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Archive for October 15th, 2011
Central America death toll at 45 from heavy rains
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 15th, 2011
Reuters: Torrential rain in Central America this week that forced thousands to abandon their homes and trapped many more has killed at least 45 people, with Guatemala the worst hit, authorities said on Saturday. A tropical depression hit the region early on Wednesday, causing flooding, mudslides and lightning strikes in the chain of countries between Mexico and South America. Many areas were cut off as the rain inundated villages and clogged roads. The destructive weather system that bore down from the...
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United Kingdom: Why are we so rubbish at throwing things away?
Posted by Telegraph: William Langley on October 15th, 2011
Telegraph: It took the human race a long time to invent the rubbish bin, and although the idea seems simple, many of us have yet to master the details. Some leave their rubbish anywhere except in the bins, others appear to confuse the bins with bicycle stands and public urinals, while a few fail to grasp the core notion that the things are meant to hold rubbish.
Into this awkward latter category now arrives Oliver Letwin, the 55-year-old Cabinet Office Minister, who last week had to apologise for dumping...
G.O.P. vs. the Environment
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 15th, 2011
New York Times: As of Friday, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives had voted 168 times this year to undercut clean air and water laws while blocking efforts to limit global warming, protect public lands and guard against future oil spills. Henry Waxman, the senior Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, calls this "the most anti-environmental Congress in history.'
Mr. Waxman, whose staff compiled that grim tally, can recall a time when Republicans voted for bills to protect the environment,...
Tuvalu water crisis highlights global concerns
Posted by Associated Press: Nick Perry on October 15th, 2011
Associated Press: Palelei Tovia recalls how Tuvalu islanders used to survive droughts with all-night vigils at wells to collect precious freshwater during the moments it seeped into the shafts.
Tovia, now a schoolteacher, said that during the last bad drought 14 years ago, she stayed up beside a well with her high school friends, telling each other stories to stay awake. As the ocean tide rose, she said, it would push freshwater into the well, and they'd take turns scooping it out, cup by cup.
This year's drought...
Climate change threatens California salmon, UC Davis scientists say
Posted by Capital Public Radio: None Given on October 15th, 2011
Capital Public Radio: Not far from Chico California, UC Davis fish biologist Lisa Thompson is perched in a tree on an observation platform overlooking Butte Creek. THOMPSON: "We're looking at a pretty big group of spring run Chinook salmon. And they have moved into an area over gravels that are a good size for them to spawn and lay their eggs. And so there are groups of fish milling around trying to decide who they are going to mate with. And that splashing you here is a female flipping on her side and moving her tail...
Hydraulic Fracturing Brings Money, and Problems, to Pennsylvania
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 15th, 2011
New York Times: In the economic downturn three years ago, Adam Diaz idled the trucks at his bluestone quarry and silenced the saws at his lumber mill. Fortunately for him, the gas companies arrived at about the same time, and Mr. Diaz saw an opportunity. He started hauling their waste. He parlayed 1 truck into 8 and now has a fleet of 53. Then he revived a weedy rail spur and now leases 210 rail cars to haul more waste containers. His work force grew to 180 from 30 as he created a business that now has revenues...