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Archive for May, 2013
Indonesia’s tropical forests set to benefit from further clearing ban
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on May 12th, 2013
Guardian: A ban on the clearing of tropical forests in Indonesia is on the verge of being extended in a historic deal that could protect some of the world's most threatened habitats.
Indonesia is home to about a third of the world's remaining tropical forests, which provide a habitat for endangered species such as the orangutan and Sumatran tiger.
For the past two years the government has imposed a moratorium on felling forests in an effort to halt the deforestation that has laid waste to much of the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Indonesia’s tropical forests set to benefit from further clearing banGas boom may be mixed blessing for climate change
Posted by South China Morning Post: Patrick Lui on May 12th, 2013
South China Morning Post: Thanks to its controversial nature, most people have some knowledge of shale gas and fracking, the method used to extract it.
As fracking has boomed in recent years, energy experts have woken up to another unconventional source of natural gas. It is methane hydrate, and its potential reserves are huge.
Methane hydrate is formed naturally when methane gas, produced by microbial action or the effects of earth's heat and pressure on buried organic matter, combines with water at moderate pressures...
In Trinidad, Causes Debated as Flooding Worsens
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 12th, 2013
Inter Press Service: Officially, the Caribbean`s rainy season begins in June, coinciding with the start of the hurricane season. But recently, heavy rains have signalled an early start to the rainy season, flooding streets, swelling rivers and causing widespread damage to crops.
"With global warming, you have to expect anything these days," Shiraz Khan, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Farmers` Association (TTFA), told IPS.
He said the situation has been further complicated by the fact that during the dry season,...
For Peat’s Sake: expert investigates tropical peatland in Southeast Asia
Posted by 24Dash: None Given on May 12th, 2013
24Dash: Fascinating peatland ecosystems play a key role in the global cycle -- however urgent action is required to protect them from human impact.
Professor Susan Page, from the Department of Geography will give her Inaugural public lecture, For Peat`s Sake: Understanding the Vulnerability of the Tropical Peat Carbon Pool at the University of Leicester on Tuesday 14 May.
The lecture will explore Southeast Asia, where the largest area of tropical peatland is located, and the particular role that tropical...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on For Peat’s Sake: expert investigates tropical peatland in Southeast AsiaTransCanada Files Lawsuit to Stop Keystone Pipeline Protests
Posted by Oklahoman: Jay F. Marks on May 12th, 2013
Oklahoman: Energy infrastructure company TransCanada has asked an Oklahoma judge to help keep protesters away from its pipeline construction sites. The company is building a 485-mile oil pipeline between Cushing's storage hub and refineries along the Gulf Coast. The project is part of TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which is awaiting approval from the Obama administration to cross the U.S.-Canada border. The 1,179-mile pipeline would carry oil from Canada and North Dakota through Cushing to the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on TransCanada Files Lawsuit to Stop Keystone Pipeline ProtestsPlans to increase exports of liquefied natural gas could accelerate fracking boom, critics say
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 12th, 2013
Washington Post: A domestic natural gas boom already has lowered U.S. energy prices while stoking fears of environmental disaster. Now U.S. producers are poised to ship vast quantities of gas overseas as energy companies seek permits for proposed export projects that could set off a renewed frenzy of fracking.
Expanded drilling is unlocking enormous reserves of crude oil and natural gas, offering the potential of moving the country closer to its decades-long quest for energy independence. Yet as the industry looks...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Plans to increase exports of liquefied natural gas could accelerate fracking boom, critics sayUK scientists ‘develop superwheat’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 12th, 2013
BBC: British scientists say they have developed a new type of wheat which could increase productivity by 30%.
The Cambridge-based National Institute of Agricultural Botany has combined an ancient ancestor of wheat with a modern variety to produce a new strain.
In early trials, the resulting crop seemed bigger and stronger than the current modern wheat varieties.
It will take at least five years of tests and regulatory approval before it is harvested by farmers.
Some farmers, however, are urging...
United Kingdom: Who needs mega-farms?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 12th, 2013
Independent: The plan for a "mega-farm" of 25,000 pigs in Derbyshire should make us uneasy. As should the proposals for a 1,000-cow dairy factory in Wales and for a 15,000-ton-a-year salmon farm in Galway Bay off Ireland, on which we also report today. The Independent on Sunday opposes these steps towards the further intensification of farming, but we should be clear why. The standards of animal welfare in these huge farms would probably be no worse than those in British agriculture generally; in some respects,...
Climate change ‘will make hundreds of millions homeless’
Posted by Observer: Robin McKie on May 11th, 2013
Observer: It is increasingly likely that hundreds of millions of people will be displaced from their homelands in the near future as a result of global warming. That is the stark warning of economist and climate change expert Lord Stern following the news last week that concentrations of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere had reached a level of 400 parts per million (ppm).
Massive movements of people are likely to occur over the rest of the century because global temperatures are likely to rise to by up to...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change ‘will make hundreds of millions homeless’United Kingdom: Campaigners warn against rise of the ‘mega-farms’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2013
Independent: Farming in the British Isles is on the verge of a dramatic step towards industrialisation with the establishment of "mega-farms" for salmon, pigs and cows, which opponents claim put the environment and human health at risk. The Government signalled its backing yesterday for large-scale farms ahead of an announcement this week of a timetable for plans for a 25,000-capacity pig farm in Derbyshire. A decision on a planned 1,000-cow dairy unit in Wales is also imminent. Pressure to meet growing demand...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Campaigners warn against rise of the ‘mega-farms’