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Archive for July 27th, 2011
Warming climate expected to harm water supplies
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2011
San Francisco Chronicle: Increased flooding is seen as one likely outcome of the world's warming climate, a new study shows. Obama Threatens Veto as Republicans Delay Vote on Boehner Plan 07.26.11 Free apps, mobile ad market aren't adding up 07.27.11 Dianne Feinstein urges Ed Lee to run for SF mayor 07.27.11 1929 Piedmont home boasts fine details, bay views 07.27.11
American cities will face severe problems in coming decades as the world's warming climate hits the coasts with rising sea levels, causes huge floods and...
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Coal mine worries Australian community
Posted by Sydney Morning Herald: Adam Morton on July 27th, 2011
Sydney Morning Herald: A SOUTH-WEST Victorian community is objecting to a mining company's proposal to search for brown coal over 500 square kilometres that includes the town of Deans Marsh.
In the latest bid to develop a Victorian brown coal export industry, Mantle Mining has applied to the state government for an exploratory licence for a region near the Otway Ranges, centred about 50 kilometres west of Geelong and 10 kilometres from the Great Ocean Road.
If granted, the licence would allow the company to explore...
Government steams ahead with shale gas plans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2011
Business Green: The government has this week dismissed the immediate prospects for extracting shale gas from offshore geological formations, despite calls from MPs for it to explore its viability.
The move is likely to offer some cheer for environmental groups concerned about the impact of shale gas projects in the UK, although the government did reiterate its backing for the country's fledgling onshore shale gas sector.
MPs on the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee recently advised the government...
Saving owls and salmon also stores carbon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2011
Associated Press: Study: Saving owls and salmon also stores carbon
A new study finds that court-ordered logging cutbacks to save spotted owls and salmon from extinction have also helped the climate by storing more carbon. A new study finds that court-ordered logging cutbacks to save spotted owls and salmon from extinction have also helped the climate by storing more carbon.
Researchers from the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University found that reducing timber production by more than 80 percent on national...
Contaminated river in China sparks panic buying of water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2011
Reuters: Residue from a manganese plant has flooded a river in a city in the southwestern province of Sichuan, contaminating the main source of drinking water and sparking panic-buying of bottled water, state media said on Wednesday.
Residue from the Xichuan Minjiang Electrolytic Manganese Plant in Aba prefecture -- a heavily ethnic Tibetan part of Sichuan province next to the Tibet Autonomous Region -- was washed into the Fujiang river by heavy rain last Thursday.
The river is the source of drinking...
Australia: Police arrest Greenpeace protesters
Posted by Brisbane Times: Chi Tranter and Isabel Hayes on July 27th, 2011
Brisbane Times: A developer has promised to audit and remove any illegally logged timber from a worksite after a protest at a Sydney building site ended in several arrests.
Seven Greenpeace activists scaled a 50-metre crane at the No 1 Central Park development site at Chippendale at 7am (AEST) on Wednesday and unfurled a large banner reading "Stop Illegal Timber".
They were protesting against the use of plywood allegedly made from trees illegally cut down in the rainforests of Malaysian Borneo.
Greenpeace...
Climate change threatens world security
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Climate change is generating an "unholy brew" of extreme weather events that threaten global security, the UN chief said as the Security Council recognized the issue's potential effect on world peace.
But the 15-member council apparently failed to agree on whether climate change itself was a direct threat to international peace and security, even after a rebuke by the United States which described the lack of consensus as "pathetic."
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged concerted action and...
Bolivian president denounces water privatisation
Posted by Inter Press Service: Haider Rizvi on July 27th, 2011
Inter Press Service: "Water is life. Water is humanity. How could it be part of the private business?" asked Bolivian President Evo Morales Wednesday, stressing the social and economic consequences of the growing trend of private ownership over water supply and delivery systems in many parts of the world.
Morales, the first-ever indigenous president of Bolivia and an outspoken advocate of the rights of "Mother Earth", also criticised capitalist countries of the North for failing to adopt a rights-based approach towards...