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Archive for August 11th, 2013
United Kingdom: The top five reasons why drilling for shale gas is fracking stupid
Posted by BusinessGreen: Craig Bennett, Friends Of The Earth on August 11th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Balcombe. Who would have thought that this quiet Sussex village would become the ground zero in the critical debate about Britain's future energy strategy? In this day and age, when some grumble that citizen action is largely confined to voting on Britain's Got Talent, I've found it inspiring to see activists travelling to Balcombe from across the country, being joined by and winning the overwhelming support of traditionally conservative local residents. But I've also been frustrated by the way...
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The Algae Is Coming, But Its Impact Is Felt Far From Water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2013
National Public Radio: Algae blooms are green or red or brown, slimy, smelly and you don't want it coming soon to a waterfront near you. Most of us don't give a lot of thought to algae until the furry-like monstrosity is spreading over beaches, rivers, lakes and bays, but gigantic algae blooms have become an increasing problem around the world. The danger algae blooms pose is that they sap the body of water where they are growing of nutrients and oxygen; they then die, decompose and rot. "Fish can't live in there. This...
United Kingdom: We cannot afford to miss out on shale gas
Posted by Telegraph: David Cameron on August 11th, 2013
Telegraph: Fracking has become a national debate in Britain -- and it's one that I'm determined to win. If we don't back this technology, we will miss a massive opportunity to help families with their bills and make our country more competitive. Without it, we could lose ground in the tough global race.
As with any advance in technology, fracking -- drilling for so-called "unconventional' gas -- has rightly drawn scrutiny. But a lot of myths have also sprung up. So today I want to set out why I support it...
How extinction of five-tonne sloths slows up growth along Amazon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2013
Independent: Vast regions of the Amazon are growing more slowly than they were several thousand years ago because they lack the fertilising effect provided by South America’s distinctive “mega-fauna” – the very large mammals that went extinct soon after the arrival of humans.
A study of how soil nutrients are distributed within the Amazon basin has revealed there is a dearth of vital minerals such as phosphorus because large mammals no longer roam the region to fertilise the soil with their dung.
Scientists...
United Kingdom: Fracking: a botch on the landscape
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2013
Guardian: In the golden rule usually attributed to spin doctor Alastair Campbell, there is some dispute over the exact number of days a story has to run for before its subject is doomed. A week, say some; 10 days or a fortnight say others. What is beyond doubt is that the fracking firm Cuadrilla's attempts to drill a hole in the Sussex countryside, which began on 25 July, has ploughed through even the longest of time limits.
As a result the UK's embryonic shale gas industry is in danger of being stillborn....
China to spend more to tackle dire pollution
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2013
Reuters: China plans to accelerate investment in technology to save energy and tackle the dire pollution blamed for a series of health crises that have generated widespread public anger. The government has been increasingly alarmed by social unrest caused by environmental disasters and threats to public health, often the result of the country's breakneck industrial expansion and mass migration to new cities. Smog over northern cities in January generated a public outcry, as did the discovery in March of...
Scientists Say Nature ‘Is Better at Carbon Farming’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2013
Climate Central: Large forests planted with a single species of tough small trees could capture enough carbon from the atmosphere to slow climate change and green the world's deserts at the same time, researchers say.
A group of German scientists says the tree Jatropha curcas is resistant to arid conditions and can thrive where food crops would not survive.
Jatropha curcas could be the way to remove atmospheric carbon, the researchers say.
Unlike other geo-engineering schemes, which are expensive and rely...
A Texan tragedy: ample oil, no water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2013
Guardian: Beverly McGuire saw the warning signs before the town well went dry: sand in the toilet bowl, the sputter of air in the tap, a pump working overtime to no effect. But it still did not prepare her for the night last month when she turned on the tap and discovered the tiny town where she had made her home for 35 years was out of water.
"The day that we ran out of water I turned on my faucet and nothing was there and at that moment I knew the whole of Barnhart was down the tubes," she said, blinking...
Texan drought sets residents against fracking
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2013
Guardian: In Mertzon and Barnhart in western Texas, the worst drought in two generations is choking the water supply. Water shortages are raising tensions between locals and the fracking industry. Drilling for shale gas uses up to 8m gallons of water each time a well is fracked. Suzanne Goldenberg reports
Ups & downs of Lake Michigan: Blame climate change
Posted by Holland Sentinel: Jim Hayden on August 11th, 2013
Holland Sentinel: Climate change is the new player in the ups and downs of the Great Lakes and any manmade attempts to control water levels might have little impact, a top leader in Great Lakes policy told about 100 people in Holland this morning.
“The climate is changing. The climate has changed and the climate will continue to change,” said Lana Pollack, chairwoman of the United States section of the International Joint Commission, a group set up by a treaty between the U.S. and Canada to deal with boundary waters...