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Archive for August 8th, 2013
Climate change is impacting California
Posted by Associated Press: Alicia Chang on August 8th, 2013
Associated Press: Coastal waters off California are getting more acidic. Fall-run chinook salmon populations to the Sacramento River are on the decline. Conifer forests on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada have moved to higher elevations over the past half century.
That's just a snapshot of how climate change is affecting California's natural resources, a report released Thursday found.
"There's certainly reason for concern," said Dan Cayan, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography...
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United Kingdom: There’s no room for wind farms but plenty for fracking, says PM
Posted by Telegraph: Peter Dominiczak on August 8th, 2013
Telegraph: In comments that will delight rural communities opposed to wind farms, the Prime Minister said that "there is a limited potential for onshore wind' in the UK.
Mr Cameron instead said that he wants the UK to focus on shale gas exploration, nuclear power and offshore wind.
With anti-fracking protests continuing in parts of the countryside, the Prime Minister said he wanted to "dispel myths' about the controversial technique and said that there is "no question of having earthquakes and fire coming...
The Keystone XL pipeline alternative you’ve never heard of is probably going to be built
Posted by Grist: Thomas Stackpole on August 8th, 2013
Grist: Last week, the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oil from the Alberta tar sands to the Gulf of Mexico, hit another snag: The State Department`s Office of the Inspector General said that it is investigating a possible conflict-of-interest issue in the project`s environmental impact study. The inspector general is probing whether the company that produced the environmental impact study, Environmental Resource Management, failed to disclose its past working relationship with...
US Estuaries Struggling to Perform Under Increasing Stress
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 8th, 2013
Nature World: Human and climate-related stressors are taking their toll on the nation's 28 National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR), according to a NOAA report, putting both human safety and sensitive ecosystems at risk
As the place where a river meets the sea, estuaries harbor unique communities of life due to their mixture of fresh and salty water. As one of the most productive ecosystems in existence, many animals rely on estuaries for food and a place to nest and breed.
Humans, too, rely on the natural...
EU-backed project produces first algae crops for biofuel
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 8th, 2013
Reuters: A European Union-backed project to produce biofuels from algae moved a step forward on Thursday by producing its first crop of algae biomass at its site in southern Spain, the main company behind the scheme said on Thursday. The "All-gas" project will cultivate fast-growing micro-algae by using the nutrients in wastewater and then by further processes generate biomethane which can be captured and used in transport fuel. The biomass obtained from the algae crop showed high energy potential with...
Va. Man Catches World-Record-Breaking ‘Frankenfish’
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on August 8th, 2013
Nature World News: A fisherman in Virginia has officially reeled in the the biggest northern snakehead ever caught according to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA). Jack Vitek, world-record coordinator for the Florida-based IGFA, told the The Free Lance Star of Virginia Monday that the organization confirmed the 17 pound, 6 ounce northern snakehead as the largest ever caught with hook and line in the world. Caleb Newton, a plumber and weekend fishing enthusiast, caught the snakehead, sometimes known as...
Persisting Impact of Ark. Oil Spill Tears Community and Family Fabric
Posted by Arkansas Times: Sam Eifling on August 8th, 2013
Arkansas Times: Part 2 of a two-part series on the residents of Mayflower, Ark., who live a short distance from the homes that were evacuated after Exxon's oil spill and who feel neglected. Read Part 1. MAYFLOWER, Ark.—The Pegasus pipeline runs between Illinois and Texas, over streams, under rivers, through wilds, and under relatively few homes. The fact that it split open underneath a housing development was a twist of bad luck. An independent forensic metallurgical report on the faulty stretch of pipe made note...
Enbridge Begins Oil Spill Dredging on Kalamazoo River
Posted by Fox: None Given on August 8th, 2013
Fox: Enbridge’s dredging project is under construction on the Kalamazoo River. The company is following an EPA mandated order that they remove more contaminated sediment from certain areas of the river. Ebridge is creating a “pad” or containment area to filter sediment in the Ceresco Dam area in preparation for dredging operations that could begin as early as Monday in that portion of the river. Wednesday, Enbridge was clearing a boat launch at the 17-acre site that will be an entry point for a number...
Kalamazoo Woman Protests Enbridge Pipeline Replacement Near Marcellus
Posted by MLive: Ursula Zerilli on August 8th, 2013
MLive: A Kalamazoo woman is halting tree clearing construction by sitting on a plywood platform, suspended from a tree approximately 40 feet in the air, to protest the Enbridge Line 6B replacement project on Wednesday morning.
The woman is a member of the Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands, which has been protesting Enbridge's pipeline replacement project throughout the summer. Members have been arrested for similar stints.
The protest is taking place at the Crane Pond Game Area, where the Canadian...
Railroad in Quebec Coal Tragedy Files for Bankruptcy
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 8th, 2013
Associated Press: A rail company whose runaway oil train caused a fire and explosion that killed 47 people in a small town in Canada filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday, and an attorney said he expects company executives to explore putting it up for sale within weeks.
In its filings, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd. and its Canadian counterpart, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Canada Co., cited debts to more than 200 creditors following the disaster in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.
Attorney...