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Archive for August 16th, 2013
United Kingdom: Law breaking fracking protesters ‘heroic’ like the suffragettes, says leader
Posted by Telegraph: Steven Swinford on August 16th, 2013
Telegraph: Thousands of people are expected to take part in six days of "direct action" against Cuadrilla, a company that is currently digging for oil near Balcombe in West Sussex.
Operations at the facility have been suspended while the protests are taking place, and hundreds of police have been drafted in.
The parish council has urged the protesters to "stay away" if they are planning any illegal acts, and said that they have heard rumours of a "mass trespass".
Jamie Kelsey-Fry, from the No Dash...
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Could smart meters stem $14bn in annual water losses?
Posted by BusinessGreen: Heather Clancy on August 16th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Debates about most smart meter installations have centered on projects at electric utilities.
But intelligent networks and sensor technology could have an even more profound positive impact on ageing water infrastructure around the world, according to several experts participating in a Navigant Research seminar this week.
Those benefits include operational cost reductions ranging from three per cent to five per cent, more accurate billing processes, enhanced leak detection, better customer...
United Kingdom: Drilling pause for Balcombe fracking protests is sensible move, say police
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on August 16th, 2013
Guardian: Cuadrilla has halted its oil-drilling operations in West Sussex in anticipation of an influx of anti-fracking protesters at the site this weekend.
The company, which is pioneering the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing in Britain, said that after discussions with police it had doubled the height of its security fences and installed razor wire at the Balcombe site, and had called a halt to the drilling until further notice. A spokesman said this was owing to concerns "for the health...
Drought Forces Restrictions On Colorado River Water Releases
Posted by National Public Radio: Ted Robbins on August 16th, 2013
National Public Radio: Relentless drought will force the government to cut back on water releases between Glen Canyon and Lake Mead. It's the first time that's happened since dams were built on the Colorado River. Reduction starts next year, and the announcement gives the 40 million water users in the Southwest time to plan.
How Will Crops Fare Under Climate Change? Depends On How You Ask
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 16th, 2013
ScienceDaily: The damage scientists expect climate change to do to crop yields can differ greatly depending on which type of model was used to make those projections, according to research based at Princeton University. The problem is that the most dire scenarios can loom large in the minds of the public and policymakers, yet neither audience is usually aware of how the model itself influenced the outcome, the researchers said.
The report in the journal Global Change Biology is one of the first to compare the...
India: Kashmiri Farmers Unprepared for Drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 16th, 2013
Inter Press Service: Zareena Bano has had to skip school 17 times this year to help out on her family's farm in Tangchekh village in the northern Indian state of Kashmir.
Her teachers say she has the potential to be a brilliant student, but warn that if she keeps missing school she will not go far.
Never before has the 15-year-old had to sacrifice her education in order to support her family, but an acute water crisis in this Himalayan state has made irrigation a constant worry and severely disrupted the way of...
Ecuador approves Amazon oil drilling
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 16th, 2013
BBC: Ecuador has abandoned a conservation plan that would have paid the country not to drill for oil in previously untouched parts of Yasuni National Park in the Amazon rainforest.
President Rafael Correa said rich nations had failed to back the initiative, leaving Ecuador with no choice but go ahead with drilling.
The park is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world.
Hundreds of people gathered in Quito to protest against Mr Correa's decision.
Oil exploitation has been taking place in...
Strike Two on Billionaire’s Anti-Keystone Ad
Posted by InsideClimate: Zahra Hirji on August 16th, 2013
InsideClimate: Hoping to raise awareness about the Keystone pipeline he vehemently opposes, billionaire climate activist Thomas Steyer's campaign to block the project is ramping up and turning personal. His target? Russ Girling, CEO TransCanada Corp., the company trying to build the controversial pipeline. Steyer challenged Girling this week to a live public debate over the Keystone, an offer the company quickly rejected. The group Steyer founded, NextGen Climate Action, also unleashed an attack ad and tried...
Anti-fracking protests delay U.K. drilling
Posted by CNN: Alanna Petroff on August 16th, 2013
CNN: Protesters near the Cuadrilla drilling site have said the company is "running scared" after it announced it would suspend drilling.
Plans for massive protests by anti-fracking campaigners have led a U.K.-based oil and gas exploration company to suspend its drilling in southern England.
Cuadrilla has vowed to resume drilling once it is safe, as the company searches for ideal sites to conduct hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.
"After taking advice from Sussex Police, Cuadrilla is...
Pegasus Pipeline Could Be Retired, ExxonMobil Official Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 16th, 2013
Associated Press: A vice president at ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. says it`s possible a 65-year-old pipe that leaked oil into a Mayflower neighborhood could be taken out of service.
Karen Tyrone, the company`s vice president of operations, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story published Thursday that it is too early to know whether the Pegasus pipeline will be closed.
"It is within the realm of possibilities and considerations," she said, adding that a decision will be reached following an investigation that...