RSS Feed
Archive for April 26th, 2013
Las Vegas: The reinvention of Sin City as a sustainable city
Posted by Guardian: Sadhbh Walshe on April 26th, 2013
Guardian: The Las Vegas strip, home to the world's best known casinos where wastefulness is not just encouraged but is a key part of the business model, has been reinventing itself over the past few years as a model of sustainability. But is it really possible for the infamous strip, that according to legend is so lit up it can be seen from outer space, ever be truly green?
Las Vegas (Spanish for "the meadows") was founded as a city in 1905 because, ironically, the cluster of water springs in an area that...
Posted in 
Climate change may reduce crop output by 18% in 2020: Sharad Pawar
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2013
Times of India: Climate change is likely to bring down the production of key foodgrain crops like wheat and rice in the country by up to 18 per cent in 2020, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said on Friday.
"Climate change is projected to reduce timely sown irrigated wheat production by about 6 per cent in 2020. In case of late sown wheat, the projected levels are to the extent of 18 per cent," Pawar said in the Rajya Sabha.
Further reduction by up to 25 per cent in crop yields are projected in 2080, he noted....
Groups to Gov. O’Malley: Keep Maryland Frack Free
Posted by EcoWatch: Food and Water Watch on April 26th, 2013
EcoWatch: Americans Against Fracking and 24 national, state and local groups representing public health, consumers and the environment, submitted a letter to Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, expressing serious concerns about the push to approve fracking in the state. The groups cited the findings of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission’s draft report on fracking, which warns that fracking could have significant negative impacts in Maryland, yet presumes it is inevitable and should be regulated rather...
Immediate Moratorium Needed on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining to Protect Human Health
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 26th, 2013
EcoWatch: This week the National Commission on the Health Impacts of Mountaintop Removal Mining, a group of independent physicians and scientists, released recommendations for actions necessary to ensure the health and safety of the residents of Appalachia who are impacted by mountaintop removal (MTR) mining.
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) commissioned the scientists to review a report prepared by CHEJ that analyzed the existing body of peer-reviewed, scientific studies on the impacts...
United Kingdom: ‘Get on and drill’ for shale gas say MPs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2013
Telegraph: The controversial process of blasting water into rock to extract shale gas, or fracking, has caused earth tremors in the UK in the past and leaks can contaminate water.
But the Energy and Climate Change Committee said companies should get on with building drills to explore for the fossil fuel across the UK.
Although the cross party group made clear that fracking will not be an energy "revolution", MPs said it could stop the rise in energy prices.
Tim Yeo, head of the committee, said shale...
United Kingdom: MPs say cash-for-locals scheme would overcome shale gas fracking opposition
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on April 26th, 2013
Guardian: Companies fracking for shale gas in the UK should be made to offer substantial financial incentives to people living near their sites, an influential committee of MPs has said.
The energy and climate change committee said on Friday that measures such as cash payments or rebates on energy bills would be needed to overcome local opposition to shale gas drilling, which has been associated with water, ground and air pollution in the US, and which green groups say is incompatible with moving to a low-carbon...
Republicans Target Fracking Oversight
Posted by FuelFix: None Given on April 26th, 2013
FuelFix: While championing the benefits of new energy extraction methods, Republican House members accused energy oversight agencies of research that misled the public on environmental and health risks.
The accusations came at a joint Energy and Environment subcommittee hearing focus on hydraulic fracturing--often called “fracking”--an extraction technique pioneered in Texas in the 90s, which taps deep ground reserves of natural gas and oil.
Rep. Ralph Hall of Rockwall slammed the Environmental Protection...
Consultants’ Role in NY Gas Drilling Study Questioned
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2013
Associated Press: Government watchdog Common Cause and 11 environmental groups raised more questions about the role of gas industry-associated consultants in the state’s environmental impact study of shale gas drilling and fracking. A review of Department of Environmental Conservation documents obtained by Common Cause through Freedom of Information Law requests shows two more firms with memberships in the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York were contracted for the state’s review. The review, still incomplete...
U.K. Fracking May Not Reduce Domestic Gas Prices, Report Shows
Posted by Bloomberg: Nidaa Bakhsh on April 26th, 2013
Bloomberg: Developing U.K. shale gas may fail to follow U.S. precedent and cut local prices due to differences in geography, population density and environmental controls and as world fuel demand grows, according to a parliamentary report.
On the flipside, shale would benefit the U.K. by reducing reliance on gas imports and adding to tax revenue, the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee said in the report.
“Ministers should be careful not to base energy policy on an assumption that gas...
Canada: More intrigue on Keystone, but approval still likely, U.S. energy expert says
Posted by Edmonton Journal: Dave Cooper on April 26th, 2013
Edmonton Journal: The northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska will still likely be approved, but criticism this week from the Environmental Protection Agency may mean the green light won’t be given until fall, says a U.S. energy expert.
“The tortuously slow approval process for the pipeline” moved ahead this week when the U.S. State Department did not extend the comment period, although “opponents of Keystone XL were subsequently emboldened by the release of critical comments from the...