RSS Feed
Archive for July 8th, 2011
Montana, Exxon Mobil split over river oil spill
Posted by Associated Press: Matthew Brown, on July 8th, 2011
Associated Press: Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has decided Exxon Mobil and the state don't make good roommates after nearly a week of working together in close quarters to clean up an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude oil released into the Yellowstone River.
State officials have moved out of a joint command post overseeing the response to the spill -- a mess that has painted a fresh target for scorn on one of the world's largest energy companies.
Security guards working for Exxon Mobil Corp. have closely guarded...
Posted in 
Weatherwatch: southern Britain’s spring drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 8th, 2011
Guardian: Fine weather across Europe allowed species such as pied flycatchers and swallows (pictured) to return early.
This year's spring drought in southern Britain has had a profound influence on the natural world. Butterflies have been out in force, with many species sighted several weeks earlier than usual. They have subsequently thrived as a result of the fine, sunny weather: a welcome revival in their fortunes after a series of poor years. Warm, dry weather is generally good for breeding birds, too....
Drilling Into New York’s Fracking Report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 8th, 2011
New York Times: The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has posted the voluminous draft document laying out how the state plans to regulate the controversial gas drilling method known as fracking. As was noted last week, this revised version of the state’s environmental impact statement calls for a ban on horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing in the watersheds and aquifers that supply drinking water to residents as well as in state parklands. Gas companies would still be allowed to drill in...
Wildlife Along Yellowstone River Faring Well, So Far, but Landowners Struggle With Oil Spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 8th, 2011
Greenwire: Wildlife-rescue teams have yet to find significant numbers of oiled birds, fish or amphibians nearly a week after an Exxon Mobil Corp. pipeline burst beneath Montana's famed Yellowstone River, spilling up to 1,000 barrels of crude and soiling the lawns of many downstream landowners.
While oil has been spotted on the wing tips of some pelicans and a garter snake that was treated and safely returned, the spill's immediate impact appears to have been largely minimized thanks in part to the river's...
Black carbon
Posted by BBC: Navin Singh Khadka on July 8th, 2011
BBC: Although a normal monsoon has been forecast for South Asia this year, and rains have begun normally in many parts of the region, people are still anxious about the rainy season that lasts for four months.
Their anxiety has to do with the uncertainties surrounding the timing of the monsoon in recent years.
While the debate continues over the role of climate change, scientists have also been looking at the possible role of soot and urban smog pollution in disrupting this weather system.
The...
Water curbs spread in France despite June rain
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 8th, 2011
Reuters: Water restrictions are spreading across France after rain last month proved insufficient to replenish rivers and water tables hit by a spring drought, the environment ministry said on Friday. Curbs on water use have now been introduced in 70 out of 96 administrative departments in mainland France, the most to face such restrictions since a 2003 heatwave that led to the death of 15,000 people. "The rain in June was not enough to increase the flow of rivers," a farm ministry official said. "We've...
Africa drought endangers 500,000 children: U.N
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 8th, 2011
Reuters: The lives of half a million children in the Horn of Africa are at risk, international aid agencies said on Friday, as the worst drought in decades forces thousands of people to flee their homes each day.
High food prices and the driest years since the early 1950s have pushed many poor families in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti into desperate need, UNICEF said.
"We have over two million children who are malnourished. Half a million of these children are in a life-threatening condition...
South Africa: Rhino poaching on record pace
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 8th, 2011
Mongabay: Nearly 200 rhinos have been killed in South Africa through the first six months of 2011, reports TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.
Statistics from South Africa's national parks department show that rhino poaching is on track to break 2010's record of 333 rhinos killed.
126 rhinos have been killed in Kruger National Park. 146 were killed in the park in 2010.
TRAFFIC says rhino poaching is being conducted by criminal syndicates that sell rhino horn to consumers in China and Vietnam,...
Climate change and the Phoenix dust cloud – what’s the connection?
Posted by Climate Change: Alyson Kenward on July 8th, 2011
Climate Change: On Tuesday night, a massive dust storm rolled into Phoenix, Arizona knocking out power in much of the city, reducing visibility to nearly zero, and grounding flights overnight. Photos of the 100-mile wide dust cloud swallowing the city up circulated yesterday, and the event looked practically apocalyptic. In fact, if the photos weren't in color, and there weren't YouTube videos of the dust storm, I would have thought I was looking at old-timey images from the 1930's dust bowl. Now, a couple days...
Ethanol subsidies besieged
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 8th, 2011
New York Times: Federal subsidies for corn ethanol have long been considered untouchable in Washington — not least because politicians want the votes of Iowans, who have traditionally held the first nominating caucuses in the contest for the presidency. But this year, cutting the budget deficit holds more allure than courting corn farmers, making a turning point in ethanol politics. In Washington, there is growing consensus that the ethanol industry has reached financial stability, making much government assistance...