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Archive for April 4th, 2013
Fracking Industry Greases Gears of Government in Tennessee
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 4th, 2013
EcoWatch: States to the North and West of Tennessee?Illinois, Ohio and Arkansas?are already fracked. Other surrounding states?Georgia, Alabama and Kentucky?are in the industry`s sights, and it feels like there`s a big bullseye painted on Tennessee. While the industry has been dog piling on Pennsylvania, Ohio and Arkansas for production, they`ve been greasing the gears of government here in Tennessee, establishing their right to ruin in Illinois and beating back the opposition in North Carolina. Due to current...
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Withering Drought Still Plaguing Half of America
Posted by Climate Desk: None Given on April 4th, 2013
Climate Desk: The $50 billion drought that bedeviled the country last Summer—the worst since the Dust Bowl of the 1930's—still has its fingers around half the country. And if predictions are to be believed, it’s only going to get worse for many in the coming months. Weekly drought figures released Thursday by the US Drought Monitor, a joint project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the USDA and several other government and academic partners, show the situation has worsened slightly from...
The Keystone XL Pipeline and its politics, explained
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 4th, 2013
Washington Post: With the controversy over the Keystone XL pipeline extension surfacing yet again - opponents will hold a rally Wednesday night in San Francisco`s Pacific Heights neighborhood, outside a fundraiser President Obama is headlining--we thought we`d clarify a few points about the contentious project. (For more details, read Steven Mufson`s new e-book, "Keystone XL: Down the Line.") What is the Keystone XL pipeline? The Keystone XL pipeline extension is a 1,700-mile project that would transport 800,000...
Exxon Oil Spill Leaves Arkansas Neighborhood In Shock
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on April 4th, 2013
InsideClimate: Nearly a week after an oil pipeline ruptured in Mayflower, Ark., residents of this community of 2,200 are still overwhelmed by the disaster that has upended their lives. "All of us are in shock," said David Fox, the pastor of First Baptist Church. "Manmade disasters are so rare in our state ... you don't think this kind of thing can happen to you." The oil spill, which occurred on Good Friday, cast a pall over the church service Fox held that day, he said. On Easter Sunday, an Exxon contractor...
Oil spills and Keystone
Posted by Baltimore Sun: None Given on April 4th, 2013
Baltimore Sun: If Americans needed a reminder of the serious environmental risks posed by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, they got it last week with the oil spill in Mayflower, a suburb of Little Rock, Arkansas. More than 12,000 barrels of crude spilled into the town like a black river, coating lawns and forcing evacuations.
It's still not certain what caused a leak from the ExxonMobil pipeline that carries Canadian crude oil from Illinois to the Texas Gulf Coast. But what is clear is that such pipeline spills...
Adélie penguin population expands as ice fields recede
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 4th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Adélie penguins may actually benefit from warmer global temperatures, the opposite of other polar species, according to a breakthrough study by an international team led by University of Minnesota Polar Geospatial Center researchers. The study provides key information affirming hypothetical projections about the continuing impact of environmental change.
Researchers from the United States and New Zealand used a mix of old and new technology studying a combination of aerial photography beginning...
Blocked Migration: Fish Ladders On U.S. Dams Are Not Effective
Posted by Yale Environment 360: John Waldman on April 4th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: In most major rivers in the U.S., maintaining some semblance of the integrity of migratory fish runs past hydropower dams is dependent upon the fish using ladders and elevators as freely as do two-legged humans. But is this asking too much?
Six colleagues and I undertook a study of the success -- or, rather, failure -- of Atlantic salmon, American shad, river herring, and other species in migrating from the sea to their spawning grounds past a gauntlet of dams on three rivers in the northeastern...
Capturing the Fugitives: Reducing Methane Emissions from Natural Gas
Posted by World Resources Institute: Michael Obeiter and James Bradbury on April 4th, 2013
World Resources Institute: The rapid expansion of natural gas development in the United States has been a double-edged sword. While natural gas supporters are quick to point out its economic benefits and green attributes--natural gas produces roughly half the carbon dioxide emissions of coal during combustion--this isn’t the whole story. Natural gas comes with environmental consequences, including risks to air and water quality.
One risk is “fugitive methane emissions,” potent greenhouse gases that escape into the atmosphere...
Price of Sand: New Documentary Exposes Dangers of Frac-Sand Mining
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 4th, 2013
EcoWatch: Filmmaker Jim Tittle previewed his new documentary film, The Price of Sand, at the historic Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing, Minnesota, to a full house last week. With original interviews, coverage of recent events and local music about frac-sand mining, this visually rich 57-minute film explores the controversy surrounding frac-sand mining.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are experiencing a mining boom because both states have plentiful deposits of pure silica sand, a necessary component in hydraulic fracturing...
1,000+ Californians Protest Keystone XL at President Obama’s Fundraiser in San Francisco
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 4th, 2013
EcoWatch: One thousand people showed up at President Obama’s Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser yesterday in San Francisco to protest against the Keystone XL pipeline that will accelerate climate change and endanger the public health. CREDO and California activists sent a message to the president that if he plans to keep his inaugural promise to fight climate change--he must reject the Keystone XL pipeline. The protest was held just days after an Exxon Mobil tar sands oil pipeline burst...