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Archive for February 18th, 2013
Confirmed: Tar Sands Toxic Liquid Waste Contaminating Local Waterways
Posted by EcoWatch: Environmental Defence on February 18th, 2013
EcoWatch: As tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C. yesterday to urge President Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, more evidence emerged that the public isn’t getting the full story of the environmental impacts of tar sands.
Media yesterday reported on an internal government memo revealing a Canadian government study on a tar sands tailings pond that found that toxic liquid ponds do leak toxic chemicals into the environment--despite repeated denials of officials.
“For...
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Direct Action Under Way Protesting Fracking Pipeline
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 18th, 2013
EcoWatch: Early this morning, two local youth engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience by locking themselves to the entrance gate of the Delaware State Forest in eastern Pennsylvania which is being used for access by pipeline workers to clearcut trees for the construction of the Northeast Upgrade Project of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline.
Allison Petryk, of Vernon, NJ, and Alex Lotorto, of Milford, PA, have locked themselves to the entrance gate of the Delaware State Forest in eastern Pennsylvania which is...
Protestors crank up calls for Obama to block tar sands pipeline
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on February 18th, 2013
BusinessGreen: An estimated 35,000 protestors descended on Washington yesterday to call on President Obama to block the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline once and for all.
The "Forward on Climate" event was hailed as the largest climate change protest in US history by organisers and will further crank up pressure on Obama ahead of the crucial decision later this year on whether the pipeline can proceed.
The protest, which was backed by a host of green NGOs, including the 350.org campaign, the Sierra...
Biggest Environmental Rally in Decades Attracts Nationwide Media Attention
Posted by InsideClimate: Stacy Feldman on February 18th, 2013
InsideClimate: As many as 40,000 protesters from 30 states descended on the White House on Sunday and demanded that President Obama kill the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. By the estimates of organizers, it was the biggest protest march for climate change action in the nation's history. In about 18 cities from Boston to Los Angeles, thousands more participated in solidarity rallies—and helped garner unusual nationwide media attention for an issue that has typically slipped under the local media radar....
Climate rally: How a pipeline became Public Enemy No. 1
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2013
Christian Science Monitor: Tens of thousands of protesters marched on Washington Sunday, in what organizers say was the largest climate rally in US history. They had varying agendas but unified on one point: Blocking construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
“When you are in a hole, stop digging,” Bill McKibben, cofounder of the environmentalist group 350.org,, told the crowd gathered on the National Mall. “Above all, stop the Keystone [XL] pipeline. The president can do that with a single stroke of a pen, and it would...
Which drought-hit US states suffered the worst crop damage?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2013
Guardian: The searing U.S. drought of 2012 devastated the nation’s corn crop, pushing yields down in some states to their lowest levels in nearly 30 years. According to recently-released numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Missouri, Illinois and Indiana were among the hardest hit Corn Belt states, with yields at 28-, 26-, and 22-year lows, respectively.
To put the severity and impact of the 2012 U.S. drought in context, the top 10 hardest-hit states for crop damage are illustrated in...
Protesters Call On Obama To Reject Keystone XL Pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2013
National Public Radio: Tens of thousands of protesters turned out on the National Mall Sunday to encourage President Obama to make good on his commitment to act on climate change. In his Inaugural address from outside the U.S. Capitol, the president said: "We will respond to the threat of climate change knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations." Just a few weeks later, next to the Washington Monument, Paul Birkeland was one of a couple dozen people holding a long white tube above...
UN’s green Earth plan faces first test
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2013
Reuters: A new United Nations plan to involve all nations in marshaling science to fix environmental problems ranging from toxic chemicals to climate change will be put to the test from Monday at talks in Nairobi.
The 40-year-old UN Environment Programme will open its annual governing council to all the world's almost 200 nations, up from a current group of 58, under reforms aimed at making the world economy greener at a time of weak economic growth.
"A strengthened UNEP will ... improve and enhance...
United Kingdom: Government to relaunch bidding for flood defence
Posted by Independent: Mark Leftly on February 18th, 2013
Independent: The Environment Agency will re-launch the bidding process for a lucrative flood defence contract after fears that the original tender suffered similar technical flaws to those that caused the West Coast Mainline fiasco.
The rail-franchise failure, which saw Sir Richard Branson nearly sue the Government for awarding the £5bn contract to FirstGroup before that decision was overturned, sparked a review of wider government procurement.
This is understood to have led to the flood defence process...
Canada defends climate record amidst U.S. Keystone XL protests
Posted by CBC: None Given on February 18th, 2013
CBC: Canada’s government is defending its environmental record as thousands attended a climate change rally in Washington, D.C., with hopes of pressuring U.S. President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.
Environmentalists are staunchly opposed to the planned pipeline, which would carry Alberta oilsands bitumen to refineries along the Texas coast.
They call crude from Alberta's oilsands "dirty oil" and say it contributes to global warming.
Protesters in Washington carried a mock...