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Archive for March 27th, 2013
Greenland halts new oil drilling licences
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2013
Guardian: The new government in Greenland has slapped a moratorium on the granting of fresh offshore oil and gas drilling licences in the country's Arctic waters in a move which has been welcomed by Greenpeace but will disappoint the industry.
The ban came as one of the Arctic drilling pioneers, the British company Cairn Energy, failed in a bid to keep an injunction on any protests organised against it by Greenpeace.
A coalition agreement signed by prime minister Aleqa Hammond and others inside a newly...
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Texas House takes step toward $2 billion water infrastructure plan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2013
Reuters: The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would create a fund to finance water infrastructure projects in a state suffering from two years of widespread drought.
The House passed the bill along to the Senate on a vote of 146-2. The measure sets up a system for Texas to provide loans for projects such as reservoirs, wells and conservation efforts. The bill's author has a separate proposal to draw $2 billion from the state's rainy-day fund to help finance...
Campaign Kicks Off to Ban Fracking in Michigan
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 27th, 2013
EcoWatch: The Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan, a citizen-led ballot initiative group seeking to ban fracking announces its campaign kick off events in communities around the state. Volunteer circulators begin collecting signatures starting April 12 for a six-month period to qualify for the 2014 ballot.
The kick off events are for volunteers and people interested in volunteering for the campaign to obtain petitions and campaign literature, learn about the ballot initiative process and how to circulate...
Summer melt season getting longer on Antarctic Peninsula
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2013
ScienceDaily: New research from the Antarctic Peninsula shows that the summer melt season has been getting longer over the last 60 years. Increased summer melting has been linked to the rapid break-up of ice shelves in the area and rising sea level.
The Antarctic Peninsula -- a mountainous region extending northwards towards South America -- is warming much faster than the rest of Antarctica. Temperatures have risen by up to 3 oC since the 1950s -- three times more than the global average. This is a result...
Loss Of Arctic Ice May Be Cause Of This Chilly Spring
Posted by redOrbit: Brett Smith on March 27th, 2013
RedOrbit: Have you been experiencing the coldest spring weather in recent memory? It’s probably because of global warming.
According to climate scientists, warmer than average temperatures have thrown a monkey wrench into global weather patterns by melting Arctic sea ice at record rates during the summer months.
"Ironically ... as the ice pack retreats and the Arctic heats up, there`s a counteracting tendency in middle latitudes for colder winters, as well as hotter summers," said Stephen Vavrus, senior...
Train carrying oil derailed, Minnesota officials confirm
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2013
Reuters: A Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd train hauling crude oil has derailed in western Minnesota, spilling up to 30,000 gallons of oil, Minnesota officials said on Wednesday.
The Otter Tail Sheriff's Department said 14 cars of the 94-car train derailed near Parkers Prairie on Wednesday morning, while officials at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons of crude oil had leaked into a nearby ditch and field.
"It is still leaking right now," Dan Olson, a spokesman...
Buzzkill? How Climate Change Could Eventually End Coffee
Posted by U.S. News and World Report: None Given on March 27th, 2013
U.S. News and World Report: Millions around the world wake up and brew a cup of coffee before they start their day. But for many involved in the industry, a caffeine buzz isn't keeping them up at night--instead, what's causing insomnia is the increasing difficulty that climate change causes coffee farmers.
Other than oil, coffee is the world's most traded commodity. Each year, more than $15 billion worth of coffee is exported from 52 countries--many of which are still developing and rely on the crop to buoy their economies....
Natural Gas Extraction Triggering More Earthquakes in Netherlands
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: Extraction of natural gas from the deep soil in a region of the Netherlands has triggered an increase in minor earthquakes, similar to seismic effects that have raised concerns about drilling operations, including hydraulic fracturing, in other countries. While the extraction of gas has occurred for decades in the northern Netherlands, including in the province of Groningen, quakes have become more frequent in the last few years, the New York Times reports. The region experienced as few as 20 quakes...
EPA: The nation’s rivers are in sad shape
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on March 27th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: From the largest urban rivers to the tiniest undisturbed creeks, nearly 2,000 locations in rivers and streams across the country were sampled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2008 and 2009. The findings, published in the National Rivers and Streams Assessment 2008–2009, paint a dismal picture of the state of the nation’s waterways. The study found that more than 55 percent of our rivers and streams are in poor condition, posing health risks to fish, other wildlife and humans. Meanwhile,...
Roadless Rule Survives Test of Time Saving 50+ Million Forested Acres
Posted by EcoWatch: Trip Van Noppen on March 27th, 2013
EcoWatch: Time has run out for the enemies of roadless wilderness. They spent 12 years trying to kill the national law protecting our forests, and Monday a federal district court said they couldn’t have a minute more--the statute of limitations had run out.
This means you better grab a compass when heading into a national forest because you can get lost amid all the trees saved by this law, known as the Roadless Rule.
The Rule, signed into existence by President Bill Clinton as he left office in 2001,...