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Archive for April 5th, 2013
Heavy, Dam-Busting Rainstorms To Increase, Study Finds
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on April 5th, 2013
Climate Central: Boosted by the added moisture from warming air and ocean temperatures, the heaviest precipitation events -- those that can cause dams to fail, rivers to spill over their banks, and cities to flood -- are likely to become significantly heavier by the end of this century, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, warns engineers and planners that are designing long-lasting, critical infrastructure that planning for only the current types and severity...
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Oil Spill Spotlights Keystone XL Issue: Is Canadian Crude Worse?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 5th, 2013
National Geographic: David Hatfield, an Arkansas wildlife photographer and minister, rose before dawn on Monday and headed to Lake Conway.
Even though he had lived nearby for 25 years, Hatfield never knew of the threat now oozing near this 6,700-acre habitat 25 miles north of Little Rock, the largest game and wildlife commission reservoir in the United States.
"It surprised me that we had a pipeline here," he said.
But ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline has been buried here for more than six decades, quietly propelling...
Great Lakes wetlands may mitigate climate change
Posted by Great Lakes Echo: None Given on April 5th, 2013
Great Lakes Echo: Long valued for biological diversity and flood control, Great Lakes coastal wetlands are now seen as a tool to suck up and store excess carbon dioxide. It’s an important function as researchers seek to blunt climate change caused by that greenhouse gas. “Wetlands are at the top of the list of best systems for sequestering carbon on the landscape,” said William Mitsch, professor emeritus at Ohio State University and director of the Everglades Wetland Research Park at Florida Gulf Coast University....
Frackers Are Losing $1.5 Billion Yearly to Leaks
Posted by Climate Desk: Tim McDonnell on April 5th, 2013
Climate Desk: Of all the many and varied consequences of fracking (water contamination, injured workers, earthquakes, the list goes on) one of the least understood is so-called "fugitive" methane emissions. Methane is the primary ingredient of natural gas, and it escapes into the atmosphere at every stage of production: at wells, in processing plants, and in pipes on its way to your house. According to a new study, it could become one of the worst climate impacts of the fracking boom--and yet, it`s one of the...
Gasland’s Impact on the Explosive Growth of the Anti-Fracking Movement
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 5th, 2013
EcoWatch: When filmmaker Josh Fox released his Gasland documentary in 2010, anti-fracking activism consisted primarily of a small number of grassroots groups operating in states where the shale gas industry was ramping up its activities. The groups` members often had to struggle to get their neighbors and political representatives to listen to their concerns about the risks associated with this extreme form of energy extraction.
"Josh Fox`s Gasland blew the doors off what was happening, raising awareness...
Arkansas town in lockdown after oil spill nightmare
Posted by Grist: None Given on April 5th, 2013
Grist: There’s one Exxon gas station in Mayflower, Ark.
Before last Friday, that’s likely as close as Mayflower residents got to the multinational oil and gas behemoth ExxonMobil. But after the Pegasus Pipeline burst last Friday, sending thousands of gallons of tar-sands oil into the Northwoods neighborhood, the company became omnipresent in this small town of 2,200 people.
The first thing you notice when driving into Mayflower is the stench. Travelers can smell the fumes from Interstate 40, which...
Withering drought still plaguing half of America
Posted by Grist: None Given on April 5th, 2013
Grist: 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 U.S. 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...
InsideClimate News Reporter Threatened With Arrest at Ark. Oil Spill Site
Posted by InsideClimate: Susan White on April 5th, 2013
InsideClimate: InsideClimate News reporter Lisa Song [3] was threatened with arrest on Wednesday after she entered the command center for the cleanup operation in Mayflower, Ark., where a major oil pipeline spill occurred on Friday.
Song went to the command center in hopes of reaching representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation. She had been told they were working out of the command center, but had been unable to get their names or contact information despite...
Arkansas Attorney General: ‘There Is Oil in Lake Conway’
Posted by KATV: None Given on April 5th, 2013
KATV: Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says while he is a supporter of the pipeline system in the United States, last week's oil spill is a sad and unfortunate situation. McDaniel says it serves as a reminder of the risks of our modern economy.
Is there oil in Lake Conway?
"I don't understand where this distinction is coming from, from the cove and Lake Conway. The cove is part of Lake Conway…The water is all part of one body of water.
"I think it's very fair to say that Lake Conway has not received...
1,600 Years of Ice in Andes Melted in 25 Years, in Sign of Warming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 5th, 2013
New York Times: Glacial ice in the Peruvian Andes that took at least 1,600 years to form has melted in just 25 years, scientists reported Thursday, the latest indication that the recent spike in global temperatures has thrown the natural world out of balance. The evidence comes from a remarkable find at the margins of the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru, the world's largest tropical ice sheet. Rapid melting there in the modern era is uncovering plants that were locked in a deep freeze when the glacier advanced many thousands...