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Archive for January, 2012
Massive ecological change predicted for Canada: NASA
Posted by CNEWS: None Given on January 13th, 2012
CNEWS: Many parts of Canada are predicted to see massive ecological changes over the next century, according to NASA.
Researchers from the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology investigated how Earth's plant life is likely to react over the next three centuries to changes in climate brought about by rising levels of human-produced greenhouse gases.
"While warnings of melting glaciers, rising sea levels and other environmental changes are illustrative and...
Houston tackles storm and population surges in its customary ways
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 13th, 2012
ClimateWire: Standing in her kitchen, here, Michelle Dugan shows off the electronic gadget that might help her save on the substantial heating and cooling bills for her drafty, 120-year-old home.
A small touch-screen monitor on the energy-tracking device her utility, Reliant Energy, gave her allows Dugan's family to follow the energy consumption of the 2,700-square-foot house in real time. Thanks to her neighborhood's participation in Reliant's experimental program, Dugan says she now knows precisely how much...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Houston tackles storm and population surges in its customary waysDiverse Ecosystems Are Crucial Climate Change Buffer
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 13th, 2012
redOrbit: Preserving diverse plant life will help buffer the negative effects of climate change and desertification in drylands
Preserving diverse plant life will be crucial to buffer the negative effects of climate change and desertification in the world`s drylands, according to a new landmark study.
The findings of the multi-author study, published January 12 in the journal Science, are based on samples of ecosystems in every continent except Antarctica.
They confirm for the first time that the...
Middle England and eco-activists unite in opposition to shale gas and fracking
Posted by Ecologist: Jan Goodey on January 13th, 2012
Ecologist: In a perfect storm, Middle England is joining forces with climate activists to say no to fracking and the UK's much-talked about shale gas boom
The UK's shale gas boom is spreading. After more than a year of exploratory drilling in Lancashire, new sites are now being established in the south-east of England.
Unlike the road protests of the nineties where the car was king, this time the stockbroker-belt faces the despoiling of precious countryside and potentially, underground water supplies....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Middle England and eco-activists unite in opposition to shale gas and frackingPa. families asking EPA chief to send water
Posted by Associated Press: Geoff Mulvihill on January 13th, 2012
Associated Press: Residents of a small northeastern Pennsylvania town at the center of the political fight over natural gas drilling struck out Friday when they tried to take their complaints directly to the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A handful of residents-turned-activists from Dimock joined about 50 environmental activists from neighboring communities and elsewhere to rally outside a conference at Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences on urban environmental issues, chanting, "Lisa...
Mild Winter Could Hurt Western States Water Supply
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 13th, 2012
National Public Radio: Across much of Colorado, Utah, Montana and northern California, the snowpack is at less than half the average. There are concerns the skimpy snowpack won't fill the reservoirs and rivers. Millions of people depend on melting snow for their drinking water and farms.
Biofuels Land Grab: Guatemala’s Farmers Lose Plots and Prosperity to “Energy Independence”
Posted by Scientific America: Eitan Haddok on January 13th, 2012
Scientific America: Echoes from armed raids still seem to resound in this valley, eight hours north of the capital city. In early 2011 military and paramilitary forces forcibly evicted 13 communities of indigenous Mayan peasants—some 300 families were dispossessed of disputed land they had been living on for three years to secure the property rights of one powerful local family, the Widmanns, and its agribusiness company Chabil Utzaj. "They came in great numbers and heavily armed," says 18-year-old Tecla Kuxh while...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Biofuels Land Grab: Guatemala’s Farmers Lose Plots and Prosperity to “Energy Independence”Toward a National Coastline Policy
Posted by New York Times: Cornelia Dean on January 13th, 2012
New York Times: The United States has thousands of miles of coastline, and more than half of its population lives in counties bordering oceans or the Great Lakes - areas administered by a hodgepodge of federal, state or other agencies, often with conflicting goals.
For years, environmental groups and expert panels have called for federal oversight for these areas.
On Thursday, the idea took a step forward when the White House issued a National Ocean Policy action plan for regulations governing stewardship...
Pro-Pipeline Canada To Americans: Butt Out, Eh?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 12th, 2012
National Public Radio: JaYet another foreign government has accused Americans of meddling in its internal affairs. It says U.S. donors are bankrolling local political activists, and it may be time for a crackdown on the political influence of outsiders.
But it isn't Syria and it isn't Egypt. It's America's friendly neighbor to the north - Canada. The conservative-led Canadian government is peeved at American environmental organizations that have been effective in delaying U.S. approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which...
Heavy Lobbying Before Keystone Oil Pipeline Decision
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 12th, 2012
National Public Radio: The oil industry and environmentalists are fighting over the Keystone XL pipeline, and in this election year, President Obama is caught in the middle.
The industry says the pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, would create jobs. Environmentalists worry it will lead to more pollution. Obama has until next month to make a decision, and that has both sides lobbying heavily.
The 1,700-mile pipeline would bring oil from Alberta's tar sands down through the middle of the...