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Archive for August 19th, 2013
United Kingdom: More than 700 seals counted in Thames Estuary
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 19th, 2013
Press Association: More than 700 seals have been spotted in the Thames Estuary in the first ever count carried out by air, land and water.
Conservationists and volunteers recorded 708 grey and harbour seals along the Thames in a survey stretching up the estuary to Tilbury, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said.
The survey involved recording seals spotted from boats, from the air or by teams on the ground investigating small creeks and rivers, with the GPS co-ordinates of sightings noted.
The aerial survey...
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United Kingdom: Councils demand higher fracking payments
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on August 19th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Fresh protests over shale gas exploration have heaped more troubles on energy company Cuadrilla, as it emerged councils want a bigger share of the incentives paid to communities hosting fracking.
This morning 20 protestors blockaded Cuadrilla's headquarters in Lichfield, Staffordshire, while a further six super-glued themselves to the London office of Bell Pottinger, the PR firm employed by Cuadrilla.
The protests come after more than 2,000 people marched through the village of Balcombe, West...
United Kingdom: Anti-fracking campaigners shut down Cuadrilla HQ
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 19th, 2013
Guardian: Twenty protesters have targeted the headquarters of energy company Cuadrilla by blockading it with their bodies. There are two people inside the building in Lichfield, Staffordshire, and they are hanging banners off it saying "Reclaim the Power" and "Power to the People".
The company, which has a license for hydraulic fracturing or fracking to extract gas from shale, issued a statement saying: "Three protesters have forced their way into our offices. The police are in attendance and are dealing...
British anti-fracking protesters scuffle with police at oil well
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 19th, 2013
Reuters: Anti-fracking protesters scuffled with police outside an oil exploration site in rural England on Monday and broke into the headquarters of the energy company which is pioneering shale gas exploration in Britain.
In what could be the biggest public challenge yet for Britain's shale gas prospectors, opponents of the drilling process known as 'fracking' have already forced privately owned Cuadrilla Resources to suspend oil drilling at the site.
After several days of largely peaceful protests...
Heavy rain brings floods to Philippines; markets, offices shut
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 19th, 2013
Reuters: Heavy rain in the Philippine capital forced the closure of government offices, schools, banks and most private companies on Monday, and residents in parts of the city and nearby provinces had to flee from their homes because of floods.
The monsoon rain, intensified by tropical storm Trami, also led to the closure of the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Philippine Dealing System foreign exchange platform and the secondary debt market via the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp after government offices...
United Kingdom: Anti-fracking activists to begin two days of direct action
Posted by ITV: None Given on August 19th, 2013
ITV: Anti-fracking activists will begin two days of direct action later, triggering a huge security operation again in the West Sussex countryside.
Details about what form the "mass civil disobedience" will take have not been revealed but the aim will be to pile further pressure on energy company Cuadrilla.
As part of the preparation, protesters were given a "matchmaking form" to help link people up into "action teams" based on their preferred tactics and interests.
The form asks to what extent...
No. 10 takes a week to say that Cameron would welcome fracking near his home
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 19th, 2013
Telegraph: The Prime Minister's spokesman said that Mr Cameron would welcome shale gas exploration in his Witney constituency as long as "locally led planning processes were followed'.
The same spokesman last week refused ten times to say whether the Prime Minister would support fracking near his Oxfordshire home.
When pushed, Downing Street would say only that "ultimately the Prime Minister supports fracking' and that there should be a "dialogue with local people' about any attempts to extract the fuel....
United Kingdom: Fracking protesters target Cuadrilla HQ
Posted by Chronicle: None Given on August 19th, 2013
Chronicle: Anti-fracking protesters have blockaded energy company Cuadrilla’s headquarters while others have superglued themselves to a PR company used by the firm.
The action at Cuadrilla in Lichfield, Staffordshire, and at PR firm Bell Pottinger in central London come on the first of two days of "mass civil disobedience" which campaigners have pledged to carry out to highlight their stance against fracking.
Activists are currently taking part in a six-day Reclaim The Power action camp in Balcombe, West...
United Kingdom: Dame Vivienne Westwood joins fracking protesters
Posted by ITV: None Given on August 19th, 2013
ITV: Renowned fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood has joined protesters at the Cuadrilla fracking site in Balcombe, West Sussex.
Dame Vivienne, 72, carried a placard which said: "Say no to fracking" as campaigners gathered at the site.
Superstorm task force says as coasts rebuild, they should prep for rising seas, future floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 19th, 2013
Associated Press: A presidential task force charged with developing a strategy for rebuilding areas damaged by Superstorm Sandy has issued a report recommending 69 policy initiatives, most focused on a simple warning: Plan for future storms in an age of climate change and rising sea levels.
The report released Monday by the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force says coastal communities should assume floods are going to happen more frequently and realize that spending more now on protective measures could save money...