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Archive for March, 2013
Keystone XL: US government report drew on analysis by oil consultants
Posted by Guardian: Lisa Song on March 6th, 2013
Guardian: The State Department's recent conclusion that the Keystone XL pipeline "is unlikely to have a substantial impact" on the rate of Canada's oil sands development was based on analysis provided by two consulting firms with ties to oil and pipeline companies that could benefit from the proposed project.
EnSys Energy has worked with ExxonMobil, BP and Koch Industries, which own oil sands production facilities and refineries in the Midwest that process heavy Canadian crude oil. Imperial Oil, one of...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Keystone XL: US government report drew on analysis by oil consultantsLong-Delayed Rulings on Endangered Species Are Coming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 6th, 2013
New York Times: Perhaps it does not seem cause for celebration that the Oregon spotted frog, a four-inch-long amphibian that prefers the Pacific Northwest’s dwindling marshy spots, is to be considered this year for federal protection as an endangered species. Tell that to the frog. It has been languishing for 22 years — since 1991 — awaiting its day in the bureaucratic sun. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake has been a candidate for protection since 1982, a legless bridesmaid, never a bride. Ditto the elfin-woods...
Lizards Facing Mass Extinction from Climate Change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 6th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Climate change could see dozens of lizard species becoming extinct within the next 50 years, according to new research published today. The often one-directional evolutionary adaptation of certain lizard species' reproductive modes could see multiple extinctions as the global temperature increases.
Globally it has been observed that lizards with viviparous reproduction (retention of embryos within the mother's body) are being threatened by changing weather patterns. A new study suggests that the...
Map plots rising seas street by Jersey street
Posted by Wall Street Journal: Heather Haddon on March 6th, 2013
Wall Street Journal: While superstorm Sandy revealed the Northeast's vulnerability, a new map by New Jersey scientists suggests how rising seas could make future storms even worse.
The map shows ocean waters surging more than a mile into communities along Raritan Bay, engulfing nearly all of New Jersey's barrier islands and covering northern sections of the New Jersey Turnpike and land surrounding the Port Newark Container Terminal.
Such damage could occur under a scenario in which sea levels rise 6 feet--or a...
Canadian official raps greens on oil pipeline
Posted by The Hill: Zack Colman on March 6th, 2013
The Hill: A top Canadian official on Tuesday delivered a broadside against environmentalists in the United States who oppose the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver touted a U.S. State Department draft environmental review released Friday that dismissed claims from green groups that Keystone would accelerate oil sands development and exacerbate climate change.
“Why then all the fuss? Why the demonstrations and movie stars chaining themselves to the...
Celebrity ‘fractivists’: True advocates or NIMBYs?
Posted by Associated Press: Kevin Begos on March 6th, 2013
Associated Press: The scene: a Manhattan art-house theater. The cause: a campaign against the gas drilling process known as fracking that's being led by more than 100 celebrities, including Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Robert Redford, Mark Ruffalo and Mario Batali.
Outside, demonstrators in hazmat suits circle the theater. Inside, actress Scarlett Johansson attends a benefit screening of "Gasland," the documentary film that has become the movement's manifesto. Johansson tells The Associated Press that her "Avengers"...
Ottawa pitches the oil sands as ‘green’
Posted by Globe and Mail: Paul Koring on March 6th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Relying on Canadian crude imports is the best choice for the United States - not just because it's reliable and secure but because of Canada's unmatched environmental record, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said Tuesday.
Adding green to the attributes of Alberta's oil sands is the latest twist in Ottawa's concerted effort to push for U.S. approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline designed to funnel more than 800,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude to Texas Gulf oil refineries next...
Climate change brings less snow, tending to fall all at once
Posted by Ventura County Star: Editorial on March 6th, 2013
Ventura County Star: It does seem that every time some earnest group puts out a report on the dangers of global warming, there’s a major Mother Nature event somewhere the next day.
Turns out, there’s an explanation for the seemingly regular appearance of once-in-50-year storms, one that, like most things having to do with climate change, is slightly ominous.
Experts say that long-term we are likely to see more giant blizzards in the Northern Hemisphere but less snow overall, and the reason is that a warmer atmosphere...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change brings less snow, tending to fall all at onceFracking Ban Final in Fort Collins
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 6th, 2013
EcoWatch: The Fort Collins City Council, on a second reading Tuesday night, voted to uphold the fracking ban within city limits by a vote of 5-2. The ban is now final. This vote defies the governor and other state authorities who say local governments have no right to regulate the oil and gas industry. The state and Colorado Oil and Gas Association threatened lawsuits if Fort Collins’ ban on fracking became final. “The Fort Collins City Council stood up to the bullies—Governor Hickenlooper and the Big Oil...
Why food riots will become the new normal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 6th, 2013
Guardian: Just over two years since Egypt's dictator President Hosni Mubarak resigned , little has changed. Cairo's infamous Tahrir Square has remained a continual site of clashes between demonstrators and security forces, despite a newly elected president. It's the same story in Tunisia, and Libya where protests and civil unrest have persisted under now ostensibly democratic governments.
The problem is that the political changes brought about by the Arab spring were largely cosmetic. Scratch beneath the...