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Archive for January 25th, 2013
Keystone pipeline fate shifts to climate hawk Kerry
Posted by Bloomberg: Jim Snyder and Rebecca Penty on January 25th, 2013
Bloomberg: As a senator, John Kerry fought for sweeping climate change legislation, called human-induced warming among the top challenges facing the U.S., and pushed for an international accord to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
That track record has emboldened critics of TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL pipeline who want him to scuttle the remaining $5.3 billion portion of the project if he’s confirmed as secretary of State. Appearing yesterday at a hearing on his nomination before the Senate committee...
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Drilling triggers rethink on ice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2013
Brisbane Times: THE first complete ice cores drilled from the Greenland ice sheet that extend back more than 120,000 years to the Earth`s last great warming period reveal the ice sheet experienced surface temperatures about 8 degrees hotter than today and was 400 metres thinner.
An international team of scientists have used a 2549-metre long ice core from north Greenland to reconstruct surface temperatures and ice sheet thickness back to the previous interglacial period, when global temperatures averaged about...
Kerry to make decision on Keystone after State Department review
Posted by Canadian Press: Lee-Anne Goodman on January 25th, 2013
Canadian Press: John Kerry offered scant indication Thursday about his position on TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, saying simply that he hopes to make "appropriate judgments" about the fate of the project should he officially become secretary of state.
The Massachusetts senator, appearing at his confirmation hearings, didn't face many questions on either climate change or the Keystone pipeline during almost four hours before the Senate foreign relations committee, of which he's currently the chairman.
"There...
What we don’t want to know about chicken and fish
Posted by Grist: Sarah Miller on January 25th, 2013
Grist: Chicken and fish are often considered sort-of-not-really meat. You hear this a lot: “I don’t eat meat, but I eat chicken and fish.” Because they’re not mammals, the idea is, they’re not really animals.
I am as susceptible to this as anyone else. Also, I eat tons of chicken and fish. Probably a third of my at-home food intake is boneless chicken, and a third of my “eating out food” is fish. Not surprisingly, two weeks into not eating meat, I found that chicken and fish were my big cravings - as...
Governors at odds over Northwest export terminal proposals
Posted by Greenwire: Manuel Quinones on January 25th, 2013
Greenwire: Washington state's new Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has yet to take a strong position on five proposed coal export terminals in his state and neighboring Oregon, despite his environmental bona fides and efforts at controlling climate change.
Inslee, who took office last week, made it his first order of business to urge an unnamed clean energy CEO to set up shop in Washington. On coal, he is taking a more measured approach amid strong pressure to take sides.
"I'm going to give thought to this and frankly...
Will Obama administration clear Keystone XL Pipeline?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2013
National Public Radio: The future of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline is in the hands of the State Department. President Obama rejected a similar pipeline proposal last year, but now that Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has approved an alternative route through his state, the approval process is back on track.
Because the Keystone XL would cross an international boundary - between Saskatchewan and Montana - it requires review by the State Department and a special presidential permit.
Environmental groups oppose...
Kerry dodges Keystone pipeline question
Posted by Globe and Mail: Paul Koring on January 25th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Senator John Kerry ducked when he was asked directly at his confirmation hearing whether he would block or back the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, but President Barack Obama's pick for secretary of state delivered a passionate pitch on the virtues of clean energy.
When Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso, who supports TransCanada Corp.'s multibillion-dollar pipeline to carry Canadian oil sands crude to U.S. refineries, asked whether he agrees with the 53 senators who favour the project,...
Study finds Greenland’s ice may not be as vulnerable to climate change as scientists feared
Posted by Houston Chronicle: None Given on January 25th, 2013
Houston Chronicle: New research suggests that Greenland`s vast ice sheet isn`t as fragile as some climate scientists feared.
The work, published in Nature this week (see abstract), indicates the majority of ice on Greenland could remain intact for hundreds of years even if the planet warms considerably.
The study used ice cores to study conditions during a period of natural global warming that occurred between 115,000 and 130,000 years ago, when temperatures were about 14.5 Fahrenheit degrees higher than they...
Apple admits litany of violations to green supply chain code of conduct
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on January 25th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Almost 150 of Apple's suppliers failed to properly store or handle potentially hazardous chemicals, including one that was found to have been intentionally dumping waste cutting oil in a "rest room receptacle".
That is just one of the stark revelations from the electronics giant's Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, which has won plaudits for the company's commitment to transparency, at the same time as raising serious questions about environmental and labour practices across its supply chain....
United Kingdom: Newt so fast: natural environmental rules and regulations
Posted by Guardian: Nicky Richmond on January 25th, 2013
Guardian: Why did the newt cross the road? Because it needed to use the £1 million superhighway, built for it by the developer.
You may not have seen this story over the summer, tucked away on BBC News Cambridgeshire, but it is yet one more example of the existence of a protected species having a major impact on the proposed development.
The latest one case is the delay to the Monks Cross shopping centre development in York. A John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Next, due to open at the centre around...