
Agence France-Presse: China, the world's biggest polluter, plans to "go green" in the next five years, emphasising energy efficiency and the battle on its choking pollution in its plans to revamp the economy, experts say.
The so-called 12th five-year plan -- already approved by Communist Party leaders -- is expected to be reviewed and rubber-stamped by delegates to the National People's Congress, which opens its annual session Saturday in Beijing.
"We must not any longer sacrifice the environment for the sake of...
Sustaining The Biodiversity Of The Western Great Plains
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 3rd, 2011
redOrbit: Fire, cattle and even prairie dogs all could play a role in sustaining the biodiversity of the western Great Plains, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researcher.
As large grazers, cattle now perform the historical role of buffalo on the Great Plains. Ecologist David Augustine and his colleagues-in collaboration with state, federal, and university researchers-have results from several studies over the past 13 years showing that fire, cattle and prairie dogs together maintain...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Sustaining The Biodiversity Of The Western Great PlainsPressure Grows for Answers on Fracking
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 3rd, 2011
New York Times: Congressional Democrats are demanding answers from the Environmental Protection Agency about the safety of hydraulic fracturing, a form of natural gas drilling also known as fracking, after revelations that wastewater from such drilling, which contains radioactive material, is regularly dumped into rivers and streams without proper treatment.
The dumping of the contaminated water was detailed in an investigative series on natural gas drilling by Ian Urbina of The New York Times that began on Sunday....
Flooded Bolivia faces long-term water woes
Posted by AlertNet: None Given on March 3rd, 2011
AlertNet: Widespread flooding in Bolivia, which prompted the government to declare a national emergency last week, shows the vulnerability of one of South America's poorest countries to changing weather patterns linked to climate change.
Landlocked Bolivia, which runs from the rugged Andes to the Amazon jungle, faces a variety of climate change-related pressures, from disappearing glaciers to worsening droughts and more intense and unpredictable rainfall. Combined with rising urban demand for water, the...
New study to look at economics, groundwater use of bioenergy feedstocks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 3rd, 2011
ScienceDaily: New Study to Look at Economics, Groundwater Use of Bioenergy Feedstocks
Biofuel feedstock production in the Texas High Plains could significantly change the crop mix, which could affect regional income and groundwater consumption, according to Texas AgriLife Research and Texas AgriLife Extension Service economists.
Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist in Amarillo, and Dr. Seong Park, AgriLife Research economist in Vernon, are joining other economists to model the socio-economic effects...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on New study to look at economics, groundwater use of bioenergy feedstocksEPA says big budget cut would hurt public health
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2011
Reuters: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ability to protect citizens from premature death and other health problems would be gutted if Congress slashes funding as threatened by Republican lawmakers, its chief said on Wednesday.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have been trying to cut the EPA's budget for this year, saying its regulations on clean air and water hurt businesses.
"Big polluters would flout legal restrictions on dumping contaminants into the air, into rivers and onto...
Company Concessions Clear Way for Federal Permit at W.Va. Coal Mine
Posted by Greenwire: Manuel Quinones on March 2nd, 2011
Greenwire: The Obama administration has approved a Clean Water Act permit for an underground coal project in Mingo County, W.Va., after the mine owner made several concessions aimed at enhancing water quality protections.
Consol of Kentucky's Spring Branch No. 3 mine was among dozens pulled for enhanced federal environmental reviews of mining projects under a 2009 interagency agreement between U.S. EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Interior Department.
Although Spring Branch No. 3 is an underground...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Company Concessions Clear Way for Federal Permit at W.Va. Coal MineIndigenous leaders take fight over Amazon dams to Europe
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2011
Mongabay: Three indigenous Amazonian leaders spent this week touring Europe to raise awareness about the threat that a number of proposed monster dams pose to their people and the Amazon forest. Culminating in a press conference and protests in London, the international trip hopes to build pressure to stop three current hydroelectric projects, one in Peru, including six dams, and two in Brazil, the Madeira basin industrial complex and the massive Belo Monte dam. The indigenous leaders made the trip with the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Indigenous leaders take fight over Amazon dams to EuropeTexas activists ready to fight over $7bn oil pipeline in the home of black gold
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2011
Guardian: In an earlier life, David Daniel jumped through fire and performed a motorcycle stunt called the Wheel of Death. For his second act, he picked a fight with a $7bn oil pipeline set to run through Texas.
He is not doing badly for a man taking on big oil in the home of black gold. Growing opposition to a Canadian project to pump crude from tar sands in Alberta across six American states to the Gulf coast could force the Obama administration to reconsider – and possibly delay – the project.
The...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Texas activists ready to fight over $7bn oil pipeline in the home of black gold