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Archive for December 18th, 2012
Bringing the climate fight to the table
Posted by Marketplace: None Given on December 18th, 2012
Marketplace: There are more than 7 billion people living on the planet now, and it looks like there'll be another 2 billion of us by the middle of the century. In our series, "Food for 9 Billion," we've been asking what it's going to take to keep us all fed. Over the last year, we've looked at how to boost food production without destroying the environment, how to deal with water shortages and climate change, and how to get policies right on things like food prices and nutrition. We've also looked at the demand...
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Peak farmland is here, crop area to diminish: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
Reuters: The amount of land needed to grow crops worldwide is at a peak, and a geographical area more than twice the size of France will be able to return to its natural state by 2060 as a result of rising yields and slower population growth, a group of experts said on Monday.
Their report, conflicting with United Nations studies that say more cropland will be needed in coming decades to avert hunger and price spikes as the world population rises above 7 billion, said humanity had reached what it called...
Extreme weather forecast for Eastern US
Posted by TG Daily: Kate Taylor on December 18th, 2012
TG Daily: The US East Coast is set for a big rise in heat waves and storms, a study using the world's fastest supercomputer has shown.
Researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, say that heat waves will become more severe in most of the eastern US, and that both the Northeast and Southeast will see a drastic increase in precipitation.
Using the Jaguar supercomputer - now Titan, the fastest in the world - the researchers combined high-resolution topography, land use information and climate...
Fast-growing Kenya facing groundwater depletion
Posted by AlertNet: Justus Bahati Wanzala on December 18th, 2012
AlertNet: As demand for water rises and rainfall becomes less dependable, fewer Kenyans can rely only on rivers, springs or -- for the lucky minority -- a piped water supply. Many instead are turning to borehole water.
But increasing urbanisation, combined with the effects of climate change and the growing popularity of tapping into underground aquifers, is proving an unsustainable combination, experts say.
Kenya's traditional water sources are rapidly dwindling in volume due to overexploitation, erratic...
Colorado City Sued by Oil Industry Group for Fracking Ban
Posted by Bloomberg: Andrew Harris on December 18th, 2012
Bloomberg: The Colorado Oil & Gas Association sued the city of Longmont to overturn a voter-approved ban on the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract oil and gas from sand and shale formations.
The industry group, in a complaint filed yesterday in state court in Greeley, Colorado, claims the resolution deprives land owners of property-development rights and conflicts with state law allowing the practice.
“The hydraulic fracturing ban in Longmont effectively stops oil and gas development,”...
United Kingdom: Tim Yeo energy bill speech: ‘dash for gas would be a gamble’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
Guardian: Two hundred and fifty years ago, Britain sparked the first industrial revolution.
By harnessing the force of fossil fuels like coal, enterprising British engineers were able to deliver astounding innovations in industry and travel, creating huge wealth and prosperity as they forged the modern world.
In the first half of the 20th century, Britain built the first integrated national
electricity grid in the world, powering millions of homes and factories by connecting them to network of enormous...
Chasing Ice filmmakers plumb the ‘bottomless’ depths of climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
Guardian: In the second of our clips from Chasing Ice – about a former climate sceptic gathering dramatic evidence of global warming – James Balog (red) and Adam Lewinter of the Extreme Ice Survey abseil down Survey Canyon on the Greenland ice sheet to capture some startling images of meltwater rushing down a moulin (a vertical shaft within a glacier)
TransCanada CEO says Kerry pick shouldn’t change Keystone pipeline’s status
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on December 18th, 2012
The Hill: The CEO of the company seeking to build the Keystone XL pipeline doesn’t appear to view Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a longtime advocate of battling climate change, as a threat to the project if he becomes secretary of State.
The State Department is leading the federal review of the proposed pipeline to bring Canadian oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries, although President Obama has indicated that he will ultimately be the decider.
TransCanada Corp. CEO Russ Girling tells Reuters that the project's...
Climate change adds to Mississippi’s toll
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
Bloomberg: The Mississippi River is one of many US rivers under stress. For the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose lands straddle the North and South Dakota border, river water means drinking supplies. For Illinois farmers, it's irrigation for their crops. Rivers also power hydro-electric plants, provide recreation for boaters and give coal companies inexpensive access to export markets with barges to New Orleans. Balancing these competing demands on the nation's water resources has never been easy. Global...
TransCanada gets nod for Montana easements
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
United Press International: A state board in Montana said it would give TransCanada access to state land to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, though opponents said it was too soon.
The Montana Land Board, in a 5-0 vote, agreed to grant TransCanada right-of-way for 39 parcels designated in the state for pipeline construction. TransCanada pays $741,673 under the terms of the 50-year easements, the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune reports.
Opponents of the project said the planned route would take the pipeline through the Milk,...