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Archive for April, 2013
Sorting through the claims, counterclaims about environmental impact of ‘fracking.’
Posted by NBC: Bill Dedman and Karen Weintraub on April 8th, 2013
NBC: It's difficult to find scientists who have not lined up on one side or another on hydraulic fracking for oil and natural gas. The anti-fracking groups have their scientific talking points, and the pro-fracking groups have their counterclaims. Some of the scientists who have put out pro-fracking reports have turned out to be tied to the industry. When even the federal panel formed to study the issue is stacked with industry supporters, it's hard for environmentalists and health advocates to believe...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Sorting through the claims, counterclaims about environmental impact of ‘fracking.’Indigenous group: Brazil using military to force Amazon dams
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2013
Guardian: An Amazonian community has threatened to "go to war" with the Brazilian government after what they say is a military incursion into their land by dam builders.
The Munduruku indigenous group in Para state say they have been betrayed by the authorities, who are pushing ahead with plans to build a cascade of hydropower plants on the Tapajós river without their permission.
Public prosecutors, human rights groups, environmental organizations and Christian missionaries have condemned what they call...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Indigenous group: Brazil using military to force Amazon damsWater management must for India: President
Posted by Daily News: None Given on April 8th, 2013
Daily News: President Pranab Mukherjee Monday said efficient water management is crucial to keep pace with population growth and economic development.
"Available water must be managed judiciously to meet the twin burden of population growth and economic development. Conservation, balanced distribution and reclamation of used water are essential cogs in the wheel of water management," Mukherjee said while inaugurating the India Water Week 2013 with the theme 'Efficient Water Management: Challenges and Opportunities'...
Mekong hit by climate change
Posted by Viet Nam News: None Given on April 8th, 2013
Viet Nam News: Fish farms in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang. Climate change is likely to have a great impact on fish farming along the Mekong River as erratic rainfall will disrupt the flood pulse cycle of the river, predicts a new study. -- VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung BANGKOK (VNS)-- A new study on Climate Change Impact and Adaptation in the Lower Mekong Basin released on March 29 has revealed that the effects of climate change in the basin is worse than the global average.
Final results of the United States...
Water Shortage Hits Pacific Women
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2013
Inter Press Service: The Solomon Islands, a developing island nation in the south-west Pacific Islands, has one of the highest urbanisation rates in the region, and the basic service infrastructure is struggling to cater for the influx of people from the provinces to the capital, Honiara. Thirty-five percent of the city's population, who live in informal settlements, are facing the health consequences of a dire shortage of clean water and sanitation.
Located on the main island of Guadalcanal, Honiara is a coastal...
Shale-rich Spanish region to vote to ban fracking
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2013
Reuters: Lawmakers in Spain's northern Cantabria region unanimously voted on Monday to ban hydraulic fracturing on environmental concerns, shooting down the central government's hopes for a project to boost jobs in a region believed to be rich in shale gas.
Spain, battling a deep recession and high unemployment, imports about 76 percent of its energy needs and the technology to extract shale gas, known as fracking, could help relieve its foreign dependence on oil, coal and gas.
Early estimates indicate...
President Obama Brushes Back His Activist Left
Posted by Time: Michael Scherer on April 8th, 2013
Time: When President Obama released his first budget to the nation in February of 2009, he spent his afternoon meeting with the liberals from the Congressional Black Caucus at the White House. On Wednesday, when he releases his fifth budget, he will privately dine instead with a dozen Republican Senators.
This change is not just a matter of the White House social calendar. While Obama’s first budget was hailed by progressives as a breath of fresh air, his latest is earning scorn from those same quarters...
Extreme weather boosts poverty in Sri Lanka – report
Posted by AlertNet: Amantha Perera on April 8th, 2013
AlertNet: Without fail, Somadasa Gamage has prayed for one thing every year before he plants his crops.
"Rain,' says the 47-year-old vegetable farmer, who has farmed for three and a half decades in Sri Lanka's remote south eastern Tanamalvilla area, a dry area where rain can be frustratingly scarce.
Last year, for almost six months, Gamage did not plant any crops because a severe drought had dried out the river from which he draws water. When the drought ended, Gamage was relieved -- but not for long....
Slaking a Region’s Thirst While Cleaning Its Beaches
Posted by New York Times: Ian Lovett on April 7th, 2013
New York Times: Surfers here have long lived by a simple rule: When it rains, no matter how good the waves may be, stay out of the water. Those who do head out to the Venice Pier on a rainy day might have their bravery (or naïveté) repaid with pinkeye, a fever or diarrhea. “The water will have this weird, funky smell to it,” said Sean Stanley, 26, who has been surfing here his entire life. “It’s murky. You’ll see soda cans and plastic bottles, oil from the cars. All the runoff from the city gets in there.” Even...
Northern Ireland launches plastic bag levy
Posted by BusinessGreen: Jessica Shankleman on April 7th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Retailers in Northern Ireland will today start charging at least five pence for each carrier bag handed out to customers, as part of a drive across the province to reduce plastic waste.
The Northern Ireland Executive has introduced the Carrier Bag Levy, in a move designed to significantly reduce the 250 million carrier bags distributed in the country each year.
Northern Ireland follows in the footsteps of Wales, which introduced a similar charge in 2011 and subsequently cut handouts of bags...