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Archive for January, 2013
To Tackle Runoff, Cities Turn to Green Initiatives
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Dave Levitan on January 24th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: In Northeast Philadelphia, along busy Kensington Avenue, sits a small park. What used to be flat ground is now sloping terrain that contains a low-lying area intended to gather and funnel storm water. At the park's southern end is a depression lined with well-arranged plants -- a new landscape carefully engineered to change how water flows through the area.
This is Womrath Park, one of a handful of "green infrastructure' projects Philadelphia has begun -- with many more to come -- aimed at tackling...
Common pesticides ‘can kill frogs within an hour’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Guardian: Widely used pesticides can kill frogs within an hour, new research has revealed, suggesting the chemicals are playing a significant and previously unknown role in the catastrophic global decline of amphibians.
The scientists behind the study said it was both "astonishing" and "alarming" that common pesticides could be so toxic at the doses approved by regulatory authorities, adding to growing criticism of how pesticides are tested.
"You would not think products registered on the market would...
United Kingdom: Heavy rain and melting snow expected to cause floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Guardian: Heavy rain combined with melting snow is likely to cause flooding in parts of the UK at the weekend, the Met Office has warned.
Up to 40mm of rain is predicted to fall on hills in the west of Britain just as snow that has accumulated over the past week thaws.
The Met Office said a final fall of snow was expected to hit parts of Scotland, Wales and England on Friday. It said snow would reach areas of Scotland during the morning and spread through other parts of Britain, reaching eastern England...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United Kingdom: Heavy rain and melting snow expected to cause floodsFor Earth, Giving Ecological Internet the Tools it Needs
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on January 24th, 2013
Ecological Internet has an unmatched record of bringing global citizens together to protect Earth's rainforests, climate, and water; highlighting the severity of global ecosystem collapse, while advocating ecological-science based policy to sustain human and natural well-being, as well as the global biosphere. Ecological Internet has done so much over the past 14 years, and the best lies ahead, please support us in this our final appeal for now at http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/donate/. And make sure to participate in our current alert supporting Ecuador's rainforest tribes willing to die to protect their rainforests at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/sendsm.aspx?id=ecuador_oil
Dear Earth-loving colleagues,
Ecological Internet is extremely gratified to have raised $27,000 over the past couple months to meet our core budget until mid-year. Yet sadly we note the total number of donors is reduced perhaps understandable given Presidential donor fatigue and a tough year for us personally. Yet we have never been more effective, or had a larger reach, and important priority areas including paying our existing computer programmer and upgrading vital server capacity will not be funded unless we raise a few thousand dollars more with this last appeal of this funding-drive.
Please donate now to the best and most effective grassroots, global biocentric Earth action ...
Fracking and Farmland
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) has launched new webpages, Fracking and Farmland: Stories from the Field, that provide the personal stories of farmers concerned about Ohio’s booming fracking industry and illustrations of how oil and gas extraction could impact Ohio’s food producers.
High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as "fracking," is a method of oil and gas extraction that injects millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals and...
Ukraine set to sign landmark $10 billion shale gas deal with Shell
Posted by Reuters: Richard Balmforth on January 24th, 2013
Reuters: Ukraine will take a first major step away from dependency on Russian gas supplies on Thursday when it seals a $10 billion shale gas deal with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L).
Due to be signed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the production sharing agreement will mark the biggest contract yet to tap shale gas in Europe and the largest single foreign investment in the former Soviet republic.
Shell has not publicly confirmed the deal. But the Ukrainian government signed off on it on Wednesday...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ukraine set to sign landmark $10 billion shale gas deal with ShellClimate change has to be part of Keystone pipeline debate
Posted by Toronto Star: Josh Laughren on January 24th, 2013
Toronto Star: Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, joined by 10 U.S. governors, released a letter recently urging President Barack Obama to swiftly approve the Keystone XL pipeline project.
As always, the argument is simple, and narrowly framed: 1. Canada has a lot of oil and the U.S. needs oil. 2. We don’t have enough pipeline capacity to handle our ambition for unconstrained growth in oilsands production. 3. Building the pipeline will create jobs.
What could be simpler? Nothing -- as long as you pretend climate...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change has to be part of Keystone pipeline debateFrom Activist to EPA: A Q&A with New Director for the Office of Environmental Justice
Posted by Scientific American: Brett Israel on January 23rd, 2013
Scientific American: Matthew Tejada has been tapped as the EPA's new Director for the Office of Environmental Justice. As executive director of the Air Alliance Houston for five years, Tejada fought against pollution in poor neighborhoods surrounding Gulf Coast ports.
Expected to begin his new role in early March, he'll have no shortage of challenges ahead. As EHN's series, Pollution, Poverty, People of Color, highlighted last summer, a legacy of lingering environmental problems and new dangers are jeopardizing people...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on From Activist to EPA: A Q&A with New Director for the Office of Environmental JusticeGreenland ice cores reveal warm climate of the past
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 23rd, 2013
ScienceDaily: In the period between 130,000 and 115,000 years ago, Earth's climate was warmer than today. But how much warmer was it and what did the warming do to global sea levels? -- as we face global warming in the future, the answer to these questions is becoming very important. New research from the NEEM ice core drilling project in Greenland shows that the period was warmer than previously thought. The international research project is led by researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute and the very important...
Canada: How Much Will Tar Sands Oil Add to Global Warming?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 23rd, 2013
Scientific American: James Hansen has been publicly speaking about climate change since 1988. The NASA climatologist testified to Congress that year and he's been testifying ever since to crowds large and small, most recently to a small gathering of religious leaders outside the White House last week. The grandfatherly scientist has the long face of a man used to seeing bad news in the numbers and speaks with the thick, even cadence of the northern Midwest, where he grew up, a trait that also helps ensure that his sometimes...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: How Much Will Tar Sands Oil Add to Global Warming?