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Archive for January 9th, 2012
Texas Drought Threatens Endangered Whooping Cranes
Posted by Yahoo!: Rachel Bogart on January 9th, 2012
Yahoo!: According to the Associated Press, the devastating drought in Texas this past year is threatening the survival of an endangered species. Only about 300 whooping cranes remain in the wild and use Texas as their wintering grounds. But the drought has made food and water scarce and so far scientists have discovered at least one crane that has died, eliciting alarm since it abnormal to see dead birds this early in the season.
The lack of food is even more problematic on the way back to nest in Canada...
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Canada: Oil sands pipeline battle turns ugly
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2012
Guardian: Canada let loose an extraordinary rant against opponents of a controversial project to pump tar sands crude to Pacific Coast ports on Monday, accusing campaigners of colluding with foreign "radicals" and "jet-setting celebrities" to hijack the government.
The diatribe, which came as an open letter from the natural resources minister Joe Oliver, caused a furore in Canada.
It was seen as a sign of the conservative government's frustration at growing opposition to its efforts to find global markets...
Dueling Research: Fracked Shale Gas Worse For Climate Change Than Coal! Or, The Opposite!
Posted by Dallas Observer: Brantley Hargrove on January 9th, 2012
Dallas Observer: In the rarefied halls of Cornell, the atmospheric-science equivalent of the gauntlet has been thrown. At stake is nothing less than the suitability of one of the most plentiful, domestically producible forms of energy in North America to replace a fuel speeding climate change and emitting tons of known carcinogens.
The question: Is unconventional gas extracted from formations like the Barnett Shale of North Texas the cleaner-burning bridge fuel to a new, sustainable age? Or does its production...
High court appears to back landowners in clean water cases
Posted by Reuters: James Vicini on January 9th, 2012
Reuters: The Supreme Court appeared to support giving companies and landowners the right to a court hearing before they must comply with an order under the clean water act, which could sharply curtail a key Environmental Protection Agency power.
During arguments on Monday, both conservative and liberal justices sharply questioned a U.S. government attorney who maintained that companies or individuals must first fail to comply with an EPA order and face potentially costly enforcement action before a court...
Study needed on shale gas effects on health: group
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2012
Reuters: The public health effects of shale gas development need to be rigorously studied as production rapidly spreads in the United States, public health professionals and advocates said on Monday.
Advances in the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, drilling technique have revolutionized the natural gas industry, but researchers said more must be done to evaluate what the shale boom means for the those living near wells.
Health groups have concerns including possible air and water pollution from fracking,...
Salazar Signs Grand Canyon Mining Ban
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2012
New York Times: Ken Salazar, the interior secretary, discussed the mining moratorium on Monday with a map of the Grand Canyon in the background at the National Geographic Society in Washington.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar formally signed a 20-year moratorium on new uranium and other hard rock mining claims on a million acres of federal land around the Grand Canyon on Monday, saying it was a “serious and necessary step” to preserve the mile-deep canyon and the river that runs through it.
The move, which...
Revisiting the Deepwater Horizon Plumes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2012
New York Times: Maybe the plumes were really clouds.
I am talking about the famous plumes from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the event that roiled the Gulf Coast and scrambled energy politics in mid-2010. Many readers will remember reports, first carried in this newspaper, that a considerable volume of hydrocarbons released in the spill did not reach the surface of the gulf. Instead they dissolved into deep water, forming what appeared at the time to be enormous plumes of dissolved oil and gas.
That first...
GOP Argues Against Grand Canyon Moratorium
Posted by National Public Radio: Laurel Morales on January 9th, 2012
National Public Radio: The U.S. Department of the Interior is placing a 20-year moratorium on new mining claims in and around the Grand Canyon. Environmentalists say the ban is crucial to protecting the region. However, the mining industry and some Republicans say the moratorium will be harmful to Arizona's economy and the nation's energy independence.
Whooping crane migration grounded in regulatory flap
Posted by Reuters: Ian Simpson on January 9th, 2012
Reuters: A flock of rare whooping cranes on its inaugural winter migration to Florida are grounded in Alabama while a government agency decides whether a plane guiding them will be allowed to proceed.
The whooping cranes, part of North America's tallest flying bird species, have been in pens in Alabama since last month as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) looks into whether the 1,285-mile flight violates regulations.
The pilots of the ultralight plane guiding the flock from Wisconsin to two...
United Kingdom: ‘Impressive’ find of rare beetles
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2012
BBC: The discovery of a number of rare beetles at a Gloucestershire nature reserve is being celebrated by experts.
Eleven rugged oil beetles, which are believed to be in serious decline, were counted at the Elliott nature reserve on Swift's Hill near Stroud.
The Stroud valleys have been a stronghold for the beetle, as have reserves in Somerset and Wiltshire.
A Buglife spokesman said the beetles were usually found in low numbers, so to find 11 in one go was "impressive".
'Good sign'
The...