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Archive for May 23rd, 2013
U.S. Groundwater Consumption Accelerating
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on May 23rd, 2013
Environment News Service: Aquifers across the United States are being drawn down at an increasing pace, finds a new study released today by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The report, "Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008)," evaluates long-term cumulative depletion volumes in 40 separate aquifers in the United States, bringing together information from previous studies and from new analyses of these distinct underground water storage areas.
"Although groundwater depletion is rarely assessed and poorly documented,...
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Analysis: Bill to Fast-Track Keystone Pipeline Loses Democratic Support. But Why?
Posted by InsideClimate: None Given on May 23rd, 2013
InsideClimate: Republicans in the House of Representatives pushed through a bill on Wednesday that would force federal approval of the Keystone XL pipeline without further review. The vote was 241 to 175. The legislation is the latest of several attempts by Congress to force the Obama administration's hand. It is unlikely to be taken up in the Senate and the White House has threatened a veto. If anything, the bill's backers may have lost ground this time, and ended up with a much more partisan divide. Only 19...
New Fracking Rules Leave Drought-Ridden States High and Dry
Posted by EcoWatch: Monika Freyman on May 23rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Proposed standards that the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) announced last week for hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands are hugely important, especially in the arid West where water is gold. Unfortunately, water protection gets short shrift in the rules that, once finalized, will apply to 750 million acres of public lands.
To provide a bit of context, oil and gas wells on public lands account for about 13 percent of the nation’s natural gas production and five percent of its oil...
Fracking Economics Revealed as Shale Gas Bubble, Not Silver Bullet
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 23rd, 2013
EcoWatch: With several bills pending in the New York legislature related to natural gas development in the state, elected officials were briefed today on research revealing its economic limitations.
Hosted by Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Earthworks, Energy Policy Forum, Environmental Advocates of New York, Frack Action and the Post Carbon Institute, the briefing focused on two groundbreaking reports released this spring. In sum, scientific and financial analyses show that the medium- to long-term...
Keep climate change out of Keystone decision, GOP warns in letter to Obama
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on May 23rd, 2013
The Hill: Two dozen Senate Republicans are warning President Obama not to link “wholly unrelated” climate change policies to approval of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
“You should approve the Keystone XL pipeline project on its merits alone without suddenly moving the goalposts after more than four years of review by tethering its fate to wholly unrelated and economically disastrous new regulatory policies,” states the new letter to Obama led by Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and John Hoeven...
Crude Landlocked as Canadians Join U.S. to Halt Pipelines
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 23rd, 2013
Bloomberg: British Columbia, the Canadian province whose official slogan to its own beauty is “Super, Natural,” is invoking another saying: “No more supertankers.”
That’s potentially big trouble in a nation where oil exports amount to $73 billion annually and the industry employs more than 550,000 workers. It’s also a bad omen for nations, notably China, that have invested billions in Canadian oil projects with expectations that they will one day be able to buy vast quantities of heavy Canadian crude.
To...
Gov. Christie’s climate change remarks get him in hot water with infrastructure experts
Posted by ClimateWire: Colin Sullivan on May 23rd, 2013
ClimateWire: A panel of New Jersey infrastructure experts yesterday took issue with Gov. Chris Christie a few days after the Republican expressed doubts about the links between climate change and Superstorm Sandy.
The governor's remarks earlier this week, in which he said there isn't "any proof thus far that Sandy was caused by climate change," served as backdrop to the dialogue here during a Rutgers University event on New Jersey and climate adaptation. Each member of a panel of experts appeared to disagree...
Colorado Becomes Surprise Setting for Fracking Fight
Posted by Bloomberg: Jennifer Oldham and Jim Snyder on May 23rd, 2013
Bloomberg: Stan Dempsey, an oil and gas lobbyist, raced from one committee hearing to another in Colorado’s statehouse this spring, defending the industry against an onslaught of bills.
While only one of 10 measures passed, the flurry of activity is one of several worrying signs to Dempsey and others in the industry that Colorado, an oil-patch state long seen as friendly to energy producers, is becoming a battleground over hydraulic fracturing, the drilling process fueling the nation’s energy boom.
“The...
High School Students Rally to Protect Seneca Lake from Fracking Infrastructure
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 23rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Last night, the Watkins Glen High School Model UN class took to the streets of the village of Watkins Glen, in Schuyler County, NY. Their message? “Protect Seneca Lake!”
For their class project, the students chose to focus on the plans of an out-of-state corporation, Inergy, which include a proposal for an industrial natural gas storage and transport hub on the shores of nearby Seneca Lake. For their demonstration, the students gathered at Marine Park at the head of the lake and spoke of their...
House Votes to Fast Track Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 23rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted 241-175 to fast track the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, voting in favor of H.R. 3, the Northern Pipeline Approval Act, which would exempt the Keystone XL pipeline from any further environmental review.
H.R. 3 marks the seventh time the House of Representatives has voted on a bill that would circumvent the nation’s most crucial environmental laws in order to force approval of Keystone XL. But yesterday’s vote saw fewer Representatives in favor of...