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Archive for April 19th, 2011
Boat turbulence kills zooplankton
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
BBC: Turbulence generated by speeding motor boats kills significant numbers of zooplankton, a study has revealed for the first time.
Experiments on copepods, tiny crustaceans that live and float in water, show that a third die in waters frequented by propeller-driven boats.
That is significantly more than in bodies of water not used by boats.
Zooplankton play a crucial role in water ecology and their death may have hitherto unknown impacts.
Details of the discovery are published in the Journal...
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Violent protests delay destructive Amazon dams
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Rainforest News: The construction of the Madeira dams in the Brazilian Amazon has been delayed, following violent protests at the Jirau dam site last week. According to Survival, construction workers set fire to buildings and more than 40 buses at the site, and ransacked shops and cash-points, in protest against low pay and bad working conditions. The protests brought the dam construction to a stand still.
The Jirau and Santo Antonio dams, part of the Madeira River hydroelectric complex, will damage vast areas...
EPA chief says will decide in July on U.S. dust rule
Posted by Reuters: Kay Henderson on April 19th, 2011
Reuters: The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said she will decide in July whether to tighten U.S. controls on dust, an issue that has stirred fear in farm country of costly federal regulation.
Livestock and farm groups say it would be impossible to comply with stricter standards on exposure to dust, which they say is a natural part of farming. EPA regulates dust, formally described as particulate matter, under anti-pollution laws.
"It's my decision to make a final recommendation. That'll...
Brazil: Vale close to agreeing share in Amazon dam: source
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 19th, 2011
Reuters: Brazilian mining giant Vale is close to joining the consortium that will build the controversial $17 billion Belo Monte dam in the Amazon region, a source in the group told Reuters on Monday.
Vale is likely to take over the 9 percent stake in the project that had been held by an energy subsidiary of meat-packing firm Bertin that announced its withdrawal from the project in February, the source said.
"The deal should be finished within 30 days," the source from the Norte Energia consortium said....