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Archive for February 24th, 2013
EARTH MEANDERS: Earth Is Dying, Yet Climate and Forest Movements Lack Urgency and Substance
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on February 24th, 2013
Human industrial growth is systematically liquidating the natural ecosystems that are the habitat for humans and for all life. Earth is dying, one logged old-growth tree and tank of gasoline at a time, yet most environmental groups are shilling solutions that are inadequate and ill-conceived such as logging old-growth forests to protect them. Nothing shows this better than Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network in an age of mass extinction, abrupt climate change, and ecosystem collapse wanting us to wipe our asses with toilet paper from "certified" old-growth forest pulp.
Essay by Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet
Earth Meanders come from Earth's Newsdesk
A profound lack of understanding exists, even amid the supposedly radical environmental movement, of the seriousness of merging ecological crises. If Gaia the Earth System or biosphere is alive, as science has come to understand, then clearly she can die as key ecosystems are destroyed and biogeochemical processes fail. To survive, much less thrive, humanity must stop scraping Earth's land of life, spewing waste into our air and water, and claiming it can all be certified as sustainably done, while calling it "development."
Industrial growth's destruction of ecosystems is undermining the habitability of the planet, threatening ...
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EDF faces calls to drop legal action against activists
Posted by Guardian: James Ball on February 24th, 2013
Guardian: More than 8,000 people in 24 hours have signed a petition calling on the energy company EDF to drop a £5m civil action against 21 activists who occupied one of its power plants last October.
The campaigners, from the No Dash for Gas pressure group, occupied EDF's West Burton gas plant for a week. All pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated trespass in court on Wednesday and are awaiting sentencing in March and April – but they are also facing a civil claim from EDF, which is seeking to recover...
Ecuador’s president vows to push large-scale mining despite indigenous protest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 24th, 2013
Agence France-Presse: Ecuador`s re-elected President Rafael Correa said Saturday he will push large-scale mining projects during his next four years in office, despite opposition from some indigenous groups.
"The Ecuadoran people have voted to responsibly take advantage of non-renewable resources," said in a weekly address on his administration`s activities.
Correa, a socialist, said his goal was to use the country`s mining and oil wealth to eliminate poverty and said he was committed to "the Amazonian people and...
Australia: Thousands cut off as Australian rivers peak
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 24th, 2013
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Thousands of residents on the New South Wales north coast remain cut off by floodwaters, though the worst of the crisis appears to be over.
Flood warnings are in place for 15 river systems from Sydney to the Queensland border.
Two people are confirmed dead as a result of the flooding, caused by a slow-moving low pressure system that has made its way down the eastern coast over the past few days.
In Kempsey floodwaters flowed over the levee protecting the town centre after the Macleay River...
Canada: Redford stumps for oil sands, Keystone XL pipeline in Washington
Posted by Globe and Mail: Kevin Carmichael on February 24th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Alberta Premier Alison Redford says she's open to tougher environmental regulations, but only if current policies fall short of her goals, and not as a trade-off to win U.S. approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.
"Our regulations are pretty tough," Ms. Redford said Saturday in an interview, responding to a question about whether she would tighten scrutiny of the oil sands to appease skeptics in President Barack Obama's administration.
"I'm not going to start down that path. Part of the quid...
China acknowledges ‘cancer villages’, unveils ‘breakthrough’ chemical plan
Posted by Greenpeace: None Given on February 24th, 2013
Greenpeace: Greenpeace hailed China’s commitment to clean up chemical pollution with a breakthrough chemical management plan that acknowledges for the first time the existence of ‘cancer villages’ and will blacklist 58 chemicals and have an elimination chemical list by 2015. “China has been the world’s largest chemical producer since 2010. The Plan indicates that the massive pollution found across the country, caused by large-scale chemical production and the release of hazardous chemicals, urgently needs to...
Worker Rest Breaks Double by 2050 as Climate Warms: NOAA
Posted by Bloomberg: Jim Efstathiou Jr on February 24th, 2013
Bloomberg: Workers in jobs without air conditioning will need rest breaks twice as often by 2050 to avoid heat stress amid a warming climate, according to a study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Losses in labor capacity, or the ability to work safely in warm conditions, will double by mid-century assuming global temperatures rise by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the study to be published today online in Nature Climate Change. Temperatures have risen 0.7...
Report: Kalkaska frack wells use 42M gallons water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 24th, 2013
Associated Press: Three deep fracking wells exploring for natural gas in northwestern lower Michigan's Kalkaska County have used 42 million gallons of water in the past two years. The Traverse City Record-Eagle (http://bit.ly/YqzcbM ) says it calculated the water use from public documents and interviews. The wells are run by Encana Oil & Gas wells in Excelsior Township, about 25 miles east of Traverse City. Paul Brady lives a few miles from the wells and says he and others are concerned about the "gigantic water...
Fracking Methane Emissions to Get EPA Review After Watchdog Report
Posted by Bloomberg: Mark Drajem on February 24th, 2013
Bloomberg: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed to more closely study air emissions from hydraulic fracturing after the agency’s auditor concluded its current data is insufficient to make policy decisions.
The EPA has already begun an inter-agency study of methane, air toxins and other pollutants released when oil and gas are tapped using the process, called fracking, Gina McCarthy, the head of the agency’s air office, said in a letter to the Inspector General’s office that was released yesterday....