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Archive for June 1st, 2011
Filmmaker Shoots At The Heart Of The Tornado
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 1st, 2011
National Public Radio: This spring, tornadoes have been wreaking havoc across the Midwest. Most people prudently seek shelter when they hear a storm is coming, but one man and his team have made it their job to get as close as they can "” and warn others that a twister is on the way.
His name is Sean Casey and he's a professional storm chaser whose new IMAX film, Tornado Alley, records his mission to capture the heart of a tornado on film.
Meet The TIV-2
For his footage to survive the tornado, Casey tells NPR's...
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Natural Gas Fracking Lawsuit Raises NEPA Questions
Posted by Greenwire: Lawrence Hurley on June 1st, 2011
Greenwire: When New York's attorney general filed suit yesterday in an effort to require an environmental review before the Delaware River Basin Commission approves regulations for natural gas extraction, one entity was notably absent from the list of defendants: the commission itself.
There is a reason for that, which illustrates why the lawsuit is viewed as somewhat novel in legal circles.
The complaint filed by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) is an attempt to require a full environmental review...
Brazil Clears Amazon Dam for Construction
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 1st, 2011
Voice of America: An indigenous woman holds her child near the Xingu River at the Araras tribe, near Altamira, northern Brazil, April 28, 2010. After nearly three decades of sometimes violent protests, about 1,000 other indigenous people in the remote region have resigned themselves to the fact that the world's third-largest dam will be built in their backyard.
Brazil has approved the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam in the Amazon rain forest - a project that has sparked criticism from environmentalists,...
Plans For Dams In Patagonia Draw Ire From Chileans
Posted by National Public Radio: Annie Murphy on June 1st, 2011
National Public Radio: Massive protests have broken out in Chile over the environment "” specifically over some dams that are set to be built in Patagonia, one of the world's most iconic wilderness areas. Most citizens disapprove of the HidroAysen project, which scientists and conservationists say will forever change this region.
Yet largely because of a booming copper mining industry, Chile is hungry for energy and the government is pushing ahead with the dams.
In response, Chileans are taking to the streets. On...
New map reveals giant fjords beneath East Antarctic ice sheet
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 1st, 2011
ScienceDaily: Scientists from the U.S., U.K. and Australia have used ice-penetrating radar to create the first high- resolution topographic map of one of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora Subglacial Basin, an immense ice-buried lowland in East Antarctica larger than Texas.
The map reveals some of the largest fjords or ice cut channels on Earth, providing important insights into the history of ice in Antarctica. The data will also help computer modelers improve their simulations of the past and...
Brazil grants building license for Amazon dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 1st, 2011
Associated Press: The massive Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the heart of the Amazon rain forest won approval from Brazil's environmental protection agency on Wednesday, clearing the way for construction of a project fiercely opposed by environmentalists, indigenous activists and celebrities including film director James Cameron and rock star Sting.
The dam would be the world's third largest, behind China's Three Gorges dam and the Itaipu, which straddles the border of Brazil and Paraguay.
The consortium building...
Global food crisis: Argentina in battle with multinational grain giants
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 1st, 2011
Guardian: Grain is loaded on to a ship from a giant grain plant on the banks of the Panama river in Argentina.
The Pampas are just as the old geography textbooks described them: vast flat plains stretching to distant horizons, white heads of tall grasses catching the autumn light. A great empty road ploughs a furrow from Buenos Aires through mile upon mile of fertile lands towards the ports on the great South American waterway, the Paraná river.
But missing from much of the Pampas now are the Argentinian...
The Right’s Environmental Wish List
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 1st, 2011
New York Times: A high priority in a catchall bill introduced by House Republicans two months ago is to open some of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, above, for oil and gas drilling.
There are more motives for legislation, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. So Hamlet might have observed in gazing upon the environmental and political landscape of 2011, which will either be known as Year One of the post-cap-and-trade era or Year One of the interregnum between cap-and-trade`s past and future.
Five...
Brazil grants building licence for Amazon dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 1st, 2011
Telegraph: It's the second to last licence the Belo Monte dam project must obtain.
The Ibama environmental agency says in a statement that the project planned for Para state went through a "robust analysis" of what damage it would inflict on the environment.
The £6.7 billion project has been fiercely criticised by environmentalists and others who say it would devastate the ecosystem and force 40,000 people who live in the area to relocate.
The government says it will be a much-needed source of clean...
Brazil approves Amazon dam build
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 1st, 2011
BBC: Brazil grants building permit for Belo Monte Amazon dam
BBC's Paulo Cabral says nine other dams are also planned for the Amazon
Brazil's environment agency has backed construction of a hydro-electric dam in the Amazon, opposed by indigenous groups and environmentalists.
The agency, Ibama, said the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River had been subjected to "robust analysis" of its impact on the environment.
The government says the dam is key to meeting Brazil's growing energy needs.
But...