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Archive for June 24th, 2011
Nuclear agency head to visit flooded Nebraska reactors
Posted by Reuters: Michael Avok on June 24th, 2011
Reuters: The chair of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will arrive in Nebraska Sunday to monitor preparations against Missouri River flooding at two Nebraska nuclear power plants, officials said Friday.
NRC Chair Gregory Jaczko will visit the Cooper Nuclear Station south of Omaha Sunday and the Fort Calhoun plant north of Omaha Monday, said agency spokesman Victor Dricks.
During both visits, Jaczko will also be talking with NRC resident inspectors-- the agency staff who work on-site every day...
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Grasping Climate Change at a Garden-Plot Level
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 24th, 2011
New York Times: One of the first places where Americans may notice the impact of climate change is in their own gardens and backyards, their most common point of intersection with the natural world.
David Graham for The New York TimesThe conservatory at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa.
On Friday, the federal government announced that it would take advantage of that connection by introducing a pilot project in concert with the American Public Garden Association to educate some 70 million annual visitors...
Growing Evidence on Climate Change Affecting U.S. Gardens and Climate – Science Now
Posted by Science Mag: None Given on June 24th, 2011
Science Mag: Federal climate scientists are teaming up with horticulturalists to inform the public about the potential effects of climate change on gardens. Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced a new partnership aimed at that goal with the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). The partnership has launched with a pilot project at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in the form of an exhibit featuring NOAA's climate data.
"There is telling evidence that...
EPA announces initiative to restore urban waterways
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 24th, 2011
Reuters: Renewing urban waterways will be the focus of a new environmental initiative by the government, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday.
The multi-agency program will start with a seven-city pilot program to revitalize urban waterways in under-served communities before being expanded to other cities, an EPA statement said.
"There is a range of health and environmental challenges facing our urban waters today -- but each challenge is matched by an incredible opportunity to transform...
A Nuclear Plant’s Flood Defenses Trigger a Yearlong Regulatory Confrontation
Posted by ClimateWire: Peter Behr on June 24th, 2011
Climatewire: Pictures of the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant north of Omaha, Neb., show it encircled by the swollen waters of the Missouri River, which reached a height of nearly 1,007 feet above sea level at the plant yesterday.
The plant's defenses include new steel gates and other hard barriers protecting an auxiliary building with vital reactor controls, and a water-filled berm 8 feet tall that encircles other parts of the plant. Both systems are designed to hold back floodwaters reaching 1,014 feet above...
Australia’s Ningaloo coast added to Unesco’s World Heritage List
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 24th, 2011
Guardian: Charles Knife gorge in the Cape Range national park, Ningaloo coast, Australia. The Ningaloo coast in Australia, a vast complex of reefs, caves, streams and shallow waters, and the Kenya lake system in the great rift valley in Africa, an area of outstanding beauty and home to 13 threatened bird species, are the latest sites to be added to the World Heritage List at the Unesco meeting this week in Paris.
The Ningaloo coast in Western Australia covers 708,350 hectares of coastal waters and land,...
Ecological Internet: Continually Pushing Boundaries of Internet Use to Sustain Ecology
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on June 24th, 2011
After inventing blogging, creating and managing Earths best ecology portals, including with real search engines and unsurpassed email protest capabilities; Ecological Internet very much needs your help to continue innovating on use of the Internet for ecology. We are 44% to our goal to take us to the end of the year, but still need to raise $22,000. Make your tax-deductible donation now please - Earth and you will be glad you did.
Dear Ecological Internet friends,
Increasingly Ecological Internets biocentric ecology campaigning and news sharing is taking place on Facebook and Twitter social networks (see voluminous full list of accounts and newsfeeds) and sign up if you have not yet done so. We believe our use of social networks which allows information to flow virally from friend to friend is increasing our effectiveness as witnessed by our recent major victory helping protect Tanzanias Serengeti wildlife migrations from a road through its ecosystem core.
Over the past year EI has developed and programmed its own unmatched Twitter and Facebook tools and methods to spread biocentric news and views regarding what is required to avoid global ecosystem collapse. As we gather and comment upon news items for our biocentric ecology ...
Danger heats up for Australia’s platypus
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 24th, 2011
AFP: Global warming could shrink the habitat of Australia's duck-billed platypus by a third, researchers warned Friday, with hotter, drier temperatures threatening its survival.
A confusion of bird, mammal and reptile characteristics, the timid platypus is one of Australia's most cryptic creatures, feeding at night and living in deep waterside burrows to dodge predators such as foxes and eagles.
But its thick, watertight fur coat -- one of the key tools to ensuring its survival in the cool depths...
Serengeti road halt for wildlife
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 24th, 2011
BBC: The Serengeti is a key destination for tourists in Tanzania Controversial plans to build a tarmac road across the Serengeti National Park have been scrapped after warnings that it could devastate wildlife.
The Tanzanian government planned a two-lane highway across the park to connect Lake Victoria with coastal ports.
But studies showed it could seriously affect animals such as wildebeest and zebra, whose migration is regarded as among the wonders of the natural world.
The government confirmed...