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Archive for May 17th, 2013
Front-row seats to climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2013
PhysOrg: By day, insects provide the white noise of the South, but the night belongs to the amphibians. In a typical year, the Southern air hangs heavy from the humidity and the sounds of wildlife.
The Southeast, home to more than 140 species of frogs, toads and salamanders, is the center of amphibian biodiversity in our nation. If the ponds and swamps are the auditorium for their symphonic choruses, the scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey's Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative, or ARMI, have...
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Draft fed rules would let frackers do whatever they want, but they’re still not happy
Posted by Grist: John Upton on May 17th, 2013
Grist: For everyone who was hoping the Obama administration`s proposed new rules for natural gas drilling on public lands would make a difference, the just-released new draft amounts to a big "frack you."
Federal rules governing fracking on public lands are being updated, ostensibly to help manage the boom that`s polluting America`s groundwater and shaking free vast volumes of cheap natural gas. Environmentalists were disappointed a year ago when the Department of Interior released a fracker-friendly...
UK Signals Support for EU Import of Canadian Tar Sands Oil
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2013
Guardian: Britain has given its clearest signal yet that it wants to allow European countries to import carbon-intensive tar sands oil from Canada.
Leaked papers seen by the Guardian show that in EU negotiations on laws intended to encourage the use of low-carbon transport fuels, the UK has rejected language that would class tar sands oil as more polluting than conventional crude or other fuels.
The European commission has proposed labelling the oil as "highly polluting" under its fuel quality directive,...
Interior Proposes New Rules for Fracking on U.S. Land
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2013
New York Times: The Obama administration on Thursday issued a new set of proposed rules governing hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas on public lands, moving further to address industry concerns about the costs and reporting burdens of federal regulation.
The new Interior Department proposal, which is subject to 30 days of public comment and further revision, disappointed environmental advocates, who had pushed for full disclosure of the chemicals used in the drilling process and tougher standards for groundwater...
Public anger over pollution is being taken seriously
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2013
Independent: Pollution and its health effects are a leading cause of unrest in China as the country’s rapid economic rise is accompanied by often appalling environmental side-effects. The air in most cities is regularly barely breathable and most of China’s rivers are poisoned. Pollution is the single biggest source of complaint among young people, and most environmental protests are carried out by educated, middle-class Chinese, worried about the danger to their families that environmental degradation can...