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Archive for August 16th, 2013
Rise in Extreme Heat Waves Already Locked in for Next 30 Years
Posted by Nature World: Tamarra Kemsley on August 16th, 2013
Nature World: The amount of global land affected by extreme heat waves classified as three-sigma events is set to double by 2020 and quadruple by 2040 regardless of changes in the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, a study published in Environmental Research Letters reports.
Heat waves classified as three-sigma events -- a reference to a rise in temperatures of three standard deviations above the norm -- include the one that hit Australia in 2009 and more recently the one that took place...
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Fracking campaigners like MMR scaremongers, says Church of England
Posted by Telegraph: John Bingham on August 16th, 2013
Telegraph: It also publicly accused opponents of shale gas exploration of ignoring the interests of the poor, who might benefit from cheaper energy bills and jobs.
And while strongly denying seeking to gain financially from fracking by reasserting centuries-old mineral rights, it refused to rule out the possibility of drilling on Church-owned land. In signs of a growing split within the Church over its approach to the controversial technique, senior officials also appeared to criticise one diocese that said...
Historic Water Shortages Prompt Government Restrictions in Colorado River Basin
Posted by EcoWatch: Mindy Lubber on August 16th, 2013
EcoWatch: Water users in the parched Southwest U.S. were just hit with a devastating warning.
Due to water shortages in the Colorado River Basin, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation today announced first-ever cutbacks in water releases to the river’s lower basin, which could mean reduced water deliveries to Nevada and Arizona as early as next year.
The decision, triggered by historically low water levels in one of the river’s key reservoirs, Lake Powell in Utah, is unprecedented and significant.
It caps...
Feds Slash Colorado River Release to Historic Lows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 16th, 2013
National Geographic: A "No Fishing" sign sits improbably along a dry desert road in Nevada. The largest man-made reservoir in the U.S., Lake Mead, once extended this far-but the watery destination of anglers and boaters has shrunk so much that the lakeshore now is about a half-mile away. (View an interactive map of the region.)
The recession of the massive lake that straddles Nevada and Arizona is symbolic of a long-standing problem that just got a lot worse: The Colorado River's record-low flows and the shrunken...
United Kingdom: Fracking: ‘blanket opposition’ risks ignoring needs of fuel-poor, says CofE
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, Sam Jones and Matthew Taylor on August 16th, 2013
Guardian: The Church of England has entered the fracking debate, arguing that "blanket opposition" to the controversial method of extracting gas risks ignoring the needs of those in fuel poverty and undermining efforts to find less polluting fuels.
The church's intervention came as the head of the UK's leading fracking company, Cuadrilla, appealed for calm from protesters as hundreds more activists prepared to descend this weekend on the small village of Balcombe in West Sussex, which has become the centre...
Beyond Keystone XL: Three Controversial Pipeline Proposals
Posted by EcoWatch: Kiley Kroh, ThinkProgress on August 16th, 2013
EcoWatch: While the national debate remains largely focused on President Obama’s impending decision regarding the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, communities across the U.S. and Canada are grappling with the oil and gas industry’s rapidly expanding pipeline network--cutting through their backyards, threatening water supplies and leaving them vulnerable to devastating spills.
As production booms in Alberta, Canada’s tar sands and fracking opens up vast oil and natural gas deposits around America, companies...
SkyTruth’s First Phase of Marcellus FrackFinder Nearly Complete
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 16th, 2013
EcoWatch: Exactly two weeks ago, we officially launched the first stage of our new skytruthing initiative--FrackFinder: Project TADPOLE. Since the launch, our amazing volunteers have taken the project from 10 percent complete to 73 percent complete; that`s over 64,000 completed tasks (task = number of times an image is viewed and classified).
On our website is a live, interactive map that illustrates, by county, the progress that our FrackFinder volunteers have made toward completing all tasks for Pennsylvania....
Fracking boom could lead to housing bust
Posted by Grist: None Given on August 16th, 2013
Grist: When it comes to the real estate market in Bradford County, Pa., where 62,600 residents live above the Marcellus Shale, nothing is black and white, says Bob Benjamin, a local broker and certified appraiser. There aren’t exactly “fifty shades of grey,” he says, but residential mortgage lending here is an especially murky situation.
When Benjamin fills out an appraisal for a lender, he has to note if there is a fracked well or an impoundment lake on or near the property. “I’m having to explain a...
Keystone XL Seen Harming ‘Quality Night Skies’ Near Parks
Posted by Bloomberg: Mark Drajem on August 16th, 2013
Bloomberg: Building the Keystone XL pipeline would lead to more manmade light and noise in sparsely populated regions, which may harm natural resources, wildlife and visitors to national parks, the U.S. Interior Department said.
In comments submitted to the State Department as part of an environmental review, Interior warned that developer TransCanada Corp. (TRP) isn’t adequately dealing with risks to “cultural soundscapes” and “high quality night skies” from disturbances during construction and from pumping...
United Kingdom: Fracking protesters gather for six-day camp as Balcombe drilling suspended
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 16th, 2013
Press Association: Anti-fracking protesters have welcomed the suspension of an exploratory oil-drilling operation in West Sussex, as the first of hundreds of extra activists started to arrive.
Up to 1,000 more campaigners are set to descend on the outskirts of Balcombe, for the six-day Reclaim the Power camp. It has been organised in opposition to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which some fear the energy firm Cuadrilla will go on to conduct after it has completed its exploratory drilling.
Campaigners were...