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Archive for January 23rd, 2013
Australian coal mining threatens CO2 target
Posted by Age: Tom Arup on January 23rd, 2013
Age: The forecast expansion of Australian coal mining and exports would be the world's second-largest contributor of new carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels if fully realised, research by Greenpeace International has found.
An analysis of the planet's 14 largest proposed, coal, oil and gas developments - to be released on Wednesday by Greenpeace - finds if Australian coal production expands as projected, the mining, production and burning of the extra resources would by 2020 result in 759 million...
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Canada: Oilsands makes Greenpeace list of top climate change villains
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 23rd, 2013
Canadian Press: Canada's oilsands are midway down the pack of the world's climate change villains, according to a new Greenpeace report ranking potential carbon emissions from the globe's top energy developments.
Climate enemies Nos. 1 and 2 -- by far -- are expanding coal projects in Australia and China, the report says. The oilsands don't appear until fifth spot, which is shared with projects in Iraq and the United States.
"Coal is the biggest threat globally," said Keith Stewart, one of the report's authors....
The human cost of Brazil’s energy policy
Posted by Daily Climate: Jan Rocha on January 23rd, 2013
Daily Climate: Jerky mobile phone footage shows men carrying the inert body of a young man, surrounded by distraught, weeping women. Their wailing is clearly audible, as are the shrieks of a pet monkey which scurries in and out of the crowd.
At least 30 large dams are planned for the Amazon region. If they all go ahead, every one of the major rivers feeding the Amazon will be dammed.
The body is finally laid at the feet of the young man's mother. She strokes away the hair over a bullet wound in his forehead,...
How to make gasoline from tar sands, in six simple steps
Posted by Grist: Jim Meyer on January 23rd, 2013
Grist: Ever wonder about the future of energy? Will it be wind? Solar? Geothermal? No wait, I got it, tar sands! (Let’s try that again - tar sands!) They`ve got everything oil does, but they’re harder to get, crappier when you get them, and leave a much bigger mark on the climate. Sounds like a winner. Let`s look a little closer, shall we?
First off, what are tar sands? Tar sands are deposits of about 90 percent sand or sandstone, water, and clay mixed with only about 10 percent high-sulfur bitumen,...
Obama’s climate commitment faces early test as Keystone decision looms
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on January 23rd, 2013
BusinessGreen: President Obama will face an early test of his renewed commitment to action on climate change, after Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman approved controversial plans for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
The plans still need to be approved by the State Department and a spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency that its review of the proposals would not be completed before the end of March, giving the President some breathing room.
But observers are predicting the State Department is likely to...
Massive melting of Andes glaciers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 23rd, 2013
BBC: Glaciers in the tropical Andes have shrunk by an average of 30-50% since the 1970s, according to a study.
The glaciers, which provide fresh water for tens of millions in South America, are retreating at their fastest rate in the past 300 years.
The study included data on about half of all Andean glaciers and blamed the melting on an average temperature rise of 0.7C from 1950-1994.
Details appear in the academic journal Cryosphere.
The authors report that glaciers are retreating everywhere...
United Kingdom: Snow gives way to new threat of flooding
Posted by Guardian: Steven Morris and Martin Wainwright on January 23rd, 2013
Guardian: Motorists were stranded, journeys delayed and hundreds of schools shut as once again parts of the UK were hit by heavy snow.
But even as drivers and householders dug themselves out, the Environment Agency was warning householders and business owners in some areas to prepare for a new threat – flooding, as river levels began to rise, swollen by the melting snow.
Four flood warnings were in place in Devon, Dorset and Somerset. Another 23 of the less severe flood alerts were published for the...
Andean glaciers melting at ‘unprecedented’ rates
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 23rd, 2013
Reuters: Climate change has shrunk Andean glaciers between 30 and 50% since the 1970s and could melt many of them away altogether in coming years, according to a study published on Tuesday in the journal Cryosphere.
Andean glaciers, a vital source of fresh water for tens of millions of South Americans, are retreating at their fastest rates in more than 300 years, according to the most comprehensive review of Andean ice loss so far.
The study included data on about half of all Andean glaciers in South...
Report: Evidence backs greater role for environmental ‘precautionary principle’
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on January 23rd, 2013
BusinessGreen: Policymakers and businesses have been urged to take a more cautious approach to the development and deployment of new technologies, following the publication today of a major new report arguing that early warnings from scientists about the environmental impacts of new technologies are often entirely justified.
The 750-page study from the European Environment Agency (EEA) provides an update to the Late Lessons report of 2001, which explored how new technologies were later found to have harmful...
To Block Keystone XL, Sierra Club to Engage in Civil Disobedience for 1st Time
Posted by San Francisco Chronicle: Joe Garofoli on January 23rd, 2013
San Francisco Chronicle: How hot is the controversial Keystone Pipeline controversy getting? The Sierra Club is -- for the first time in its history -- going to engage in civil disobedience on Feb. 17 in Washington, D.C., which is also a day that greenies predict will be “the largest climate rally in history.”
With Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman approving the pipeline’s route through his state Tuesday, Sierra Club President Michael Brune hopped onto Facebook to announce that the San Francisco-headquartered Club is “for the...