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Archive for January, 2013
Fracking provides energy, jobs, and earthquakes?
Posted by NBC: Mario Garcia and Ronnie Polidoro on January 31st, 2013
NBC: The United States has been called the Saudi Arabia of natural gas -- by President Barack Obama no less -- and in some of the economically hardest hit areas in this country there are signs of recovery. Across America natural gas exploration has opened the job market with tens of thousands of good paying jobs with benefits and 401Ks. To get all that gas, however, the industry uses a method known as hydraulic fracturing or "fracking,' and some worry if it's safe.
Rock Center's Harry Smith visited...
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Mercury’s Silent Toll On the World’s Wildlife
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Rebecca Kessler on January 31st, 2013
Yale Environment 360: This month, delegates from over 140 countries gathered in Geneva and finalized the first international treaty to reduce emissions of mercury. The treaty -- four years in the works and scheduled for signing in October -- aims to protect human health from this very serious neurotoxin.
But barely considered during the long deliberations, according to those involved in the treaty process, was the harm that mercury inflicts on wildlife. While mercury doesn’t kill many animals outright, it can put a...
Pressure builds for Obama to link oil sands pipelines to climate change
Posted by InsideClimate: Maria Gallucci on January 31st, 2013
InsideClimate: President Obama hasn't publicly drawn a connection between climate change and the Keystone XL pipeline, but new pressure is building on him and other officials to connect those dots. Protests are springing up from Maine to Washington, D.C. to Oklahoma urging leaders to stop the Keystone XL and other oil sands import projects on climate change grounds. The Texas-bound Keystone XL is the biggest of many projects being proposed to connect Canada's oil sands to U.S. refineries and export ports. Protesters...
Western Energy Alliance’s Sgamma discusses future of Interior’s fracking rule
Posted by EETV: None Given on January 31st, 2013
EETV: How will the Interior Department revise its controversial draft rule to regulate hydraulic fracturing? During today's OnPoint, Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government and public affairs at the Western Energy Alliance, discusses potential changes to the draft rule and the impact of a new chief at Interior on access to federal lands for oil and gas exploration.
Monica Trauzzi: Hello, and welcome to OnPoint. I'm Monica Trauzzi. Joining me today is Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government...
Fresh flooding hits northern Mozambique
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 31st, 2013
Agence France-Presse: At least 17,000 more people have fled fresh floods in Mozambique as heavy rains pounded the central and northern parts of the country, killing seven and taking the death toll to 55, media reported on Wednesday.
The spokeswoman for Mozambique National Disaster Management Institute, Rita Almeida, told state television that 15,415 people had been displaced in the central town of Zambezia and 1,830 in Nampula in the north.
Four people died in Nampula when their house collapsed, while another three...
Commercial fishing and climate change causing shrinking fish sizes
Posted by Radio Australia: None Given on January 31st, 2013
Radio Australia: A new study by Australia's peak scientific body, the CSIRO, shows that fish around the world are shrinking in size.
Commercial fishing and climate change are believed to be the main culprits behind the decrease in body size.
But CSIRO scientists say the shrinking size is also leading to a drop in fish populations with smaller fish more susceptible to predators.
Correspondent: Jennifer Macey
Speakers: Dr Asta Audzijonyte, CSIRO marine and atmopheric research unit; Professor Jessica Meeuwig,...
Another utility cuts back on coal
Posted by Star Tribune: David Shaffer on January 31st, 2013
Star Tribune: The state's most coal-dependant power company said Wednesday that it will stop burning the fuel at three of its oldest electrical generators in 2015.
The announcement by Minnesota Power is the latest sign of coal's decline in the electric power industry. Seven other power generators owned by three other Minnesota utilities also are turning away from coal to avoid adding expensive controls for mercury emissions by 2016.
Minnesota Power, the electric utility serving the Iron Range and central...
Wildlife in a Warming World: Confronting the Climate Crisis
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 31st, 2013
EcoWatch: The climate crisis is already changing the playing field for wildlife and urgent action is needed to preserve America’s conservation legacy, according to a new report released yesterday by the National Wildlife Federation. Wildlife in a Warming World: Confronting the Climate Crisis examines case studies from across the country illustrating how global warming is altering wildlife habitats. It recommends solutions to protect both wildlife and communities across America from the growing climate-fueled...
The Future by Al Gore – review
Posted by Guardian: John Gray on January 31st, 2013
Guardian: According to reliable reports, the new leadership in Beijing has been reading Alexis de Tocqueville. It's not hard to see why China's elite might look for guidance to the aristocratic French thinker. In his classic text The Ancien Regime and the Revolution (1856), de Tocqueville wrote that the danger of revolution is not greatest in the depths of poverty and despair but when conditions have been improving – especially if some are benefiting far more than others. The relevance of this for China is...
Campaigners take legal action over EU biomass review
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 31st, 2013
Reuters: Environmental campaigners ClientEarth and BirdLife International are taking legal action against the European Commission over its failure to publish a review of greenhouse gas emissions from biomass.
The groups have filed an application to the General Court in Luxembourg for the Commission to give access to the study, which could confirm doubts that biomass used for heat and power is free of emissions, ClientEarth told Reuters on Thursday.
The Commission's review was initially expected to be...