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Archive for May 21st, 2013
UK shale gas projections “wildly optimistic”, campaigners say
Posted by BusinessGreen: Will Nichols on May 21st, 2013
BusinessGreen: Campaigners have decried as "wildly optimistic" a report claiming shale gas is poised to make a big contribution to the growth of the UK economy.
A new paper by the Institute of Directors, sponsored by shale gas firm Cuadrilla Resources, says pressing ahead with exploiting shale gas could create a £3.7bn industry supporting 74,000 jobs and generating significant revenues for the Treasury.
The IOD also claims domestic shale could reduce the country's emissions if it is used to replace coal power,...
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Most UK species in decline, wildlife stocktake shows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 21st, 2013
Guardian: An unprecedented stocktake of UK wildlife has revealed that most species are struggling and that one in three have halved in number in the past half century. The unique report, based on scientific analysis of tens of millions of observations from volunteers, shows that from woodland to farmland and from freshwater streams to the sea, many animals, birds, insects, fish and plants are in trouble.
The causes include the intensification of farming, with the consequent loss of meadows, hedgerows and...
Stressed Ecosystems Leaving Humanity High and Dry
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 21st, 2013
Inter Press Service: Everyone knows water is life. Far too few understand the role of trees, plants and other living things in ensuring we have clean, fresh water.
This dangerous ignorance results in destruction of wetlands that once cleaned water and prevented destructive and costly flooding, scientists and activists warn."We have accelerated major processes like erosion, applied massive quantities of nitrogen that leaks from soil to ground and surface waters and, sometimes, literally siphoned all water from rivers."...
Indigenous Brazilians Learn to Fight for the Right to Food
Posted by Inter Press Service: Clarinha Glock on May 21st, 2013
Inter Press Service: - Indigenous communities in remote areas of Brazil have begun to recognise that they have the right to not be hungry, and are learning that food security means much more than simply having food on the table.
Rosiléia Cruz, 19, dreams of studying journalism. She chooses her words carefully during her interview with Tierramérica* by mobile phone from Tabatinga, in northwest Brazil, which can only be reached by plane or river travel.
Cruz is a member of the Ticuna indigenous ethnic group, one...
Illinois House panel approves fracking regulations
Posted by Associated Press: Regina Garcia Cano on May 21st, 2013
Associated Press: A groundbreaking deal to regulate high-volume oil and gas drilling in Illinois cleared a top House committee Tuesday, setting up a floor vote on a measure that supporters say would bring tens of thousands of jobs to struggling areas in the southern part of the state.
The House Executive Committee unanimously voted to send the full House a legislative proposal meant to regulate hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." A vote is expected this week, although it's not yet clear when the Senate would take...
Drop in US underground water levels has accelerated: USGS
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 21st, 2013
Reuters: Water levels in U.S. aquifers, the vast underground storage areas tapped for agriculture, energy and human consumption, between 2000 and 2008 dropped at a rate that was almost three times as great as any time during the 20th century, U.S. officials said on Monday.
The accelerated decline in the subterranean reservoirs is due to a combination of factors, most of them linked to rising population in the United States, according to Leonard Konikow, a research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey....
Asia-Pacific leaders warn of water conflict threat
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Aidan Jones on May 21st, 2013
Agence France-Presse: Fierce competition for water could trigger conflict unless nations cooperate to share the diminishing resource, leaders from Asia-Pacific nations warned on Monday.
From Central to Southeast Asia, regional efforts to secure water have sparked tensions between neighbours reliant on rivers to sustain booming populations.
Breakneck urbanisation, climate change and surging demand from agriculture have heaped pressure on scarce water supplies, while the majority of people in Asia-Pacific still lack...
Drought and Desertification – Global Response
Posted by Environmental News Network: Andrew Burger on May 21st, 2013
Environmental News Network: Land degradation — more specifically drought and desertification — have become increasingly pressing problems for a growing number of countries around the world, threatening efforts to alleviate poverty, improve basic health and sanitation and address socioeconomic inequality, as well as spur agricultural and sustainable economic development.
The only multilateral, international agreement linking development and environment to sustainable land management (SLM), high-level representatives from...
ALERT! Protect Papua New Guinea Indigenous Cave Dwellers from Rainforest Destroying Mafia
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on May 21st, 2013
By Ecological Internet's Rainforest Portal
TAKE ACTION!
Notorious Malaysian illegal loggers Rimbunan Hijau [search] have diversified into mining in primary rainforests, in East Sepik threatening unique nomadic cave-dwellers and their 20,000 year old ancient stenciled cave art. Support the local resistance and demand an end to indigenous genocide and rainforest ecocide in the name of false development that is little more than pillaging and plundering of cultural and biological diversity.
With U.S. Awash in Oil, Nat’l Interest Argument for Keystone Weakens
Posted by InsideClimate: John H. Cushman Jr. on May 21st, 2013
InsideClimate: U.S. oil production is suddenly growing so fast that some analysts are questioning how much the country really needs the Canadian tar sands oil that would move through the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. This month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it expects domestic crude oil production to surge 20 percent by the end of 2014 from its level at the start of this year. That means an additional 1.4 million barrels of U.S.-produced oil will be available each day—about twice as much...