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Archive for October 10th, 2012
Extreme Weather: A Mixed Bag for Dead Zones
Posted by World Resources Institute: Mindy Selman on October 10th, 2012
World Resources Institute: This year’s extreme weather events--a warm winter, even warmer summer, and a drought that covered nearly two-thirds of the continental United States--has certainly caused its fair share of damages. But despite the crop failures, water shortages, and heat waves, extreme weather created at least one benefit: smaller dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico.
On a normal year, rain washes pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorous from farms and urban areas into the two bodies of water, fueling...
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UN warns of rising food costs after year’s extreme weather
Posted by Guardian: John Vidal, Rebecca Smithers and Shiv Malik on October 10th, 2012
Guardian: The UN has warned of increasing meat and dairy prices in the wake of extreme weather in the United States and across large parts of Europe and other centres of global food production.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome, global wheat production is expected to fall 5.2% in 2012 and yields from many other crops grown to feed animals could be 10% down on last year.
"Populations are growing but production is not keeping up with consumption. Prices for wheat have already...
Waterkeepers Take Legal Action to Stop Toxic Coal Ash from Contaminating Groundwater
Posted by Waterkeeper Alliance: None Given on October 10th, 2012
Waterkeeper Alliance: Conservation groups today asked the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to require Progress Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Carolinas to clean up groundwater contaminated by old, unlined coal ash lagoons at 14 coal-fired power plants that have been leaking toxic substances for decades. Coal ash is the toxic waste that remains after coal is burned. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the complaint with the EMC on behalf of the Cape Fear River Watch, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance...
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses Chevron Challenge of Ecuador Damages
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 10th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear Chevron Corp.’s challenge of an $18.2 billion judgment issued by an Ecuadorian court over large-scale damages caused by oil drilling in the Amazon. The Supreme Court decision is the latest development in a long legal battle that led to a ruling last year by an Ecuadorean court that Chevron had to pay the damages for massive oil dumping by Texaco, which Chevron acquired in 2001. Chevron was challenging a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in...
Mitt Romney defends coal industry as US sees rising popularity of natural gas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 10th, 2012
Guardian: Mitt Romney hit the campaign trail in Ohio and Virginia this week accusing Barack Obama of waging war on coal. But the real enemy of coal, it turns out, is free enterprise – and strong competition from another home-grown source of American energy: natural gas.
Falling prices for natural gas made it far more economical to burn natural gas instead of coal in the country's power plants over the last few years.
Environmental regulations – a favourite target of Romney – had little to do with the...
US Supreme Court refuses to hear Chevron’s pleas against US$19 billion fine
Posted by Globe and Mail: Jeff Gray on October 10th, 2012
Globe and Mail: Chevron Corp. has lost a bid to have the U.S. Supreme Court consider its call for a worldwide ban on attempts to collect on a controversial $19-billion (U.S.) environmental judgment levelled against the company in Ecuador.
The decision comes with lawyers in Canada poised to battle in a Toronto courtroom next month over an attempt by the Ecuadorean plaintiffs to seize Chevron's considerable Canadian assets to cover at least part of the massive judgment - a judgment the oil giant dismisses as fraudulent....
Garifuna Women, Custodians of Culture and the Environment in Honduras
Posted by Inter Press Service: Thelma Mejía on October 10th, 2012
Inter Press Service: Hurricane Match, which devastated Honduras 14 years ago, prompted a group of Garifuna women to start organising, to help the people in greatest need of assistance.
Since then they have expanded their work, and have become an example of the commitment to preserving the environment, farming in a sustainable manner, and preserving their culture.
The experience gave rise to the Garifuna Emergency Committee of Honduras, led mainly by women from the Caribbean province of Trujillo, one of the most...
Water is the next global problem
Posted by The Star: None Given on October 10th, 2012
The Star: The world is on the verge of the greatest crisis it has ever faced. Worsening water security will have irreversible consequences on ecosystems, livelihoods and the global economic system. The ever-expanding water demand by the world's growing population and economy has made water scarcity a reality in many parts of the world. We are witnessing severe damage to livelihoods, human health, and ecosystems. It is predicted by most accounts that by 2013, global water requirements would increase by 40%...
Greens may face reckoning over Keystone
Posted by Politico: None Given on October 10th, 2012
Politico: Green groups came out early — and hard — for President Barack Obama this season. They threw in money from the start. They drummed up big-name endorsements when other liberal groups hung back. And they’ve joined the ranks of campaign foot soldiers. So environmentalists should be excited to see their guy ahead in the polls — a sign that their hard work is paying off. Instead, they’re grappling with a tough reality: Even a win could be setting themselves up for a colossal loss early next year. Many...
‘Soviet-style’ wind farm subsidies to face the axe
Posted by Telegraph: Rowena Mason on October 10th, 2012
Telegraph: Owen Paterson, who took on the role last month, said wind developers should "stand on their own two feet' instead of asking for money from the state.
He said green technologies such as wind farms might actually have a worse impact than climate change, because they are causing "public insurrection'.
"There are significant impacts on the rural economy and the rural environment, all of which probably weren't intended when these things were thought up,' he told an event at the Conservative Party...