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Archive for February 11th, 2013
Obama’s State of the Union must sell the climate challenge as war
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 11th, 2013
Bellona: The truth will likely lie in between as he addresses the annual joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate tomorrow evening.
But one of the strongest indicators that he could let loose with some of the oldie-but-goodie environmental tunes that cemented his popularity during his early first term is that he essentially has nothing to lose as a second-term president, who, judging by his across the board populist rhetoric at his inauguration, could aim for the jugular on his signature...
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Josh Fox Releases Trailer for New Film on Workers’ Safety in Gas Fields
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 11th, 2013
EcoWatch: Once again, filmmaker Josh Fox delivers by educating people on the dangers of fracking and the impact on workers` safety in the gas fields in his upcoming short film CJ`s Law.
Harkin Seeks Reason for Missouri Water Release After Snub
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 11th, 2013
Bloomberg: An Iowa senator demanded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers explain why it refused to use Missouri River water to replenish the drought-stricken Mississippi a day after it approved releasing water for oil drilling.
“Corps leaders have a responsibility to explain this turn of events -- and not just to Congress, but to Iowa communities and others like them up and down the Mississippi River that rely on the river for moving goods,” Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said today in an e-mailed statement....
United Kingdom: Cumbrian nuclear waste vote marred by allegations of scare tactics
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on February 11th, 2013
BusinessGreen: The decision by Cumbria Council to block proposals for a new underground storage facility for the radioactive waste currently stored in the county is facing fresh questions, after allegations emerged of an organised campaign to "intimidate" councillors considering voting in favour of further investigation into the plan.
Cumbria Council voted last month to block the next stage of work to assess whether a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) should be developed in the west of the county, despite a...
Sunlit Permafrost Unleashes Carbon at Faster Pace
Posted by LiveScience: Douglas Main on February 11th, 2013
LiveScience: As ice melts in the Arctic it can expose the ancient carbon lurking in the once-hidden permafrost to the sun's rays. The result? Carbon dioxide is spewing into the atmosphere more quickly than previously thought, according to new research.
Studies have shown temperatures are rising in the Arctic. The warming has caused more ice-rich, permanently frozen soil (called permafrost) to thaw and melt, collapsing to create a gully or a landslide and exposing new layers of soil to the sun, according to...
Okla. sheriff arrests 8 at Keystone pipeline site
Posted by Associated Press: Sean Murphy on February 11th, 2013
Associated Press: Eight people were arrested Monday at a construction site for the Keystone XL oil pipeline in central Oklahoma, including one man who locked himself to a crane-like piece of machinery, authorities said.
The two women and six men were arrested on trespassing complaints at the site near the town of Schoolton, Seminole County sheriff's Chief Deputy Chris Conn said. One woman also was cited for resisting arrest. None of their names has been released.
"We had several individuals on private property...
Peru: Gas company targets protected Manú park
Posted by Guardian: David Hill on February 11th, 2013
Guardian: An energy company is eyeing up the gas reserves of a national park in the Peruvian Amazon whose biodiversity Unesco says "exceeds that of any other place on Earth" and is home to indigenous people who have no regular contact with the outside world, a leaked document seen by the Guardian shows.
The revelation about Manú national park follows rumours and reports circulating in Peru that the government will create a gas concession bordering or including parts of the park, but which have not been...
Bhutan set to become world’s first wholly organic country
Posted by Daily News: None Given on February 11th, 2013
Daily News: Bhutan plans to become the first country in the world to turn its agriculture completely organic, banning the sales of pesticides and herbicides and relying on its own animals and farm waste for fertilizers.
But rather than accept that this will mean farmers of the small Himalayan kingdom of 1.2 million people will be able to grow less food, the government expects them to be able to grow more -- and to export increasing amounts of high quality niche foods to neighboring India, China and other...
Wildflowers at risk from ‘safe’ levels of pollution
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 11th, 2013
Ecologist: Over the last 100 years the global population has increased four-fold to seven billion people and may reach nine billion by 2075. How to produce enough food to feed all these people is one of the biggest global challenges.
Throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first century, food production has been dramatically increased by improving agricultural yields, particularly by applying nitrogen fertilisers. In 1908, the German chemist Fritz Haber invented a method for producing ammonia fertilizer...
U.S. Natural Gas Exports Stirs Debate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 11th, 2013
National Public Radio: There are several dimensions to the booming energy market. Steve Inskeep talks to Sarah Ladislaw, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about energy market trends.