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Archive for June 3rd, 2011
Oilsands greenhouse gas emissions shot up in 2009
Posted by Ottawa Citizen: Mike De Souza on June 3rd, 2011
Ottawa Citizen: After days of discussions with an oil and gas industry association, Environment Canada has confirmed a substantial rise in greenhouse gas pollution from the oilsands sector in 2009, along with data that casts doubts on whether the industry can continue to reduce emissions per barrel of oil produced. After days of discussions with an oil and gas industry association, Environment Canada has confirmed a substantial rise in greenhouse gas pollution from the oilsands sector in 2009, along with data that...
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Climate change could impact livestock production
Posted by Western Farm Press: None Given on June 3rd, 2011
Western Farm Press: Land used for livestock grazing; referred to as rangeland in the western U.S. and pasture land in the eastern half of the country, encompasses over 584 million acres of non-Federal land and represents a very complex ecosystem.
While the intensity of the management of these lands differs from parcel to parcel, there is no doubt they all play a vital role in livestock production. However, little research has been conducted to determine the affect of climate change and rising amounts of atmospheric...
Wildlife activists protest Yellowstone bison experiments
Posted by Reuters: Laura Zuckerman on June 3rd, 2011
Reuters: Wildlife advocates are protesting a government plan to kill an undetermined number of bison from Yellowstone National Park after scientists conduct a birth-control experiment on the animals with an EPA-registered pesticide.
Government officials say the seven-year study by a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks to lessen the prevalence of brucellosis, a disease that can cause domestic cows to abort, within the nation's last wild herd of pure-bred buffalo, or bison.
Brucellosis...
Wildlife activists protest Yellowstone bison experiments
Posted by Reuters: Laura Zuckerman on June 3rd, 2011
Reuters: Wildlife advocates are protesting a government plan to kill an undetermined number of bison from Yellowstone National Park after scientists conduct a birth-control experiment on the animals with an EPA-registered pesticide.
Government officials say the seven-year study by a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks to lessen the prevalence of brucellosis, a disease that can cause domestic cows to abort, within the nation's last wild herd of pure-bred buffalo, or bison.
Brucellosis...
Japan nuclear plant could leak more radioactive water
Posted by Reuters: Yoko Kubota on June 3rd, 2011
Reuters: The operator of the stricken Japanese nuclear power plant said on Friday that more radioactive water could begin spilling into the sea later this month if there is a glitch in setting up a new decontamination system.
Tokyo Electric Power Co also said that two workers may have been exposed to radiation at more than twice the limit set by the government, the most serious case so far of exposure among hundreds of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Nearly 110,000 tonnes of highly radioactive...
US coal film aims to put wind in green energy sails
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Michael Thurston on June 3rd, 2011
Agence France-Presse: A new film protesting against US coal mining and starring Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aims to boost green alternatives such as wind power and highlight "criminal" destruction by the industry.
Five years after "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's landmark movie about climate change, makers of "The Last Mountain" hope the documentary will engage viewers through the story of a Virginia community threatened by "Big Coal."
"'An Inconvenient Truth' woke up the world to the dangers of climate change, in a...
China says addressing pollution in Inner Mongolia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2011
Associated Press: A Chinese official says the government and local agencies are addressing pollution concerns that sparked clashes leading to a wave of ethnic protests across Inner Mongolia.
Last month's protests followed the killings of two Mongols who were seeking to block coal-mining and coal-hauling operations that locals complain damage grasslands and cause pollution.
Vice Environment Minister Li Ganjie said Friday that "the situation has calmed down and I'm confident the relevant issues will be properly...
China gives bleak assessment of its battered environment
Posted by Reuters: Ben Blanchard on June 3rd, 2011
Reuters: More than half of China's cities are affected by acid rain and one-sixth of major rivers are so polluted the water is unfit even for farmland, a senior official said on Friday in a bleak assessment of the environmental price of the country's economic boom.
The environmental degradation which has accompanied China's breakneck growth has emerged as one of the most potent fault lines in Chinese society, driving protests against Beijing's perceived inability to effectively tackle the problem.
China...
China environment poses ‘challenges’: official
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2011
Agence France-Presse: China admitted it faced "difficulties and challenges" in cleaning up its environment, with pollution from toxic metals aggravating the public and a severe drought further damaging waterways.
Vice Environment Minister Li Ganjie on Friday reiterated a government pledge to punish mining firms found guilty of environmental violations in Inner Mongolia, where protests fuelled by concerns over mining industry practices erupted last month.
China's "overall environmental situation is still very grave...
United Kingdom: MPs call on Defra to end unsustainable fish discards
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2011
Business Green: An influential committee of MPs has today added its voice to growing calls for a change in European fisheries policy to prevent the "unsustainable" discarding of unwanted catch.
Fish are commonly discarded due to an absence of markets for unpopular species, arcane quota systems that force fishermen to throw fish overboard and equipment that catches fish too juvenile to be sold.
Although there has been a 67 per cent decrease in discards between 2002 to 2008, fisherman still threw away an estimated...