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Archive for June 15th, 2013
If Centrica is prepared to risk earthquakes in Blackpool, big oil will want a share of shale
Posted by Observer: None Given on June 15th, 2013
Observer: Expect to see more big names from the oil industry, such as Shell, ExxonMobil and Statoil, moving into the British shale sector now that one of their competitors – Centrica – has taken the plunge. The international companies have always taken a keen interest in the UK fracking scene, despite endless statements from their chief executives that there are better prospects in China and elsewhere.
There is some speculation this weekend that the reason Centrica paid a fairly toppy price for the stake...
Posted in 
Rivers Run Through Controversies Over Who Owns The Water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 15th, 2013
National Public Radio: So often, we take water for granted. We turn on the faucet and there it is. We assume it's our right in America to have water. And yet, water is a resource. It's not always where we need it, or there when we need it. Rivers don't follow political boundaries - they flow through states and over international borders. And there are endless demands for water: for agriculture, drinking, plumbing, manufacturing, to name just a few. And then there's the ecosystem that depends on water getting downstream....
ESSAY: The Fascist State of America
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on June 15th, 2013
#IStandWithEdwardSnowden because free nations don't spy on and murder their citizens. Democracies don't terrorize sovereign nations and their peoples with torture, false imprisonment, and drone-based perma-war. It is time to stand up against the oil oligarchys police state that is stifling social change required to achieve universal human rights, justice, equity, and global ecological sustainability.
By Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet
Earth Meanders come from Earth's Newsdesk
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin
If living unfreely but comfortably is something you are willing to accept
it is going to get worse with the next generation
The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The greatest fear I have for the outcome of these disclosures is that nothing will change
[that people] wont be willing to stand up and take the risks to fight. I am not afraid, because this is the choice I've made. Edward Snowden
The Bush administration "puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we provide." Candidate Barack Obama 2007
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary ...
Al Gore says Obama must veto ‘atrocity’ of Keystone XL tar sands pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 15th, 2013
Guardian: Al Gore has called on Barack Obama to veto the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, describing it as "an atrocity".
The former vice-president said in an interview on Friday that he hoped Obama would follow the example of British Columbia, which last week rejected a similar pipeline project, and shut down the Keystone XL.
"I certainly hope that he will veto that now that the Canadians have publicly concluded that it is not safe to take a pipeline across British Columbia to ports on the Pacific,"...
Global population to soar to 11 billion by 2100 as African population quadruples
Posted by Daily Mail: Jill Reilly on June 15th, 2013
Daily Mail: The world`s population will reach almost eleven billion by the end of the century because of soaring birth rates in Africa, according to new research.
The latest projection is about 800 million - eight percent - more than a previous UN forecast of 10.1 billion issued in 2011.
Researchers had expected fertility on the poorest continent where a woman will give birth to an average of 5.2 children in her lifetime, to fall more quickly than it has.
Soaring: The world¿s population will reach almost...
Western drought intensifies, leads to deadly wildfires
Posted by Climate Central: Daniel Yawitz on June 15th, 2013
Climate Central: A record-breaking heat wave intensified drought conditions in much of the West during the past week, with 72 percent of the land area in the 10 Western states now in drought conditions, according to the latest update to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The worst impacts of the drought are concentrated in the Southwest: New Mexico, Texas, Southern Colorado and the western parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska all contain land that is under extreme or exceptional drought. The hot weather -- Denver had...
Europe: Floods are here to stay
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 15th, 2013
Inter Press Service: Record floods in Central and Eastern Europe have highlighted some of the challenges of climate change for the continent, as well as the floods` potential to spur populist politics.
An extraordinarily long winter followed by weeks of intense rains has saturated soils and caused large rivers, such as the Danube and the Elbe, to overflow. The floods have wreaked havoc in the region, killing 21 people and forcing the evacuation of several tens of thousands.
In Halle, Germany, 30,000 people were...
How can agriculture best adapt to changing climate?
Posted by Environmental News Network: Research Program On Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Via eurekAlert on June 15th, 2013
Environmental News Network: Whether it’s swapping coffee for cocoa in Central America or bracing for drought in Sri Lanka with a return to ancient water storage systems, findings from a new report from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) chart a path for farmers to adapt to climate shifts despite uncertainties about what growing conditions will look like decades from now.
As this week's UN climate talks in Bonn continue to sideline a formal deal on agriculture, the study, Addressing...
How climate change makes wildfires worse
Posted by Grist: None Given on June 15th, 2013
Grist: Last year, Colorado suffered from a record-breaking wildfire season: More than 4,000 fires resulted in six deaths, the destruction of 648 buildings, and a half a billion dollars in property damage. Still reeling, Coloradans are once again fleeing in their thousands from a string of drought-fueled fires.
So what role is climate change playing in the worsening wildfires? Here`s what we`ve learned:
Is climate change making wildfires worse?
Big wildfires like Colorado`s thrive in dry air, low...
Colorado fire: Is global warming one of the culprits?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 15th, 2013
Christian Science Monitor: Cooler temperatures and some rain helped increase the contained area from just five percent Thursday to 30 percent Friday, authorities reported.
Still, the fire has been devastating: Two people killed and 38,000 evacuated, 473 homes destroyed as the blaze moved through 25 square miles of forests and woodland neighborhoods.
The Black Forest Fire in Colorado is part of a pattern in the West: increased construction in the “wildland-urban interface,” as it’s called.
Most homeowners adhere to...