Archive for July 12th, 2013

Environmental Advocacy Groups Gear Up For Keystone Protests Ahead Of State Department’s Decision

Huffington Post: Environmental groups CREDO, Rainforest Action Network and the Other 98% say they are organizing more than 750 activists to lead mass acts of civil disobedience around the country, should the State Department sign off on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Current training sessions include recruiting local organizers and conducting legal research to prepare activists on how to engage in peaceful civil disobedience. "We will deploy large-scale actions in major cities, and hundreds of activist-led,...

Coral Reefs Face Point of No Return

Climate News Network: Without deep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, the planet’s coral reefs could be in serious trouble. In a world in which humans continue to burn fossil fuels unchecked, ocean conditions will become ultimately inhospitable, according to U.S. scientists. Katharine Ricke and Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution in Washington and colleagues make their sombre prediction in Environmental Research Letters. Their argument on the face of it seems inconsistent with other recent research on reef response...

What role do beavers play in climate change?

Science: When it comes to transforming their environment, beavers have a lot in common with humans. They clear-cut trees and build dams to block streams, in the process radically altering the world around them. Now, it appears that beavers play a complex role in climate change, too. A new study suggests that beaver dams and the sediments corralled behind them sequester carbon, temporarily keeping greenhouse gases containing the element out of the atmosphere. But when the animals abandon these sites, the carbon...

Secrets, Lies, and Missing Data: New Twists in the Keystone XL Pipeline

Bloomberg: Even if you haven’t been following the saga of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, and haven’t decided if it’s a fast track to U.S. energy independence (those in favor) or “game over” for human civilization (those opposed, because of its role in climate change), yesterday’s developments are too rich to ignore. In fact, it may be game over for the Keystone XL—at least until 2016—thanks, once again, to U.S. State Department oversight. First, a refresher: Because the proposed line crosses the Canada-U.S....