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Archive for January 5th, 2013
Bridge To Nowhere? NOAA Confirms High Methane Leakage Rate Up To 9% From Gas Fields, Gutting Climate Benefit
Posted by ThinkProgress: Joe Romm on January 5th, 2013
ThinkProgress: Researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have reconfirmed earlier findings of high rates of methane leakage from natural gas fields. If these findings are replicated elsewhere, they would utterly vitiate the climate benefit of natural gas, even when used to switch off coal.
Indeed, if the previous findings - of 4% methane leakage over a Colorado gas field - were a bombshell, then the new measurements reported by the journal Nature are thermonuclear:
... the...
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United Kingdom: Fracking’s risks and benefits
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2013
BBC: The UK government recently lifted its moratorium on the controversial process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The technique involves pumping fluids into a well to recover natural gas from shale rock.
However, fracking has been linked to some minor earthquakes, and there are concerns about its possible environmental impact. So what benefits could hydraulic fracturing bring, and how concerned should we be?
During the recent debate on fracking technology in the UK, we may have been...
Thousands flee wildfires in southern Australia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2013
Agence France-Presse: Thousands of people fled wildfires raging on the Australian island of Tasmania that have destroyed at least 80 properties amid fears that at least one man died in the blaze, police said.
The fires flared on Friday as much of the country suffered a summer heatwave that pushed temperatures above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Tasmania, a southern island state known for its cooler climate.
One of the worst affected areas was the small community of Dunalley, some 55 kilometres (34 miles) east of...
Nebraska environment report favors revised Keystone XL pipeline plan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2013
Reuters: The controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline received a boost on Friday when Nebraska regulators said its proposed new route would avoid many of the ecologically-sensitive areas that led the U.S. government to block it last year.
The new route for the $5.3 billion Alberta-to-Nebraska pipeline, backed by TransCanada Corp, would avoid the ecologically sensitive Sand Hills region but would still cross part of the massive Ogallala aquifer, the Nebraska environment regulator said.
If built, Keystone...
Australia: Man feared dead, at least 80 properties lost in Tasmanian bushfires
Posted by Sydney Morning Herald: Andrew Darby, Nick Ralston on January 5th, 2013
Sydney Morning Herald: AT LEAST 80 homes have been lost and one man is feared killed by a bushfire that swept down onto the Tasmanian town of Dunalley, less than 60 kilometres from Hobart, in catastrophic conditions.
The bushfire sent hundreds fleeing and was on Friday night still burning down the Tasman Peninsula, taking more properties as it went.
The Tasmania Fire Service acting district officer, Andrew McGuinness, said people should prepare for the worst. ''We've lost a lot of property down there.''
Smoke...
Effects of climate change could alter eating habits, experts warn
Posted by Gulf News: Gilbert P. Felongco on January 5th, 2013
Gulf News: Changes in global temperature could alter the eating habits of Filipinos, particularly their fondness for eating rice, a lawmaker warned citing findings of international experts.
According to Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, Filipinos’ love affair with the staple cereal could end eventually if they do not take necessary steps. “Filipinos are rice-loving citizens because that’s our staple food and we find it harder to resist eating rice than any other kind...