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Archive for June, 2012
U.S. Interior needs to strengthen fracking rules: lawmakers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 20th, 2012
Reuters: U.S. Democrats in the House of Representatives urged the Obama administration on Wednesday to expand proposed regulations for fracking for natural gas, saying companies should be required to reveal the chemicals to be used in the process prior to drilling.
Calling the Interior Department's draft rules for fracking on federal lands "a good first step," a group of 38 lawmakers called for disclosure of chemicals before and after drilling takes place.
"Increasing transparency by requiring the disclosure...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on U.S. Interior needs to strengthen fracking rules: lawmakersImperial drops Montana mountain pass megaload plan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 20th, 2012
Reuters: Imperial Oil Ltd formally withdrew a highly contested plan to truck huge loads of equipment over a mountain pass on the Idaho/Montana border, having already moved them to its Alberta oil sands project via alternative routes.
According to a court filing on Wednesday by lawyers for the Montana Department of Transportation, the MDT would not conduct any more analysis of the "megaloads" plan because Exxon Mobil-owned Imperial had pulled its application for permits.
Environmentalists who worried...
Senate Move to Reverse Mercury Rule Fails
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 20th, 2012
New York Times: A Senate resolution seeking to reverse federal regulations limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic substances from coal-burning power plants failed to win passage on Wednesday. The resolution, introduced by Senator James M. Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, won support from 46 senators; 53 voted against it.
The Environmental Protection Agency rules, issued late last year, have been criticized by some utilities, coal producers, Congressional Republicans and other foes as overly broad and potentially...
Warm Snap Turned Antarctica Green Around the Edges
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 20th, 2012
National Geographic: An unexpectedly warm period about 15 million years ago temporarily thawed Antarctica, turning the continent green around its edges, a new study says.
Antarctica developed its ice sheets about 34 million years ago. But during the more recent warm period, the interior landscape would've resembled tundra found in parts of modern-day Chile and New Zealand, and the coasts would've been lined with beeches and a type of conifer.
The surprising evidence comes from "abundant" remains of leaf waxes in...
Rio+20 summit starts under cloud of criticism
Posted by Reuters: Paulo Prada and Valerie Volcovici on June 20th, 2012
Reuters: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff welcomed world leaders to a rainy Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday under a cloud of criticism that a three-day summit is falling far short of its promise to establish clear goals for sustainable development. Before the official start of the event, known as Rio+20 because of the landmark Earth Summit in the city two decades ago, Brazil convinced visiting delegations to finalize a draft declaration for their leaders. But many delegations and summit organizers - as well...
Research shows the response of the carbon cycle to climate change
Posted by Phys.Org: None Given on June 20th, 2012
Phys.Org: Marine and freshwater environments have the potential to release more carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere in a warmer climate than their land counterparts, scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have found.
In the largest ever analysis of rates of respiration, published online in the journal Nature today, scientists compared the temperature dependence of respiration between aquatic and land ecosystems.
Lead author, Dr Gabriel Yvon-Durocher from Queen Mary, University of London...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Research shows the response of the carbon cycle to climate changeRio+20: Ban Ki-moon warns summit over slow progress
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 20th, 2012
BBC: The UN sustainable development summit in Rio de Janeiro has formally opened with a warning from UN head Ban Ki-moon that progress on the issue is too slow.
The secretary-general told world leaders and other ministers that "words must translate into action".
On the summit's fringes, international finance institutions launched a $175bn fund to boost sustainable transport.
And the UK government announced that major businesses will have to report their carbon emissions from next year.
Mr...
Big UN environmental summit opens in Rio
Posted by Associated Press: Bradley Brooks on June 20th, 2012
Associated Press: Leaders from around the globe gathered Wednesday to open three days of talks at the United Nations conference on sustainable development, where a sober, unambitious mood prevailed as negotiators produced what critics called a watered-down document that makes few advances on protecting the environment.
Negotiators worked for months to hammer out a document that many hoped would lay out clear goals on how nations could promote sustainable development -- making economic advances without eating up...
ALERT! Tell Brazil Rio+20 Host: The Future We Want Is Not 60 Amazon Rainforest Destroying Dams
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on June 20th, 2012
By Ecological Internet's Rainforest Portal
TAKE ACTION to protect the Amazon from industrial dam destruction with sustainable development based upon standing rainforests
Brazils government host of the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development devoted to sustainable development and sustaining ecosystems is planning to build 60 dams on tributaries to the Amazon -- including the controversial $11 billion Belo Monte project. Industrial destruction of intact primary rainforest ecosystems based upon ecocide and genocide is not the future we want a motto of Rio+20. These plans for massive Amazon dam construction reveal Brazils meaningless rhetoric regarding environmental sustainability and sustainable development, as they hypocritically continue destroying key regional and global ecosystems. Brazils deceptive doublespeak regarding sustaining ecology must not be allowed to stand unchallenged during Rio+20. Stand with brave indigenous protestors who recently dismantled a portion of Belo Montes construction, as we call upon all Rio+20 delegates to demand Brazil cancel Belo Monte and other Amazon rainforest destroying dams, embracing instead a program of sustainable development based upon standing primary rainforests.
TAKE ACTION
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/sendsm.aspx?id=brazil_xingu
Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on ALERT! Tell Brazil Rio+20 Host: The Future We Want Is Not 60 Amazon Rainforest Destroying DamsAs climate aid sags, vulnerable nations foot the bill
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on June 20th, 2012
AlertNet: Worsening climate impacts are now "a reality, not a threat', but little of the aid promised to poor countries has arrived, leaving them to dig into their own pockets to cover the costs, climate change experts said this week.
Between 2009 and 2010, as "fast-start' aid for climate-vulnerable countries began to flow, global climate funding rose from $6.7 billion to $14.2 billion, according to DARA, a Spain-based organisation that tracks the effectiveness of international assistance.
But only $2...