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Archive for April 19th, 2011
Mekong ecology in the balance as Laos quietly begins work on dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Independent: Environmentalists opposed to a controversial dam that could have a devastating impact on one of Asia's most important rivers have accused the authorities in Laos of starting work on the project without formal approval.
An intergovernmental meeting in Laos has failed to reach agreement on the proposed £2.1bn, 1,260-megawatt Xayaburi dam on the Mekong river. Environmentalists say the dam will adversely affect 60 million people and Cambodia and Vietnam -- concerned about the flow of water further...
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A year after spill, Gulf Coast is healing, hurting
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Associated Press: It was the catastrophe that seemed to crush a way of life, an oil rig exploding in the darkness and plunging the Gulf Coast and its people into months of chaos.
One year after the nation's worst offshore oil spill began, solemn ceremonies will mark the disaster Wednesday and underscore the delicate healing that is only now taking shape. Oil still occasionally rolls up on beaches in the form of tar balls, and fishermen face an uncertain future.
But traffic jams on the narrow coastal roads of...
Demand for gold pushing deforestation in Peruvian Amazon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Mongabay: Deforestation is on the rise in Peru's Madre de Dios region from illegal, small-scale, and dangerous gold mining. In some areas forest loss has increased up to six times. But the loss of forest is only the beginning; the unregulated mining is likely leaching mercury into the air, soil, and water, contaminating the region and imperiling its people.
Using satellite imagery from NASA, researchers were able to follow rising deforestation due to artisanal gold mining in Peru. According the study, published...
Uncertain Flows the Mekong
Posted by Inter Press Service: Irwin Loy on April 19th, 2011
Inter Press Service: Countries around the lower Mekong have failed to reach a consensus on a controversial proposal that could see Laos build the first hydropower dam on this part of the vital river.
Instead, representatives from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to consult with their respective governments on how to proceed. However, the final decision still rests with Laos, meaning the South-east Asian country’s divisive proposal to dam a stretch of the Mekong in northern Laos could well push forward regardless...
Ecuador: U.S. judge dismisses firm’s lawsuit against Chevron
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Reuters: Chevron Corp will not have to face accusations from a prominent U.S. law firm that the oil major mounted a "smear campaign" related to long-running environmental battles in Ecuador, a U.S. judge has ruled.
Patton Boggs, a Washington D.C.-based firm representing Ecuadorean plaintiffs suing Chevron, had filed a separate lawsuit saying the company had tried to improperly interfere with its ability to represent the clients.
A judge in Ecuador's Amazon in February ruled against Chevron, demanding...
Scientists urge Papua New Guinea to declare moratorium on massive forest clearing
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Mongabay: Scientists urge Papua New Guinea to declare moratorium on massive forest clearing
Forests spanning an area larger than Costa Rica--5.6 million hectares (13.8 million acres)--have been handed out by the Papua New Guinea government to foreign corporations, largely for logging. Granted under government agreements known as Special Agricultural and Business Leases (SABLs), the land leases circumvent the nation's strong laws pertaining to communal land ownership. Now, the Association for Tropical Biology...
Russia risks repeat of wildfire crisis: NGO
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
AFP: Russia is on track to experience another summer of catastrophic wildfires due to a lack of prevention measures and misdirected state funds, an environmental group warned on Tuesday.
Last year's record heatwave and drought escalated wildfires in central Russia out of control, killing dozens, threatening military and nuclear facilities, and causing a health crisis in Moscow with acrid smoke.
As seasonal fires begin to rage in Siberia and other regions, there are few signs that Russia has the...
Pa. wants to cut off gas-drilling wastewater
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Associated Press: Citing potentially unsafe drinking water, Pennsylvania called on companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation to stop taking wastewater to 15 treatment plants by May 19.
Tuesday's announcement was a major change in the state's regulation of gas drilling and came the same day that an industry group said it now believes drilling wastewater is partly at fault for rising levels of bromide being found in Pittsburgh-area rivers.
Gas drilling that uses millions of gallons of chemical-laden...
Starbucks stalls on energy and recycling goals – slashes water use
Posted by Business Green: Jonathan Bardelline on April 19th, 2011
Business Green: Starbucks has made strides in the past year to use to less water and serve ethically-sourced coffee, but lagged on using less energy and adding recycling to stores.
The coffee giant's progress and stumbles, detailed in its latest environmental and social responsibility report, are in some ways tied to outside factors that Starbucks has been trying to influence. Recycling, for instance, is heavily dependent on what services local governments and waste haulers offer. While 75 per cent of Starbucks...
Pressure mounts to delay “dangerous” $3.5 bln Mekong dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Reuters: - Plans for the first dam across the lower Mekong River are putting Laos on a collision course with its neighbors and environmentalists who fear livelihoods, fish species and farmland could be destroyed, potentially sparking a food crisis.
The impoverished, Communist nation seems determined to defy international pressure and forge ahead with construction of the $3.5 billion Xayaburi Dam, a mostly Thai-led project that experts say could cause untold environmental damage.
The four countries that...