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Archive for November, 2012
Tenacious U.S. drought worsens, to last through winter
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 30th, 2012
Climate Central: The tenacious U.S. drought that continues to hamper American agricultural output and put water supplies and Mississippi River commerce at risk worsened during the past week, particularly in the Southeast, according to figures released on Thursday. The new U.S. Drought Monitor shows that all categories of drought increased across the country between Nov. 20-27, with the largest increase occurring in an area from Alabama northeastward to Virginia.
This has already been the most intense and widespread...
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How will climate change impact on fresh water security?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2012
Guardian: Fresh water is crucial to human society – not just for drinking, but also for farming, washing and many other activities. It is expected to become increasingly scarce in the future, and this is partly due to climate change.
Understanding the problem of fresh water scarcity begins by considering the distribution of water on the planet. Approximately 98% of our water is salty and only 2% is fresh. Of that 2%, almost 70% is snow and ice, 30% is groundwater, less than 0.5% is surface water (lakes,...
Mongolia: Mining Saps a Thirsty Desert
Posted by Inter Press Service: Michelle Tolson on November 30th, 2012
Inter Press Service: The Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in the southern Gobi desert in Mongolia has become a symbol of a looming crisis: a limited water supply that could be exhausted within a decade, seriously threatening the lives and livelihoods of the local population.
Oyu Tolgoi is one of the largest copper deposits in the world and has attracted major investors over the years, from Robert Friedland of Ivanhoe Capital Corporation, to the mining giant Rio Tinto, which now holds a majority stake in the investment,...
Keystone XL Protesters Arrested After Chaining Themselves to Tanker Trucks
Posted by Houston Chronicle: None Given on November 30th, 2012
Houston Chronicle: Two environmental activists were arrested Thursday after locking themselves to oil tanker trucks near the Houston Ship Channel, organizers said. The protesters were acting in coordination with the Tar Sands Blockade group that has staged a series of demonstrations throughout Texas to inspire opposition to TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, which is currently under construction. The controversial pipeline would stretch from Canada to the Gulf Coast and bring 700,000 barrels of oil to Gulf Coast...
Court Rules Against Texas Landowners in Pipeline Case
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2012
Bloomberg: TransCanada Corp. can use eminent- domain law to seize Texas land to build the Keystone XL pipeline to transport Canadian tar-sands crude to Gulf Coast refineries, an appeals court said Thursday. Texas landowners opposing Keystone XL claimed that TransCanada doesn't meet the definition of a "common carrier" under a 2011 Texas Supreme Court ruling and shouldn't be allowed to use state eminent-domain laws to obtain easements across their properties. A lower court rejected the farmers' claim and the...
Green Groups Want Assurance Rice Will Dump Oil Sands Stocks
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman and Zack Colman on November 30th, 2012
The Hill: Environmentalists are pressing the White House to ensure that Susan Rice dumps shares in oil sands-related companies if she’s nominated for secretary of State. “The White House has gotten the message that people are very concerned about this,” said Jamie Henn, co-founder of the climate advocacy group 350.org. Environmentalists are concerned over revelations that the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and her husband could own up to $600,000 worth of stock in TransCanada Corp., the company seeking...
Revised Hydrofracking Regulations Are Released in New York State
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2012
Associated Press: A revised set of proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing natural gas has been released by New York environmental officials who will begin taking public comment on them in December.
The voluminous technical document was made public by the Department of Environmental Conservation on its website Wednesday, a day before the deadline for adopting rules for the controversial drilling known as "fracking" or making changes and allowing more comment. It has been a year since the last public hearings...
Mike Bishop, Texas Landowner, Sues State Agency Over Keystone Pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2012
Associated Press: A Texas landowner is asking a court to overturn a permit granted by a state agency to a Canadian company to build a pipeline meant to eventually connect to a larger cross-border project.
Landowner Mike Bishop on Thursday filed his injunction in Austin. Bishop argues that the Texas Railroad Commission wrongly granted a permit to TransCanada Corp., the company that is building a pipeline from Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf Coast.
That pipeline is designed to eventually connect to TransCanada's larger...
Susan Rice Has Stake in Keystone Pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 29th, 2012
New York Times: Should Susan E. Rice, the United Nations ambassador, be nominated for Secretary of State, one issue likely to arise during confirmation hearings, aside from the lethal attack on the American Mission in Benghazi, Libya, is her large stock holdings in TransCanada, the company seeking an American permit to build the proposed the Keystone XL pipeline.
According to financial disclosure documents filed in May, Ms. Rice owns from $300,000 to $600,000 worth of stock in the Canadian pipeline company (See...
Activists Arrested, Launch Hunger Strike in Protest of Keystone XL Pipeline
Posted by EcoWatch: Tar Sands Blockade on November 29th, 2012
EcoWatch: Longtime Gulf Coast activists Diane Wilson and Bob Lindsey Jr., locked their necks to oil tanker trucks destined for Valero’s Houston Refinery in solidarity with Tar Sands Blockade’s protests of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. Valero Energy Corp. is among the largest investors in TransCanada’s toxic tar sands pipeline that will terminate near the community of Manchester, located in the shadow of Valero’s refinery. Not only did Wilson and Lindsey blockaded the Valero refinery, the two lifelong...