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Archive for May 1st, 2013
Illinois Ranks As Worst Rogue Coal State
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: Whether she runs for governor or not, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan would need nine lives to bring the state`s notoriously broken regulatory system into compliance with the nation`s most reckless coal industry.
With state coal production soaring against national trends, Illinois cemented its reputation as the worst rogue state for coal operations last Friday, when the rubber-stamping operations of the state`s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a pollutant discharge permit to...
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Most Americans Blame Global Warming for Extreme Weather
Posted by LiveScience: Denise Chow on May 1st, 2013
LiveScience: More than half of Americans think global warming is affecting weather in the United States, according to a new nationally representative survey that measures the pulse of American sentiment on climate change.
The newly released study shows that about two out of three Americans say weather in the country has worsened over the past several years, with only one in 10 saying the weather has been improving.
Americans also have strong views about the link between global warming and extreme weather....
Sandra Steingraber Shines a Spotlight on the Problems of Fracking
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: After serving 10 days of her 15-day sentence for trespassing during a protest against fracking, activist Sandra Steingraber was released from the Schuyler County jail last week in Watkins Glen, N.Y. The day before she was imprisoned, she talked with Moyers about her fight to stop fracking and the release of toxins contaminating our air, water and food.
Steingraber had been arrested along with nine other protesters on March 18 for blocking the entrance to the Inergy natural gas facility to protest...
Ohio Legislation Introduced to Ban Fracking Waste Injection Wells
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: This week, State Sen. Mike Skindell (D-Lakewood), State Rep. Denise Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) and State Rep. Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown) introduced legislation to ban Class II fracking waste injection wells in Ohio. The bill would prevent waste from being discharged into Ohio’s waterways after treatment, and would make it illegal for municipalities to use the liquid waste from oil and gas operations for dust and ice control on roadways.
Today, grassroots leaders from around the state applauded the...
Bee protection: US in spotlight as EU bans pesticides
Posted by Ecologist: Elizabeth Grossman on May 1st, 2013
Ecologist: One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest. And in the past several months, a scramble in California's almond groves has given the world a taste of what may lie in store for food production if the widespread -- and still puzzling -- decimation of bee colonies continues.
For much of the past 10 years, beekeepers, primarily in the United States and Europe, have been reporting annual hive losses of 30 percent or higher, substantially...
World’s rarest duck on the rebound in Madagascar
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 1st, 2013
Mongabay: After a final sighting in 1991, the Madagascar pochard was thought to have vanished for good. But this diving duck was rediscovered in 2006 when a flock of 22 individuals was found on Lake Matsaborimena in northern Madagascar by conservationists during an expedition. Soon after Madagascar pochard eggs were taken and incubated in a joint captive breeding program by Durrell, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), the Peregrine Fund, Asity Madagascar, and Madagascar government, which recently announced...
How would an extra month of 100-plus-degree days feel?
Posted by Austin Daily Star: None Given on May 1st, 2013
Austin Daily Star: Climate change is not just happening in some far and distant place. It's happening now, right here in Arizona.
A new report on climate change in the Southwest shows that our weather patterns are already shifting and we're seeing and feeling the impacts. Drawing from the most recent and comprehensive scientific information, the study led by University of Arizona researchers also assesses future impacts on health, water, agriculture, energy supply and demand, ecosystems, transportation and our communities....
Three Fracking Moratorium Bills Win Key Vote in California Legislature
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: Three bills that would halt fracking in California won key votes Monday night, passing the Assembly Natural Resources Committee despite intense pressure from the oil industry. Richard Bloom’s A.B. 1301, Holly Mitchell’s A.B. 1323 and Adrin Nazarian’s A.B. 649 would place a moratorium on fracking while threats posed by the controversial practice to California’s environment and public health are studied.
Concerned residents rally outside a California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources...
Facebook Bans Ad Criticizing Mark Zuckerberg’s Pro-Keystone XL Stance
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: Here’s a question for you. What have one of the world’s richest companies and one of the world’s richest men have in common?
The answer: They have both censored adverting criticizing their actions on climate-related issues.
So Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg joins Exxon in those accused of cynical censorship of free speech.
As we have pointed out, Exxon has repeatedly tried to ban adverting by Oil Change International and others.
But yesterday it emerged that Facebook has rejected an advertisement...
Sequester Hits Nation’s Climate Change Research Capability
Posted by InsideClimate: Rachel Nuwer on May 1st, 2013
InsideClimate: When Renee McPherson took on the role of director of research at the South Central Climate Science Center last year, she had no idea that she’d soon be grappling with budget cuts that threatened her ability to support regional climate research or hire new graduate students and faculty--the premise of hosting the center in the first place.
The facility McPherson runs out of the University of Oklahoma is among eight centers created between 2010 and 2012 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)....