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Archive for February 27th, 2012
TransCanada Renewing Request to Build Keystone Pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2012
New York Times: TransCanada said Monday that it would reapply for a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline from Canadian oil sands formations in Alberta to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, assuring that the fiercely contested project will remain a source of political heat throughout the presidential campaign. The company also said it would seek immediate permission to move ahead with the southernmost portion of the project, from Cushing, Okla., to the gulf, in the hope that that part of the pipeline could be...
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Obama supports TransCanada’s bid to push ahead with part of oil pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2012
Guardian: Barack Obama helped put the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline back on track on Monday, endorsing construction on a key southern portion of the controversial project.
The White House support for construction of a southern portion of the pipeline, running from Cushing, Oklahoma to Port Arthur, Texas, essentially unravels its rejection of the entire project just one month ago.
The move was seen by environmental campaigners as a betrayal. The Sierra Club described the revival of the pipeline project...
BP may settle with Deepwater Horizon oil spill victims as trial postponed
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2012
Guardian: BP may be close to a legal settlement on the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster – but many of the tens of thousands of victims still want to drag the oil company through the courts.
Judge Carl Barbier ordered a week-long delay in the civil trial, which was due to start on Monday.
The delay, ordered after a conference call with lawyers from all the main parties on Sunday afternoon, was seen as a sign that BP was close to a settlement with those who lost their livelihood as a result of the oil disaster....
Analysis: Mexico in no rush to exploit shale oil bonanza
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2012
Reuters: Mexico may be sitting on a vast untapped reserve of shale oil just south of the Rio Grande, but state monopoly Pemex is showing little urgency to exploit their share of the bounty.
While U.S. energy companies are racing to drill more wells in the oil-rich Eagle Ford shale play that geologists say extends well south of the border, Mexican energy officials and Pemex executives appear unrushed.
Mexico has the world's fourth-largest reserve of shale gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information...
Shrinking Arctic Sea Ice Linked to Snowier Winters?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2012
National Geographic: Rapidly shrinking Arctic sea ice could be behind the recent unusually cold and snowy winters in the Northern Hemisphere, a new model suggests.
From 2007 to 2011, large parts of the U.S., northwestern Europe, and northern and central China experienced early or abnormally heavy snowfall.
Some scientists have speculated that such harsh winters might be a result of disappearing Arctic sea ice, which reached a record low in 2007 due to global warming, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice...
Melting Arctic link to UK snows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2012
BBC: The progressive shrinking of Arctic sea ice is bringing colder, snowier winters to the UK and other areas of Europe, North America and China, a study shows.
As global temperatures have risen, the area of Arctic Ocean covered by ice in summer and autumn has been falling.
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a US/China-based team show this affects the jet stream and brings cold, snowy weather.
Whether conditions will get colder still as ice melts further is unclear....
Judge Dismisses Organic Farmers’ Case Against Monsanto
Posted by National Public Radio: Eliza Barclay on February 27th, 2012
National Public Radio: A New York federal court today dismissed a lawsuit against agribusiness giant Monsanto brought by thousands of certified organic farmers. The farmers hoped the suit would protect them against infringing on the company's crop patents in the future.
The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association and several other growers and organizations do not use Monsanto seeds. But they were betting that the judge would agree that Monsanto should not be allowed to sue them if pollen from the company's patented...
TransCanada chops up Keystone XL to push it ahead
Posted by Reuters: Jeffrey Jones and Roberta Rampton on February 27th, 2012
Reuters: TransCanada Corp said on Monday it will build the southern leg of its $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline first, skirting a full-blown U.S. review and giving President Barack Obama ammunition to hit back at Republicans who have blasted his energy policy.
Building the portion of the contentious pipeline that would run to Texas refineries from the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub before the northern section would help remove a pinch-point that has led to deep price discounts for U.S. and Canadian...
Top court rejects states’ appeal on Great Lakes carp
Posted by Reuters: James Vicini on February 27th, 2012
Reuters: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by five states seeking an order requiring that a range of steps be taken to keep the invading Asian carp out of the Great Lakes where they are considered a threat to fisheries.
The high court refused to hear an appeal by Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin after the states lost their bid for a preliminary injunction that would have required additional efforts to stop the migration of the voracious carp into the lakes.
The...
Scientists say cassava will thrive in climate change, best bet for African farmers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2012
Associated Press: JOHANNESBURG -- Calling cassava "the Rambo of food crops,' scientists Monday said the long-neglected root becomes even more productive in hotter temperatures and could be the best bet for African farmers threatened by climate change.
Cassava is the second most important source of carbohydrate in sub-Saharan African, after maize, and is eaten by around 500 million people every day, scientists said.
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The root outperformed potatoes, maize, beans, bananas, millet and sorghum in...