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Archive for April, 2011
Pa. seeks more tests for drilling pollution
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
Associated Press: Prodded by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania says it's expanding the scope of water tests for radium and other pollutants from the state's booming natural gas drilling industry.
The Department of Environmental Protection's acting secretary, Michael Krancer, tells EPA that he's requiring additional tests by some drinking-water suppliers and wastewater treatment facilities.
Radium, which exists naturally underground, is sometimes found in drilling wastewater that gushes...
China detects low levels of radiation on spinach
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Chinese authorities have detected extremely low levels of radiation from Japan's crippled nuclear power plant on spinach, but the amount of contamination posed no health hazard, the government said.
The health ministry issued a statement late Wednesday saying tests on the vegetable grown outdoors in Beijing, the northern city of Tianjin and in the central province of Henan had revealed traces of radioactive iodine-131.
Recent rainfall caused radioactive particles in the air to accumulate on...
Climate change poses major risks for unprepared cities
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
ScienceDaily: Cities worldwide are failing to take necessary steps to protect residents from the likely impacts of climate change, even though billions of urban dwellers are vulnerable to heat waves, sea level rise and other changes associated with warming temperatures.
A new examination of urban policies by Patricia Romero Lankao at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., in conjunction with an international research project on cities and climate change, warns that many of the...
Biodiversity Improves Water Quality In Streams
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
redOrbit: Biologically diverse streams are better at cleaning up pollutants than less rich waterways, and a University of Michigan ecologist says he has uncovered the long-sought mechanism that explains why this is so.
Bradley Cardinale used 150 miniature model streams, which use recirculating water in flumes to mimic the variety of flow conditions found in natural streams. He grew between one and eight species of algae in each of the mini-streams, then measured each algae community's ability to soak up...
Budget fight and squabble over energy riders intensify as shutdown nears
Posted by ClimateWire: Evan Lehmann, Saqib Rahim AND Dina Fine Maron on April 7th, 2011
ClimateWire: Congress lurched closer to a government shutdown yesterday when negotiations stumbled over cuts to energy spending and other programs before temporary federal funding expires on Friday. President Obama stepped into the debate yesterday and objected to a Republican plan to extend current spending for one week, through April 15, while slashing $12 billion between now and then. Among those cuts, $632 million would come from energy and water programs. Obama insisted yesterday that the measure be abandoned,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Budget fight and squabble over energy riders intensify as shutdown nearsWhy melting ice in the Arctic could cause temperatures in Britain to plummet
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
Daily Mail: A massive pool of melted ice water in the Arctic Ocean is threatening to spill into the Atlantic and potentially alter the key ocean currents that give Britain its moderate climate, scientists have warned.
The average temperature in Britain could possibly fall by several degrees as a result, it is claimed.
Oceanographers yesterday said that the unusual accumulation has been caused by Siberian and Canadian rivers dumping more water into the Arctic and from melting sea ice.
Global warming?...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Why melting ice in the Arctic could cause temperatures in Britain to plummetMcKinsey accused of driving deforestation with poor REDD+ advice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
Business Green: Management consultancy McKinsey & Co has been accused of giving inaccurate and unethical advice to countries such as Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, potentially driving deforestation while allowing the countries to generate revenue from new UN-backed forestry protection schemes.
A report released by Greenpeace yesterday claims McKinsey has drawn up strategies that could help rainforested nations continue with logging practices, while still gaining access to millions of dollars from the United...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on McKinsey accused of driving deforestation with poor REDD+ adviceBanks come under fire for mountain top removal ties
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
Business Green: UBS, Citi, and PNC banks are the biggest financiers of mountaintop removal (MTR) mining in the USA's Appalachian mountain region, according to a new report issued this week. Only Credit Suisse came away unscathed in the report, which suggested that the controversial mining practice is incurring an increasing level of regulatory risk.
The report, entitled Policy and Practice: 2011 Report Card on Banks and Mountaintop Renewal, was produced by the Rainforest Action Network. It evaluated the stated...
Canada: Could Financial Might Backing Oil Sands Shift to Renewables?
Posted by Tyee: Geoff Dembicki on April 7th, 2011
Tyee: Let's picture an oil company CEO sound asleep, Steve Kretzmann tells me. All of a sudden he or she bolts awake with a terrible realization. The environmentalists aren't just a bunch of long-haired crazies, the CEO now realizes. Climate change is killing the planet. He or she storms into the oil company's board room that morning, demanding a radical shift in corporate policy. No more money for oil exploration, the CEO orders, and billions to be redirected for renewables. Soon, the company's stock...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Could Financial Might Backing Oil Sands Shift to Renewables?India: Superbug gene rife in Delhi water supply
Posted by Guardian: Sarah Boseley on April 7th, 2011
Guardian: A gene that causes a wide range of bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics has been found in the water supply in Delhi, with worrying implications for the rest of the globe.
International travel and medical tourism have already brought the gene, known as NDM-1, to the UK. A team of scientists reported last year that they had found NDM-1 positive bacteria in a small number of patients who had visited India for kidney or bone marrow transplants, dialysis, pregnancy care or burns treatment, while...