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Archive for January, 2012
Jobs for the poor? Save the wild for $1 a day
Posted by Discoverty: Tim Wall on January 14th, 2012
Discoverty: Sorry Beatles but researchers at Conservation International might contradict your song "Money."
The best things in life aren't free
But you can protect the birds and bees
Now give the poor money
The best things in life aren't really free. Fresh air, clean water, and bountiful crops all depend on healthy ecosystems. But research published in BioScience pointed out that the communities which steward those environmental resources often do not receive payment for their services.
Communities...
Bulgarians protest, seek moratorium on shale gas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 14th, 2012
Reuters: Thousands of Bulgarians protested throughout the Balkan country on Saturday against exploration for shale gas, worried it would poison underground waters, trigger earthquakes and pose serious public health hazards.
Protesters rallied in more than six major Bulgarian cities calling for a moratorium on shale gas tests through hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, and demanding a new law to ban unconventional drilling for gas in the southeastern European country.
"I am opposed because we do...
Be a citizen scientist and stop the spread of invasive species in Britain
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 14th, 2012
Guardian: Experts think there are currently around 2000 plus non-native species in Britain. Some of these will threaten the country's native flora and fauna. The problem of invasive species is now considered by environmental scientists as serious as climate change when it comes to threats against biodiversity.
The Observer Ethical awards have teamed up with the University of Hull to help record data on invasive species, so that scientists can monitor their spread and their effect on their local environment....
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Be a citizen scientist and stop the spread of invasive species in BritainBritain facing summer hosepipe ban as drought risk remains high
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 14th, 2012
Telegraph: After many weeks with little rain, southern and eastern areas "remain at high risk of drought' in coming months, the Environment Agency said.
Despite some wet weather last month that helped improve river flows and reservoir levels, overall dry conditions meant water levels remained low and groundwater recharge was also slow.
On Friday night, officials warned that unless significant rain started falling soon "more drought permits and customer restrictions on public water supplies' could be introduced...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Britain facing summer hosepipe ban as drought risk remains highPhiladelphia uses tough love to overhaul its water and sewer system
Posted by ClimateWire: Saqib Rahim on January 14th, 2012
ClimateWire: The day Stuart Parmet's water bill hit the stratosphere, his mind became a swirl of numbers.
American Box and Recycling Co., his business, gathers, recycles and distributes cardboard boxes. The factory only had a dozen or so toilets and used no water in the machinery. What was going on?
Much of the job of coping with the rigors and risks of climate change will fall to the leaders of major cities around the world. This series explores how some are already beginning to plan for looming political,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Philadelphia uses tough love to overhaul its water and sewer systemAfter earthquakes, Ohio city questions future fracking wells
Posted by Reuters: Kim Palmer on January 13th, 2012
Reuters: Alarmed over a string of earthquakes linked to deep wells in nearby Youngstown, authorities in Mansfield, Ohio have threatened to block construction of two similar waste disposal wells planned within their city limits.
Ohio has over 170 active disposal wells, though only recently has it become permissable to use them for disposal of out-of-state waste from fracking, a controversial process to drive gas and oil out of underground rock.
Now, fresh questions about their safety are being raised...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on After earthquakes, Ohio city questions future fracking wellsEvaluating Feedback on Fracking Rules
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 13th, 2012
New York Times: As I report in today’s Times, New York State environmental regulators are sorting through more than 20,000 public comments as they develop the final rules for high-volume hydraulic fracturing, the much-debated process to extract natural gas from underground shale formations.
On Thursday, the federal Environmental Protection Agency posted its comments on its Web site advising New York officials to study more issues and revise its plans to protect water supplies and the environment. The recommendations...
Covering the Coverage: Scientists Propose Cuts in Methane, Soot Emissions
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on January 13th, 2012
Climate Central: A paper published yesterday in the journal Science shows the tremendous climate change, public health, and crop yield benefits that could come from reducing emissions of soot and methane, both of which contribute to global warming but don't stay in the air nearly as long as carbon dioxide (CO2), the main climate change villain. As I reported yesterday, the proposals contained in the study could slash the rate of global warming nearly in half through 2050, while saving up to 4.7 million lives annually...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Covering the Coverage: Scientists Propose Cuts in Methane, Soot EmissionsUnited Kingdom: Hydraulic fracturing controversy: what a fracking shambles
Posted by Guardian: Michael White on January 13th, 2012
Guardian: An oilman I know slightly said in the pub that the "flaming taps" problem widely associated with techniques of hydraulic fracturing – fracking – became a problem only after rural folk in Pennsylvania went drilling for oil in their back yards (as Americans do) in an amateur, "mom and pop" fashion.
"There's no problem in Texas – folk know about oil drilling in Texas," my oil friend said with adopted Texan pride.
A quick glance at any account of the fracking controversy – here's Wiki's summary...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Hydraulic fracturing controversy: what a fracking shamblesHoneybee problem nearing a ‘critical point’
Posted by Grist: Claire Thompson on January 13th, 2012
Grist: Anyone who's been stung by a bee knows they can inflict an outsized pain for such tiny insects. It makes a strange kind of sense, then, that their demise would create an outsized problem for the food system by placing the more than 70 crops they pollinate -- from almonds to apples to blueberries -- in peril.
Although news about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has died down, commercial beekeepers have seen average population losses of about 30 percent each year since 2006, said Paul Towers, of the...