RSS Feed
Archive for September 20th, 2011
Pennsylvania Aims to Increase Oversight of Fracking Industry
Posted by Yahoo!: Jason Gallagher on September 20th, 2011
Yahoo!: In response to the overwhelming popularity of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is set to announce a reorganization. As a result of the reorganization, a stand-alone Oil and Gas Bureau will oversee regulation of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania. The move is an effort by Gov. Tom Corbett's administration to better monitor what is becoming an extremely important business in the state.
Will any layoffs result from the...
Posted in 
English wildlife sites under threat from planning reforms
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2011
Press Association: Local sites important to England's wildlife could be under threat from the government's controversial planning reforms, the Wildlife Trusts warned on Tuesday.
The trusts are concerned that under the proposed changes to the planning system, which slim down around 1,000 pages of policy to just 52, England's 40,000 local wildlife sites will not have the protection they currently enjoy.
Ministers say the reforms, which focus on a "presumption in favour of sustainable development", are necessary...
United States: Farewell, Dams. Hello, Salmon?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2011
New York Times: A symbolic turn for salmon habitat restoration in Washington State was marked over the weekend as government officials, tribal members, scientists and engineers gathered for the beginning of the largest dam removal ever in the United States. Two hydroelectric dams are to be dismantled, restoring the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula to its natural course.
Among those attending was Gov. Christine Gregoire, who had a message for the fish that once crowded the river. “Welcome back to the salmon,"...
World water crisis spurs inventors
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2011
Reuters: Solutions such as fog catchers, seawater greenhouses and fuel cells powered by microscopic bacteria are on show to help secure water supply and food production as rising population and climate change put the world's natural resources under strain.
Water limits are close to being breached in several countries, while food output has to rise up to 100 percent by 2050 to sustain a world population seen growing by 35 percent from 6.9 billion to around 9 billion by that time, two U.N. reports have shown....
Chevron loses latest stage of Amazon pollution battle
Posted by Guardian: Ominic Rushe on September 20th, 2011
Guardian: A US court has dealt oil giant Chevron a severe blow after lifting a ban on an $18bn judgment against the firm for contaminating the Amazon.
A New York appeals court has reversed an earlier order freezing enforcement of the record damages award. It is the latest reversal in a nearly two decade-long legal battle over pollution in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador.
In February, a judge in Ecuador ordered Chevron to pay damages to the plaintiffs, but both Chevron and the residents appealed, and...
Climate change review to cover coastal planning
Posted by Australian: Sid Maher on September 20th, 2011
Australian: COASTAL planning laws and building regulations face a Productivity Commission inquiry as doubts emerge over how local councils will deal with the effect of a carbon price on rubbish dumps.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet and Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten announced the inquiry yesterday into regulations and policies that may be barriers to adapting to climate change.
The inquiry follows government reports showing coastal housing and infrastructure is at risk from rising sea levels.
It...
World Atlas ice loss claim exaggerated
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2011
Reuters: The Times Atlas of the World exaggerated the rate of Greenland's ice loss in its thirteenth edition last week, scientists said on Monday.
The atlas, published by HarperCollins, showed that Greenland lost 15 percent of its ice cover over the past 12 years, based on information from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado in the United States.
The Greenland ice sheet is the second biggest in the world and significant shrinking could lead to a global rise in sea levels.
"While global...
Lake Osoyoos to be discussed at US-Canada meeting
Posted by Washington Examiner: None Given on September 20th, 2011
Washington Examiner: Water supply and the impact of climate change and population growth on a lake that straddles Washington state and British Columbia were expected to be discussed during a forum involving officials and scientists from the United States and Canada that opened Monday.
A 25-year-old agreement that regulates levels on Lake Osoyoos and ensures enough water reaches Zosel Dam in Washington expires in February and is up for renewal. A new agreement could cover the same period, or it could be renewed for...
Uganda: Global warming may affect coffee production
Posted by Monitor: None Given on September 20th, 2011
Monitor: Global warming has increased the spread of pests in key farming regions with coffee exports facing the strain from the berry disease. Scientists at the Nairobi based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) predict increased incidences of coffee berry borer in coffee zones over the next 40 years due to changing climatic patterns.
Even small increases in temperature will lead to serious consequences on the number of generations, as well as the latitudinal and altitudinal range...
New fields may propel Americas to top of oil companies’ lists
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2011
New York Times: Brazil has begun building its first nuclear submarine to protect its vast, new offshore oil discoveries. Colombia's oil production is climbing so fast that it is closing in on Algeria's and could hit Libya's prewar levels in a few years. ExxonMobil is striking new deals in Argentina, which recently heralded its biggest oil discovery since the 1980s. Technology has made Canada's oil sands easier to tap in recent years, creating foreign interest as well as a demand for workers. Up and down the Americas,...