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Archive for June 5th, 2013
First Amphibian Declared Extinct ‘Rediscovered’ in Israel’s Hula Valley
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 5th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: A team of scientists says it has “rediscovered” in northern Israel the first amphibian declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a species of frog that turns out to be the only surviving member of an extinct genus of frogs. First discovered in Israel’s Hula Valley in the 1940s, the Hula painted frog was presumed gone when Hula Lake dried up in the late 1950s, and it was declared extinct in 1996. But since an individual frog was discovered during a patrol in Hula...
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The Devastating Legacy of Extreme Fossil Fuel Extraction
Posted by EcoWatch: Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance on June 5th, 2013
EcoWatch: Watch this powerful video from Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance, Our Back is Against the Wall, featuring Ponca elders Carter Camp and Casey Camp-Horinek describing the devastating legacy of oil exploitation in their communities in present day Oklahoma. Expanding tar sands mining in Alberta, Canada, through the Keystone XL is the latest threat to indigenous sovereignty and traditional homelands.
Pakistan wilts under record heat wave
Posted by Reuters: Saleem Shaikh and Sughra Tunio on June 5th, 2013
Reuters: Zulekhan Mumtaz has seen her livelihood as a seller of camel milk turn sour because of a brutal heat wave that left Pakistan sweltering for three weeks in May with temperatures up to 51 degrees Celsius. "My customers say they can no longer buy spoilt milk and squander their money,' the 31-year-old said, looking at the clotted yellow liquid. "How can I buy fodder for the camel and food for my two children if the heat wave damages my milk?' she asked, resting with her animal in the shade of a tree...
Fracking Creates Water Scarcity Issues in Michigan
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 5th, 2013
EcoWatch: Concerns about the impact to local groundwater by massive water use--on a scale never before seen in Michigan fracking operations--are coming to a head, as the plan for Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. to use 8.4 million gallons of water to fracture a single well has been stymied by a lack of water on site.
Instead, the company is trucking water--nearly 1 million gallons of it in just one week--from the City of Kalkaska’s water system to meet its needs. This one fracking operation today is using more...
Rockland County Bans Radioactive Fracking Waste
Posted by EcoWatch: Grassroots Environmental Education on June 5th, 2013
EcoWatch: A coalition of health and environmental groups have joined together to congratulate the Rockland County Board of Legislators for voting unanimously to prohibit the sale, application and disposal of waste products in the county from natural gas drilling operations. The new law bans the sale of all gas drilling waste, its processing at all wastewater treatment plants, and its application on all roads including applications for de-icing and dust control purposes within Rockland County. The groups are...
By the Numbers: Reducing Food Loss and Waste
Posted by World Resources Institute: Brian Lipinski on June 5th, 2013
World Resources Institute: This post is the second installment of WRI’s blog series, “Creating a Sustainable Food Future.” The series explores strategies to sustainably feed 9 billion people by 2050. All pieces are based on research being conducted for the 2013-2014 World Resources Report. Look for the next installment tomorrow, which will highlight a number of solutions to reduce food loss and waste.
The world produces about 4 billion tons of food per year, or about 6 quadrillion calories. That’s a large amount, but what’s...
TransCanada Digging Up Defective Segments of New Pipeline, Angering Landowners in Texas
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on June 5th, 2013
InsideClimate: A Canadian company is repairing dozens of defects along the newly laid southern leg of the Keystone XL—the section of the oil pipeline that does not need approval from the U.S. State Department and is already under construction. The Oklahoma-to-Texas pipeline is not yet operational, but landowners worry that the repairs hint at more serious problems that could someday lead to oil spills. The project will carry primarily Canadian oil—including diluted bitumen from Alberta's oil sands—from Cushing,...
Nation’s drinking water system needs $384B upgrade
Posted by CNN: Wenqian Zhu on June 5th, 2013
CNN: The nation's drinking water systems are deteriorating, and $384 billion needs to be spent in the next 17 years to maintain a safe supply for millions of Americans, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The most significant expense, $247.5 billion, should go to replacing the aging pipes, many of which are between 50 to 100 years old, the EPA said. Although upgrades need to be made to systems nationwide, the agency said California, Texas and New York need the money the most....
Australia: Human Deforestation Outweighs Climate Change for Coral Reefs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 5th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Better land use is the key to preventing further damage to the world's coral reefs, according to a study published this week in the online science journal Nature Communications.
The study, by an international team including a researcher from The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute, has important implications for Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
The study authors write that preventing soil erosion and sediment pollution arising from human activities such as deforestation are crucial...
China’s mega water diversion project begins testing
Posted by Guardian: Jennifer Duggan on June 5th, 2013
Guardian: When it is completed, it will be one of the world's biggest feats of engineering. China's South-North Water Diversion Project, initially a vision of Mao's, will take water from the south of the country to the arid northern region, including the capital Beijing, which suffers from water shortages.
The ambitious project has been under construction since 2002 and it is expected to take almost 50 years for all sections to be complete. It aims to pump almost 45 billion cubic metres of water a year...