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Archive for October, 2011
New Zealand’s log exports to China surging
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2011
Mongabay: New Zealand's log exports to China are surging, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Log exports from New Zealand in 2011 are running 25 percent of last year's rate and are expected to hit a record. Total log exports may reach 13 million cubic meters, which would represent a doubling over 2008. One third of New Zealand' total timber harvest went to China in the form of raw logs.
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EU climate chief: science shows Canada oil sand risk
Posted by Reuters: Johanna Somers on October 27th, 2011
Reuters: The European Commission's plans to class fuel from oil sands, including Canada's, as highly polluting are based on science and it will proceed with talks with EU member states to implement the measure, its climate commissioner said on Thursday.
Canada, which has huge deposits of the unconventional crude oil, has hit back fiercely at a European Union proposal to label oil sands as carbon-intensive, in a ranking designed to help fuel suppliers choose the most environmentally friendly option.
Canada...
N.Y. Fracking Panel Defers Report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2011
New York Times: A protest against fracking at the Legislative Office Building in Albany.
In a sign that New York State may have to slow down a bit before authorizing a new kind of natural gas drilling, an advisory panel is delaying its recommendations on how the state should pay for new staff members to enforce regulations on the drilling operations.
The panel’s report had been due next Tuesday. But members say that state agencies like the health and transportation departments are having a tough time coming...
Water Bill Stagnates in Congress
Posted by Inter Press Service: Edgardo Ayala on October 27th, 2011
Inter Press Service: A bill for protection, recovery and use of water resources in El Salvador, drafted by a platform of about 100 social, religious and academic organisations, has been bogged down in parliament for the past five years in spite of the country's water crisis.
"Debate in Congress has been delayed due to lack of political will," Carlos Flores of the Salvadoran Ecological Unit (UNES), one of the civil society organisations belonging to the Water Forum, the umbrella group which presented the draft General...
David Cameron to snub Rio 20 Earth summit, despite MPs’ calls
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2011
Business Green: The Environmental Audit Committee of MPs will make a direct call today for Prime Minister David Cameron to confirm his attendance at next year's Rio+20 Earth Summit in Brazil, arguing that such a move would reinforce the UK's commitment to the low carbon economy and help boost the profile of the landmark conference.
However, it appears their calls will go unheeded as the Summit coincides with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.
Government sources confirmed the Prime Minister will not...
Two rivers: The chance to export power divides Southeast Asia
Posted by National Geographic: Jeff Smith on October 27th, 2011
National Geographic: The Mekong and Irrawaddy rivers, though unconnected and hundreds of miles apart, are both integral to life in Southeast Asia, supporting millions of people and more than 1,200 species of animals, including freshwater dolphins and-in the Mekong-giant catfish.
Now, in an energy-hungry age on the continent, the rivers share another distinction, as wellsprings of financial temptation for the struggling countries that rely on their flow, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). Both countries are grappling with decisions...
UK accused of stalling EU tar sands regulation
Posted by EurActiv: Craig Willy and Arthur Neslen on October 27th, 2011
EurActiv: National representatives from EU member countries on Wednesday delayed a vote to tighten the EU's Fuel Quality Directive, amid acute pressure from the Canadian government and alleged stalling attempts by the United Kingdom.
An EU diplomat told EurActiv that several delegations on the EU's Fuel Quality Committee were not ready to vote on approving the directive, which would assign fuel from Canada's highly polluting oil sands a high default greenhouse gas value, reflecting the environmental damage...
Killing Wolves: A Product of Alberta’s Big Oil and Gas Boom
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Ed Struzik on October 27th, 2011
Yale Environment 360: In the spring of 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service captured several wolves from west central Alberta and set them loose the next year in Yellowstone National Park, hoping they would fill in the missing link in the park’s complex system of predator-prey relationships.
Wolves hadn’t been seen in Yellowstone in 70 years. Beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, and despite fierce opposition of some local ranchers and hunters, these and other wolves brought in from Alberta and British Columbia...
Thailand: Bangkok residents flee floods as river threatens to burst banks
Posted by Guardian: Tania Branigan on October 27th, 2011
Guardian: Thousands are fleeing Bangkok after the city's governor ordered residents of three districts to evacuate and breaches in dykes allowed floods to spread through the capital.
The central government has declared a five-day holiday from Thursday, encouraging many to leave the city. A naval official warned that Bangkok's main river is likely to overflow its defences on Saturday, when high tides are expected to merge with the heavy runoff from further north.
The floods are the country's worst for...
Chinese Scientists Warn of Significant Glacier Melt
Posted by Spiegel: Markus Becker on October 27th, 2011
Spiegel: Glaciers are shrinking worldwide -- some of them rapidly. Now Chinese researchers have sounded the alarm in their country too, where they say warmer weather and increased precipitation are reducing the size of glaciers. Water shortages and floods could result.
Chinese scientists are not known for fearmongering, particularly when it comes to dangers that could affect large numbers of people. Officials frown upon news that could unsettle the masses -- which makes this week's publication by the Graduate...