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Archive for February, 2013
Ecuador: ‘Give Me The Money Or I’ll Shoot The Trees’
Posted by National Public Radio: David Kestenbaum on February 7th, 2013
National Public Radio: Ecuador's Yasuni National Park is one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth. But there's a complication: The park sits on top of millions of barrels of oil.
This creates a dilemma.
Ecuador prides itself on being pro-environment. Its constitution gives nature special rights. But Ecuador is a relatively poor country that could desperately use the money from the oil.
In 2007, Ecuador's president proposed a way around the dilemma: Ecuador would promise to leave the forest untouched, if countries...
Mich. OKs Replacement of Second Section of Enbridge Pipeline That Ruptured in 2010
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on February 7th, 2013
InsideClimate: Michigan regulators agreed last week to allow Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc. [3] to replace a 160-mile segment of an aging line that in 2010 spilled more than a million gallons of crude oil. The decision by the Michigan Public Service Commission [4] disappointed local landowners who had hoped for more scrutiny and oversight of the project. "I am concerned with the haste with which this project has proceeded," said Jeff Insko [5], an English professor at Michigan's Oakland University who...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Mich. OKs Replacement of Second Section of Enbridge Pipeline That Ruptured in 2010Obama Picks REI Ceo Jewell To Head Interior
Posted by National Public Radio: Gabe Spitzer on February 7th, 2013
National Public Radio: President Obama is nominating the CEO of outdoor retailer REI to head the Interior Department. Sally Jewell is a former banking executive who's been with REI since 2005. Jewell is known for her emphasis on environmentalism.
This is What a Melting Glacier Sounds Like
Posted by Climate Desk: None Given on February 7th, 2013
Climate Desk: If a glacier melts in the Arctic and there’s no one around, does it make a sound? Jonathan Perl thinks it does. The City College of New York musicologist was asked by climatologist Marco Tedesco to translate data records on Greenland’s melting ice into sound. The result is a series of “sonifications,” on display through next week at CCNY’s POLARSEEDS exhibit, that combine quantitative data with music to create an audio snapshot of climate change. Steady, long-term changes that are invisible to the...
China: Porpoise protection ‘insufficient’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2013
BBC: Protection for highly threatened Yangtze finless porpoises in China is "insufficient", researchers say.
The mammals have suffered a dramatic decline and are now threatened with extinction.
Researchers carried out a survey to the establish how the animals are distributed in the Yangtze river.
They found current protected sections of the Yangtze do not cover all the areas where most porpoises were found.
Details of the findings are published in the journal Animal Conservation.
Another...
Indian birds under threat from climate change: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2013
Times of India: Climate change is threatening the survival of a number of Asian bird species, including those in India, a new study warns.
The research conducted by Durham University and BirdLife International says that many avian species from the region are likely to suffer from climate change.
The species will require not just enhanced protection of important and protected sites, but also better management of the wider countryside, the study says.
"In some extreme cases, birds may be required to be physically...
Ethiopia dam project is devastating the lives of remote indigenous groups
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2013
Guardian: Human rights abuses in Ethiopia's Lower Omo valley are said to be rampant, with tribal leaders imprisoned, dozens of people killed and troops cracking down on dissent ahead of the building of a massive dam, which is forcing the relocation of some of the most remote tribes in Africa.
The valley, a Unesco world heritage site renowned for its isolated cultures and ethnic groups, is home to 200,000 pastoralist farmers including the Kwegu, Bodi, Mutsi and Nyangatom tribes. These groups all depend on...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ethiopia dam project is devastating the lives of remote indigenous groupsQuestions Sprout Up Over Razed California Wildlife Reserve
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2013
National Public Radio: Just a stone's throw from two of Los Angeles' busiest freeways lies the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, a unique spot in an urban jungle. The northern portion of the reserve is adorned with 30-foot-tall cottonwood trees, spots of coyote bush and other plants. Native plants cover 50 percent of the nature spot, says Kris Ohlenkamp with the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society. "On the other side it was significantly more than that," he says. A cement corridor leads to the southern part of the reserve....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Questions Sprout Up Over Razed California Wildlife ReserveReport outlines climate change options for Obama administration
Posted by Miami Herald: Erika Bolstad on February 6th, 2013
Miami Herald: The United States will struggle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to promised levels by 2020, a report from a prominent think tank warned this week, but the federal government, states and industry already have the means at their disposal to achieve such goals.
The report, by the World Resources Institute, a think tank that focuses on the environment and socioeconomic development, looks at the technical and legal authority President Barack Obama could use to build on the pledge in his inaugural...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Report outlines climate change options for Obama administrationObama’s Choice to Lead Interior Dept. Has Oil Sector and Conservation Credentials
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2013
New York Times: President Obama on Wednesday nominated Sally Jewell, the chief executive of Recreational Equipment Inc., to lead the Interior Department, with a vow that she will balance the agency’s sometimes conflicting mandates to promote resource development and preserve the nation’s natural heritage. If confirmed, Ms. Jewell, a former oil company engineer and longtime advocate for conservation and outdoor recreation, will take over a department that has been embroiled in controversy over the regulation of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Obama’s Choice to Lead Interior Dept. Has Oil Sector and Conservation Credentials