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Archive for February 13th, 2013
US Ambassador says Obama climate change vow a challenge to Canada
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 13th, 2013
Canadian Press: President Barack Obama's State of the Union message to act swiftly on climate change should be interpreted as a challenge to Ottawa as well, says the U.S. ambassador to Canada.
Obama used Tuesday's speech to present Congress with a choice: either agree to market-based solutions to climate change, or else the president will use his executive powers to achieve the same result.
In an interview, Ambassador David Jacobson said the message to move more aggressively against climate change was meant...
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Daryl Hannah leads celebrity Keystone XL protest at White House gates
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 13th, 2013
Guardian: A celebrity roster of protesters, including climate scientist James Hansen, actor Daryl Hannah, civil rights leader Julian Bond and environmental advocate Robert Kennedy Jr, were arrested on Wednesday after handcuffing themselves to the gates of the White House to demand that Barack Obama shut down the Keystone XL pipeline project.
In all, about 50 people were detained. The protests, while entirely orderly and co-ordinated in advance with local police, delivered a sharp reminder to Obama the morning...
Grey Water
Posted by Environmental News Network: Andy Soos on February 13th, 2013
Environmental News Network: There is only so much fresh water in the world of the kind people need to drink to live. Recycled water, or gray water, is water that has been used for household activities such as taking showers or washing dishes. Then there is water that is a bit more dirty such as from the toilet. There are or will be a time and a place where such water will have to be used as is or will be treated so as to reuse once again. Even now in places like Singapore and Namibia, limited supplies of freshwater are being...
Green groups to risk arrest in White House protest against Keystone XL
Posted by The Hill: Zack Colman on February 13th, 2013
The Hill: Green activists are planning to engage in civil disobedience Wednesday at the White House in hopes of pressuring President Obama to reject the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
Fifty people will risk arrest near the East Gate of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. Among those involved are climate activist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben, actress Daryl Hannah, civil-rights leader Julian Bond and Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune.
“The president can’t work miracles by himself....
Study: Costly fire season caused by climate change
Posted by Idaho Mountain Express: Katherine Wutz on February 13th, 2013
Idaho Mountain Express: The Halstead Fire, shown above in September north of Stanley, burned some 181,000 acres of forest from late July through October 2012. A recent study by the National Wildlife Federation states that Idaho fire seasons are getting longer and more intense due to climate change. Photo by Kate Wutz
A study released by the National Wildlife Federation on Jan. 30 blames Idaho's costly 2012 fire season on climate change and states that things will only get worse as global warming intensifies.
The study,...
New Landsat Earth-monitoring satellite launched from California
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 13th, 2013
Reuters: A new satellite to keep tabs on Earth's changing landscape rocketed into orbit on Monday, ensuring continuation of a 40-year-old photo archive documenting urban sprawl, glacial melting, natural disasters and other environmental shifts.
The eighth and most sophisticated Landsat spacecraft blasted off at 1:02 p.m. EST (1802 GMT) aboard an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch was broadcast on NASA Television.
The so-called Landsat Data Continuity Mission,...
Obama speech provides no clues on Keystone pipeline
Posted by Globe and Mail: Shawn Mccarthy on February 13th, 2013
Globe and Mail: U.S. President Barack Obama urged Congress to pass sweeping "market-based" climate legislation - code for a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax - and threatened to regulate aggressively if it did not.
In his annual State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Mr. Obama said the United States must step up its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that he blamed for extreme weather that plagued the country last year.
"For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate...
Some drought relief seen from rains on U.S. Plains
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on February 13th, 2013
Reuters: Crop-friendly rainfall and snow were moving across drought-stricken areas of the U.S. Plains hard red winter wheat region at mid-week, providing much-needed relief ahead of the growing season for the 2013 crop, an agricultural meteorologist said on Wednesday.
"Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado now have the chance for two shower events over the next two weeks that would offer some improvement in topsoil moisture," said Commodity Weather Group (CWG) meteorologist Joel Widenor.
He said rain and snow...
Ethiopia looks to realise its geothermal energy potential
Posted by Guardian: Matthew Newsome on February 13th, 2013
Guardian: Ethiopia, like its fellow Great Rift Valley countries, has enormous geothermal energy potential. However, the costs involved and the need for skilled expertise have, until now, been major obstacles.
In late January, the Development Bank of Ethiopia announced that, over the next five months, it will offer an initial $20m to kickstart geothermal energy projects in the country's private sector as part of a programme funded by the World Bank. A further $20m is expected to be made available at a later...
Kenya: Cutting food waste crucial to ensuring food security, experts say
Posted by AlertNet: Isaiah Esipisu on February 13th, 2013
AlertNet: Sticking to what's written on your shopping list, checking food expiry dates, cooking just enough but no more and a few other simple practices can help curb global food waste, which amounts to 1.3 billion tonnes of food every year, experts say. This is vital at a time when climate change and population growth are reducing the availability of food for millions of vulnerable people around the world, they add. "With the World Bank warning of the possibility of a four-degrees-centigrade temperature...