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Archive for October 28th, 2011
United States: EPA keeps a Keystone XL weapon holstered, worrying environmentalists
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 28th, 2011
Greenwire: Despite environmentalists' appeals for its help in halting what they consider a flawed Obama administration review of the $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline, U.S. EPA has declined to use one of its two binding chances to object to that process.
The 25-day clock EPA had to refer Keystone XL's environmental assessment to the White House under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is long expired, leaving the agency with one last chance to formally seek presidential buy-in for the politically...
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Map Reveals Stark Divide in Who Caused Climate Change and Who’s Being Hit
Posted by Common Dreams: Damian Carrington on October 28th, 2011
Common Dreams: When the world's nations convene in Durban in November in the latest attempt to inch towards a global deal to tackle climate change, one fundamental principle will, as ever, underlie the negotiations.
Is is the contention that while rich, industrialised nations caused climate change through past carbon emissions, it is the developing world that is bearing the brunt. It follows from that, developing nations say, that the rich nations must therefore pay to enable the developing nations to both develop...
Italy declares state of emergency in storm-hit regions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 28th, 2011
Reuters: Italy declared a state of emergency Friday in areas battered by torrential rainstorms this week that killed at least seven people.
Late Tuesday, storms lashed parts of the northwestern coastal regions of Liguria and Tuscany, bringing down bridges and houses. Widespread flooding and mudslides in villages in the picturesque Cinque Terre area cut electricity and blocked roads and railways.
Authorities in Liguria confirmed a seventh death Friday. Local prosecutors are investigating complaints that...
Countries must plan for climate refugees
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 28th, 2011
Reuters: The world's governments and relief agencies need to plan now to resettle millions of people expected to be displaced by climate change, an international panel of experts said on Thursday.
Resettlement is already occurring at the rate of some 10 million people a year, said the report's lead author, Alex de Sherbinin. Climate-related resettlement projects are under way in Vietnam, Mozambique, on the Alaskan coast, the Chinese territory of Inner Mongolia and in the South Pacific.
If global temperatures...
Thousands flee Bangkok as floods threaten
Posted by Reuters: Jason Szep and Martin Petty on October 28th, 2011
Reuters: Traffic clogged roads out of the Thai capital on Friday as tens of thousands of people fled ahead of a high tide expected to worsen floods that have inundated factories and prompted foreign governments to warn their citizens to stay away.
Bangkok's Chao Phraya River is expected to burst its banks over the weekend during the unusually high tide that begins on Friday, causing some flooding in nearby areas. Buildings across Bangkok have been sand-bagged for protection, and some vulnerable streets...