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Archive for April, 2011
United Kingdom: Farmers face imminent water restrictions due to dry spell
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 20th, 2011
Guardian: Restrictions could be imposed on farmers extracting water from rivers in the next few weeks, should the current dry spell continue, the government has warned, after new figures showed that many river levels in England and Wales are "exceptionally low" for the time of year.
As some water companies began to replenish reservoirs from rivers, the Environment Agency reported that south-east England had received only 2.3mm of rain so far this month – just 6% of the long-term average. It comes on top...
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Comments Off on United Kingdom: Farmers face imminent water restrictions due to dry spell3,200 Gulf wells unplugged, unprotected
Posted by Associated Press: Jeff Donn on April 20th, 2011
Associated Press: More than 3,200 oil and gas wells classified as active lie abandoned beneath the Gulf of Mexico, with no cement plugging to help prevent leaks that could threaten the same waters fouled by last year's BP spill, The Associated Press has learned.
These wells likely pose an even greater environmental threat than the 27,000 wells in the Gulf that have been plugged and classified officially as "permanently abandoned" or "temporarily abandoned." Those sealed wells were first tallied and reported as...
Deepwater Horizon and the Gulf oil spill – the key questions answered
Posted by Guardian: Ben Bryant on April 20th, 2011
Guardian: Why was there an explosion and fire on Deepwater Horizon oil rig?
According to BP's September 2010 report, the accident started with a "well integrity failure". This was followed by a loss of control of the pressure of the fluid in the well. The "blowout preventer", a device which should automatically seal the well in the event of such a loss of control, failed to engage. Hydrocarbons shot up the well at an uncontrollable rate and ignited, causing a series of explosions on the rig.
How many...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Deepwater Horizon and the Gulf oil spill – the key questions answeredCanada: Alberta’s oil sands play dirty
Posted by Vancouver Observer: Barry Saxifrage on April 20th, 2011
Vancouver Observer: As ordinary Canadians dig deep to ease their carbon footprint, Alberta's oil-sands pollution wipes out their sacrifice.
Barry Saxifrage Posted: Apr 20th, 2011 Send Article Print Article Read More:Canada News Investigations Sustainability Alberta Alberta oil sands Alberta Tar Sands Carbon Footprint Climate Change co2 fossil fuels Prime Minister Stephen Harper « prevnext »
The Alberta oil sands are grabbing huge chunks of Canada's limited CO2 allotment away from other businesses and families,...
Pa. wants to end gas-drilling wastewater discharge
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 20th, 2011
Associated Press: Amid criticism from environmentalists and growing concern from scientists, Pennsylvania on Tuesday asked the state's booming natural gas industry to halt disposing of millions of gallons of contaminated drilling wastewater through treatment plants that discharge into rivers and streams.
The plants are ill-equipped to remove pollutants from the wastewater -- which is intensely salty and tainted with chemicals. The state Department of Environmental Protection said recent water tests suggest the...
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...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Mekong ecology in the balance as Laos quietly begins work on damA 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...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Demand for gold pushing deforestation in Peruvian AmazonUncertain 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...
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