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Archive for March 31st, 2013
Exxon Mobil Pipeline Rupture and Train Derailment Oil Spill, Exemplifies Concerns of Keystone XL
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 31st, 2013
EcoWatch: On Friday, an Exxon Mobil pipeline ruptured spilling an estimated 84,000 gallons of heavy crude oil from the Canadian tar sands region, causing the evacuation of 22 homes in the small town of Mayflower, Ark., about 20 miles north of Little Rock.
According to Exxon, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the incident a "major spill." The 20-inch Pegasus pipeline runs 858 miles from Patoka, Ill. to Nederland, Texas. According to a Saturday press release from Exxon, 189,000 gallons of...
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Extinction May Not Be Forever
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 31st, 2013
Scientific American: De-extinction. What if plants and animal species wiped out of existence could be brought back? That's the novel notion springing from recent advances in synthetic biology.
The idea is simple. Find samples, like the mummified passenger pigeon discovered recently in a museum desk drawer, and collect its DNA. Compare said DNA to that of its closest living relatives to see what specific genes make a passenger pigeon unique. Then splice those crucial genes into the living relative's DNA strands to...
Oil town hopes for a boom in jobs from California’s Monterey Shale
Posted by LA Times: Shan Li on March 31st, 2013
LA Times: The small oil town of Taft was built on petroleum -- and is now hoping for a second boom from the Monterey Shale.
In a story on Sunday's front page, The Times wrote about the shale that runs miles underground through Southern and Central California. Oil companies are already drilling exploratory wells.
Oil trapped in deep rock deposits in the Monterey is estimated at 15 million barrels. That's four times the amount of oil in North Dakota's Bakken Shale, which has fueled a boom that's driven...
Exxon Mobil pipeline leaks ‘a few thousand’ barrels of crude oil in Arkansas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 31st, 2013
Washington Post: Exxon Mobil said that one of its pipelines leaked “a few thousand” barrels of Canadian heavy crude oil near Mayflower, Ark., prompting the evacuation of 22 homes and reinforcing concerns many critics have raised about the Keystone XL pipeline that is awaiting State Department approval. The pipeline breach took place late Friday, Exxon said, in the 20-inch diameter, 95,000-barrel-a-day Pegasus pipeline, which originates in Patoka, Ill., and carries crude oil to the Texas Gulf Coast, the country’s...
Climate Change Will Harm Mekong Basin Harvests
Posted by Climate News Network: Alex Kirby on March 31st, 2013
Climate News Network: One of the most fertile areas of south east Asia, the Lower Mekong Basin, faces a bleak future from the impacts of climate change, according to a U.S.-funded study.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Jeremy Carew-Reid, says some of its findings are "very shocking.'
Hotter and wetter rainy seasons and more long-lasting dry seasons in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam will jeopardize the region's reputation as one of the world's major producers of crops on which hundreds of millions depend....
Exxon cleans up Arkansas oil spill amid debate over Canada-to-US pipelines
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 31st, 2013
Reuters: Exxon Mobil was working to clean up thousands of barrels of oil in Mayflower, Arkansas, after a pipeline carrying heavy Canadian crude ruptured, a major spill likely to stoke debate over transporting Canada's oil to the United States.
Exxon shut the Pegasus pipeline, which can carry more than 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from Pakota, Illinois, to Nederland, Texas, after the leak was discovered on Friday afternoon, the company said in a statement.
Exxon, hit with a $1.7m fine by...