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Archive for May 7th, 2013
Fracking is draining water resources, especially in the West
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on May 7th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: The natural gas extraction technique known as fracking uses so much water that it could threaten groundwater resources, especially in the Western U.S., two new reports conclude. The first report (pdf), from the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC), found that hydraulic fracking removes 7 billion gallons of water every year in just four states: North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. The organization blames inadequate federal and state-level protections for the use and/or contamination...
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Poaching Pushes 2 Madagascar Tortoises to Brink
Posted by LiveScience3: Douglas Main on May 7th, 2013
LiveScience3: Things just got much worse for two critically endangered tortoise species in Madagascar. Illegal poaching is "raging out of control" and pushing radiated and ploughshare tortoises to the brink of extinction, according to a statement from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
More than 1,000 of the animals have been confiscated from smugglers in the first three months of 2013 alone, the environmental group reported. A total of 54 ploughshare tortoises were intercepted in Thailand, and the species...
Worker camps from natural gas boom cause headaches for local officials
Posted by on May 7th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: Triadelphia, West Virginia –– Just outside of Wheeling on a busy stretch of Route 40, rows of RVs and campers line a gravel campground across from a distribution plant. Pick-up trucks parked beside most of the RVs boast identical front plates that proclaim their owners’ alliance to the Pipeliners Union. Each license plate tells a different story, with distant states such as Texas, Arkansas, California, Missouri and Colorado stamped across the plates. Less than a decade ago, the Dallas Pike Campground...
Sex Of Turtles Changing As Climate Change Warms Planet
Posted by Huffington Post: Russell McLendon on May 7th, 2013
Huffington Post: If you're a male painted turtle, global warming might sound great at first: A new study suggests it will mean more females to mate with and fewer male rivals to fend off. But, as usual with climate change, every silver lining has a cloud. In this case, too many females could render the species incapable of reproducing by century's end. Painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) live in freshwater habitats across North America, where the sex of their unhatched young is determined by ambient temperature....
Safe drinking water disappearing fast in Bangladesh
Posted by Guardian: Syful Islam on May 7th, 2013
Guardian: The availability of safe drinking water, particularly in Bangladesh's hard to reach areas, is expected to worsen as the country experiences the effects of climate change, experts say.
According to a study by the World Bank's water and sanitation programme (pdf), about 28 million Bangladeshis, or just over 20% of the population, are living in harsh conditions in the "hard-to-reach areas" that make up a quarter of the country's landmass. The study found that char – land that emerges from riverbeds...
In the Gulf, a long history of oil spills and cover-ups
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 7th, 2013
Grist: When BP`s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in 2010, it hemorrhaged roughly 210 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. We know now, thanks to recent court hearings and settlements, that all this happened because oil company managers were cutting corners on safety, and the federal government’s monitoring system for offshore drilling was broken.
We also know that it wasn`t the first time oil companies had spilled in the Gulf. What we don’t know - and probably never will - is how much...
Africa: Rain Will Get Extreme Due to Global Warming, Says Nasa Study
Posted by New Vision: None Given on May 7th, 2013
New Vision: A NASA-led study provides new evidence that global warming may increase the risk for extreme rainfall and drought. The study shows for the first time how rising carbon dioxide concentrations could affect the entire range of rainfall types on Earth. Analysis of computer simulations from 14 climate models indicates wet regions of the world, such as the equatorial Pacific Ocean and Asian monsoon regions, will see increases in heavy precipitation because of warming resulting from projected increases...
British people care about losing countryside
Posted by Telegraph: Hannah Furness on May 7th, 2013
Telegraph: Sir David, who is presenting a short bird song segment on Radio 4 throughout May, said Britain has been "losing countryside for longer than anyone else', since businesses turned from agriculture to industry.
Saying he feared the public tended to take the countryside for granted, he added he believed the popularity of bird song could be a result of hundreds of years of building.
"If it's around you all the time, you tend to take it for granted,' he told the Radio Times. "But I think British...
Fracking Regulation Is States’ Turf, 13 States Tell EPA
Posted by Tulsa World: Rod Walton on May 7th, 2013
Tulsa World: A letter by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and signed by his counterparts in 12 other energy-producing states tells the EPA it should not allow threats of litigation by six Northeast states to provide a back-door entry for federal oversight of fracking.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been studying the effects of hydraulic fracturing but so far has stayed out of an enforcement role.
The Pruitt letter, however, noted that New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Delaware...
Canada: Debate on Kinder Morgan Tar Sands Pipeline Takes Center Stage in B.C. Election
Posted by Rabble: None Given on May 7th, 2013
Rabble: For a climate organizer, the ongoing British Columbia election campaign has been a rare treat. For the first time in a very long time, climate change and fossil fuels are taking centre stage in an election campaign.
The past two federal elections have been marked more by the absence of discussion of climate change than its presence. Even in the most recent U.S. federal election, climate only broke into the campaign thanks to the force of a climate supercharged hurricane crashing into New York...