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Archive for April, 2011
NGOs plead against environment permit for Romanian gold mine
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Two major NGOs involved in the conservation of cultural heritage on Friday called on the Romanian minister of Environment not to give permit to a Canadian gold mine project.
"We kindly ask you not to grant any environmental permit to the Rosia Montana gold mine project", the Pro Patrimonio Foundation and the ARA association that gathers Romanian architects and historians said in a open letter to the minister of Environment Laszlo Borbely.
"Open air mines will be located on historical sites...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on NGOs plead against environment permit for Romanian gold minePa.: Volatile byproducts sparked gas-well fire
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2011
Associated Press: AVELLA, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says a company failed to properly manage flammable byproducts that caused a gas-well fire that injured three workers in February.
Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. says it is working with government agencies and will abide by the department's March 21 order to properly store and manage condensate, a liquid byproduct. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review first reported the order on Friday.
Agency spokeswoman Katy Gresh...
Ethiopia to reforest 15m hectares
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2011
Carbon Positive: Ethiopia plans to reforest 15 million hectares of degraded land as part of a climate change and renewable energy plan to become carbon neutral by 2025, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced this week. The forestry goal is one arm of a strategy that also includes developing renewable energy resources in hydro, wind, geothermal and bio-gas.
Ethiopia is already home to a reforestation project developed by the Word Bank to earn CER carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism....
U.N. suggests pesticides, chemicals for watch list
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2011
Reuters: The United Nations has suggested three pesticides and three industrial chemicals be put on a trade "watch list" because they can threaten human health and the environment, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.
U.N. chemical experts have proposed that pesticides endosulfan and azinphos methyl and the hazardous pesticide formulation Gramoxone Super be added to the Rotterdam Convention's Prior Informed Consent procedure, the FAO said.
The UN-backed Convention prevents unwanted...
Canada: Strong salmon hearts may hedge against climate change
Posted by CBC: Sharon Oosthoek on April 1st, 2011
CBC: Sockeye salmon with the most arduous spawning journeys have the strongest hearts, an adaptation that may better their odds of surviving projected rises in water temperature, say B.C. researchers.
Unlike human weekend warriors who risk heart attack with infrequent strenuous exercise, it turns out sockeye salmon are well adapted to their once-in-a-lifetime return to their natal rivers.
British Columbia's Fraser River is home to 100 distinct populations of sockeye salmon, with migration journeys...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Strong salmon hearts may hedge against climate changeIndia launches mega research initiative on soot
Posted by SciDev.Net: T.V. Padma on April 1st, 2011
SciDev.Net: India has launched an exhaustive study on the source, distribution and impact of soot released into its air -- especially on climate and glaciers -- that will help evidence-based policy-making.
The five-year research agenda will involve about 250 scientists from institutes under the department of space, ministry of earth sciences and ministry of environment and forests at an estimated cost of US$45 million, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said at the launch this week (29 March).
The 'black...
Japan nuclear exclusion long-term
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2011
BBC: The evacuation of residents near Japan's quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant will be long-term, officials say.
Many of the tens of thousands of people evacuated from the area around the plant are living in temporary shelters.
The announcement came as high levels of radiation were detected for the first time in groundwater near one of the facility's six reactors.
Meanwhile, a massive search has begun to find the remains of those missing since the devastating tsunami hit.
Three weeks after...
Climate change to have terrible impact on food security: UN
Posted by New Kerala: None Given on April 1st, 2011
New Kerala: The effects of slow-onset climate change are expected to have "potentially catastrophic" impact on food production in developing countries in future, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Thursday, calling for action to mitigate the adverse consequences.
“Currently the world is focused on dealing with shorter-term climate impacts caused mainly by extreme weather events,” said Alexander Müller, the FAO Assistant-Director General for Natural Resources, in a submission...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change to have terrible impact on food security: UNNuclear radiation seeps into Japanese groundwater
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2011
Associated Press: Radiation exceeding Japanese government safety limits has seeped into groundwater under the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to the operator, but experts say it is unlikely to contaminate drinking supplies.
The leak is, however, a concern and an indicator of how far the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) is from stabilising dangerously overheating reactors after cooling systems were knocked out in the 11 March earthquake and tsunami.
Tepco has asked for international help,...
China to tax the biggest polluters
Posted by Sydney Morning Herald: Lenore Taylor on April 1st, 2011
Sydney Morning Herald: CHINA will hit ''outdated'' highly polluting industry with a big electricity price surcharge as part of a push to dramatically slow the growth of the country's greenhouse emissions over the next five years, a senior Chinese official has said.
Xie Zhenhua said yesterday China had singled out ''outdated'' companies in eight energy-intensive industries including iron and steel, cement, aluminium and iron alloy for a special 20 cents per kilowatt hour surcharge on their electricity payments.
Mr...